Master of Science by Coursework in Visual, Material, and Museum Anthropology

• 1. The Social Sciences Divisional Boardcourse shall electbe forunder the supervision of the course a Standing Committee, namely the Teaching Committee of the School of Anthropology, which shall have power to arrange lectures and otherMuseum instructionEthnography. The

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• 2. course directorCandidates will be responsiblerequired to that committee.

• 2. Candidates must follow a course of instruction in Visual, Material, and Museum Anthropology for at least three terms, and will, when entering for the examination, be required to produce a certificate from their supervisor to this effect.

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• 3. Four papers will be taken to constitute Part I of the degree, as follows. Paper 1 will be examined by coursework essay; Paper 2 will be examined either by coursework essay or one three-hour paper; Paper 3 will be examined by a portfolio of reports (including notes) on trials of three research methods and a research proposal; Paper 4 will be examined by one three-hour paper. The dissertation will be taken to constitute Part II of the degree. A candidate who fails any of the component parts of the examination may re-take or re-submit that part of the examination on one occasion only. At the close of the written examinations, the examiners will publish a list of those who have satisfied them in Part I.

• 4. Candidates will becomplete requiredthe tofollowing submittwo writtencore work, required for Papers 1 and 3, comprising an essay for Paper 1 and a research proposal (Paper 3(a)) and three copies of a portfolio of reports (including notes) on trials of three research methods (Paper 3(b)) for Paper 3; to present themselves for a written examination for Papers 2 and 4 (where relevant), and to submit three copies of a dissertation in prescribed form on an approved topic as defined below.

  courses:

• 5. The assessed written work will consist of:

• • (ia) oneContemporary Themes in Visual, Material, and Museum Anthropology (Paper 1) assessed by an essay of no more than 5,000 words for Paper 1 on the syllabus described in the Schedule; for Paper 1 a list of essay titles will be announced no later than Monday of the fourth week of Michaelmas Term. The essay, together with any associated non-textual materials, mustto be submitted electronically via WebLearn not later thanby noon ofon the TuesdayThursday of theweek first week1 of Hilary Term;term.
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  • (b) theFundamental essayConcepts andin associated materials must be anonymousVisual, accompanied by confirmation that it is the candidate's own workMaterial, and submittedMuseum inAnthropology electronic(Paper file4) format;assessed non-textualby andtwo multimedia materials shall not constitute more than fifteen minutes of viewing/reading time.

  • (ii) an outline proposal for the MSc dissertation researchessays of no more than 2,500 words for Paper 3(a) on the syllabus described in the Schedule. A template will be provided for the proposal on Friday of eighth week of Hilary Term. The research proposal or essayeach, together with any associated non-textual materials, mustto be submitted electronically via WebLearn not later thanby noon ofon the TuesdayMonday of theweek fifth week6 of Trinity Term; the essay and associated materials must be anonymous, accompanied by confirmation that it is the candidate's own work, and submitted in electronic file format; non-textual and multimedia materials shall not constitute more than fifteen minutes of viewing/reading timeterm.

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• 4. TheCandidates researchwill methodscomplete portfolioa for Paper 3(b) must be deliveredcourse in hardResearch copy not later than noon on the Tuesday of the fifth week of Trinity Term to the Chair of Examiners, M.Sc.Methods in Visual, Material, and Museum Anthropology, c/o(Paper Examination3) Schools,assessed Highby Street,an Oxford.outline Non-printresearch materialsproposal shallfor notthe constitutedissertation of no more than fifteen2,500 minuteswords (Paper 3(a)) and a research methods portfolio (Paper 3(b)), both to be submitted by noon on Thursday of viewing/readingweek time4 of Trinity term. 

• 5. Candidates will take one option paper (Paper 2) from a list of those approved by the School of Anthropology and Museum Ethnography to be published by the end of week 2 of Michaelmas term. The option paper will be assessed by one or more submissions, full details of which are set out in the caseCourse of video or multimedia submissionsHandbook.

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• (iv)6. Candidates will complete a dissertation of no more than 10,000 words, on a subject selected in consultation with the supervisor and approved by the Chair of Examiners. The proposed title of the dissertation together with a paragraph describing its scope and the supervisor's written endorsement, must be submitted to the Chair of Examiners by Tuesday of the fifth week of Trinity Term. Three typewritten copies of the dissertation, together with three copies of any associated non-print materials, must be delivered not later than noon of the last Wednesday in August in the year in which the examination is taken to the Chair of the Examiners, M.Sc. in Visual, Material, and Museum Anthropology, c/o Examination Schools, High Street, Oxford. The dissertation shall be provided with an abstract of up to 250 words, to be placed immediately after the title page. The worddissertation countand shallabstract must be statedsubmitted by noon on the outsidelast frontWednesday coverin ofAugust.
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• 7. All assessments must be submitted using the thesisUniversity approved online submission system. Non-printTechnical materialsinformation shallon notthe constituterequirements morefor thanonline fifteensubmissions minutesis of viewing/reading timeprovided in the caseCourse of video or multimedia submissionsHandbook.

Schedule

Every candidate will be required to satisfy the examiners in four papers as follows, and a dissertation:

• 1. Contemporary themes in Visual, Material, and Museum Anthropology

  Topics central to this paper include: the changing roles and meanings of artefacts over time; the legacies of anthropology's history in the present – with special reference to museums and material culture; issues of representation, politics and power; theoretical and methodological shifts in the analysis of material culture, museums and display; fieldwork, collecting, archival processes and other methodologies central to the production of anthropological knowledge. Case studies may focus on topics such as: visual culture (including photography, the internet, art and aesthetics); music and performance; museum ethics and relationships with 'source communities'; landscape and the built environment; religion, identity, and material culture; dress and body modification; mass production and trade; debates concerning tradition, modernity and authenticity; transnational cultural flows; the wider issues of cross-cultural investigation; phenomenological, semiotic and post-structuralist approaches to visual media and material culture; time, memory and perception; film and photographs as material culture; social uses and local practices of visual media use, including indigenous media and indigenous curation; professional visual media production; visual media and contemporary arts practices; image ethics; digital media practice; audience response and reception theory; art, performance, and display; detailed study of the work of one or more contemporary ethnographic filmmaker, artist, or photographer. [Note: some topics may vary slightly from year to year].

• 2. Option paper

  Candidates must select one option paper from those taught each year for M.Sc. candidates at the Institute of Social and Cultural Anthropology. Titles of options will be made known at the beginning of each academic year and candidates may select their option from any of Lists A, B, or C.

• 3. Research Methods in Visual, and Material Anthropology and Museum Ethnography

  This paper focuses on visual, material, or museum-related anthropological theory and methods. The scope of this paper includes: fieldwork and data collection methods, visual and non-visual, including photo-, object- and film/video-elicitation; qualitative and quantitative techniques; cultural property and indigenous rights; preparing research proposals; museum display and design; ethical problems; curating exhibitions, artefacts and photographs; working with artists, curators, ‘culture brokers’ and ‘source communities’; elementary still photographic, video and digital multimedia production; exhibition design, analysis and presentation techniques.

• 4. Fundamental Concepts in Visual, Material, and Museum Anthropology

  This paper focuses on anthropology’s distinctive contribution to understanding social and cultural form and process, and the role of human creativity within them, with particular reference to artefacts of material and visual culture, and to the collection, display, production, circulation and consumption of such artefacts. Attention will be paid to the subject’s history and its place within broader concerns of politics, colonialism, and culture; issues of power and identity in relation to visual, material and museum anthropology; the formation of museum collections and visual archives; and also to the place of the socio-cultural in constituting such ‘natural’ phenomena as ecology, landscape, and population. The scope of this paper includes the following topics: the history and development of anthropological photography and object analysis, of documentary and ethnographic film, and of visual display in and beyond museums; an introduction to film and photographic theory, to material culture theory and to anthropological theories of representation, exchange and consumption; the Colonial archive and Colonial documentary practices; the ethnography of film, photography and other visual representational practices.