Posting a CfP: AAA panel - Visual/Ling Anth analysis of audio-visual techniques in ethnographic films of ritual/religion

[Kephart, Ronald]

Forwarding a CFP:


From: <REYNOLDS>, JENNIFER <JREYNOLD at mailbox.sc.edu<mailto:JREYNOLD at mailbox.sc.edu>>
Date: Wednesday, April 2, 2014 8:11 AM
To: "LINGANTH-request at LISTSERV.LINGUISTLIST.ORG<mailto:LINGANTH-request at LISTSERV.LINGUISTLIST.ORG>" <LINGANTH-request at LISTSERV.LINGUISTLIST.ORG<mailto:LINGANTH-request at LISTSERV.LINGUISTLIST.ORG>>
Subject: Posting a CfP: AAA panel - Visual/Ling Anth analysis of audio-visual techniques in ethnographic films of ritual/religion

I need to post a CfP on the LINGANTH.  How do I go about doing it?

Below is the call.

Call for Papers
AAA, Washington DC, December 3–7, 2014

Viewing Rituals through Film:
Studying Body Techniques as Symbolic Action and Visual Culture

Starting with the formation of the anthropological category of ritual and the first uses of film in early anthropological expeditions, the study of ritual through film is integral for the formation of visual anthropology and anthropology of religion alike. Since the invention of filmic devices, the focus on observational technologies in studying religious practice became common. This is also the case for the conditions of visual culture and film technologies, including sound production and treatment of voice, related to concept formation of ritual, is documented as a body technique and studied as symbolic action. Scholars of anthropology and religion started documenting the performance of rituals and social actions through technologies of audio-visual reproduction. As an outcome, visual ethnography emerged as a new field of research in particular with regard to the study of ritual. This relationship between film and ritual has previously been addressed numerous times, but previous approaches to ritual theory and visual anthropology often fail to determine the ways in which the practice of filming rituals shapes the representation and perception of religion as visual culture, or to be more precise in how the technologies of filming and sound recording not only produce new knowledge, but also shape the formation of anthropological categories.
In lieu with this year’s theme of the AAA meeting, Producing Anthropology, whereby the focus is placed upon the inquiry into theoretical and methodological assumptions that lead to the production of anthropological knowledge, this panel reflects upon the formation of paradigms in audio-visualizing culture in the anthropological study of religion. The goal is to address questions that probe how far practices of audio-visual data-collection, and the ideologies of communication that inform them, are tied into the concept formation of anthropological approaches to religion. It will also determine how far the delineation of ‘ritual,’ as a field of study, is tied into the emergence of visual culture. The panel therefore intends to raise questions regarding the theoretical and methodological problems in addressing some of the major historical, theoretical, and methodological shifts that led to the visualization of culture through the use of filmic ethnography. This will include the study of religion and ritual. Based on the analysis of visual and filmic evidence, the purpose of this panel is to propose further theoretical and methodological questions about the use of filmic devices in the studies of ritual as body technique and symbolic action. The aim is to bring together scholars studying religious language and visual culture to engage in interdisciplinary conversation and to discuss the theoretical and methodological implications of studying rituals and other forms of symbolic interaction through technologies of filming and audio and video recording.
Please send abstracts of 250 words and a one-page CV to Jens Kreinath (Jens.Kreinath at wichita.edu<mailto:Jens.Kreinath at wichita.edu>) and Jennifer Reynolds (jreynold at mailbox.sc.edu<mailto:jreynold at mailbox.sc.edu>) by April 9, 2014.


Jennifer F. Reynolds
Associate Professor
Department of Anthropology & Linguistics Program
University of South Carolina
(803) 777-2392