MA Program- Visual Anthropology Emphasis
Visual Anthropology has a long history at San Francisco State, with founders John Collier and John Adair having been involved in the founding of the Anthropology Department. The program is now directed by filmmaker/multimedia producer Peter Biella, once a student of John Collier's. A digital video produced in a year- long seminar constitutes the MA Thesis/Creative work. Other coursework in Visual includes theories of visual ideology, culture jam techniques, applied visual anthropology, and community action research. Student applicants need no previous video experience, but are accepted on the basis of portfolios that demonstrate commitment, artistry and theoretical intensity.
The Department offers two courses which allow viewing of many ethnographic films (Anth 327 and Anth 420). In addition, graduate students are required to complete a year-long production course (Anth 595 and Anth 596) in which a collaborative, applied ethnographic film is produced in conjunction with community groups. MA students use the resulting film as their Culminating Experience (Anth 894 - Creative Work Project).
Students have access to a dedicated computer laboratory with 18 Macs loaded with Final Cut Pro 6. Students also have access to Sony PD100 and PD170 cameras. Each kit has Sennheiser mikes, booms, etc. We also have two small generic Stedicams.
The Treganza Museum Mural by Eduardo Pineda
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