Veidlapa Nr. M-3 (8)
Study Course Description
Anthropology of Communication Practices
Course Code
KF_022
Branch of Science
Library Science; Media and communications
ECTS
3.00
Target Audience
Communication Science
LQF
Level 8
Study Type And Form
Full-Time
Study Course Implementer
Course Supervisor
Agita Lūse
Structure Unit Manager
Ieva Puzo
Structural Unit
Faculty of Social Sciences
Contacts
Dzirciema street 16, Rīga, szf@rsu.lv
About Study Course
Objective
To improve students’ knowledge of the main directions of social anthropological research in the last decades on communication practices and media industry, theoretical perspectives and research methods used in research, on observed changes in media usage and communication methods, styles, amplitude in different regions of the world, different socio-economic, professional, ethnic, religious groups.
Preliminary Knowledge
Theories of Communication and Culture.
Learning Outcomes
Knowledge
1.By completing the study course, the students will have gained knowledge of the main directions of social anthropological research in the last decades on communication practices and media industry, theoretical perspectives and research methods used in research, on observed changes in media usage and communication methods, styles, amplitude in different regions of the world, different socio-economic, professional, ethnic, religious groups. Knowledge will be assessed on the basis of how good is the student’s knowledge about the ethnography discussed in the lectures and with the basic concepts of communication anthropology.
Skills
1.By completing the study course, the students should be able to justify the advantages and disadvantages of a social anthropological approach to communication research, be able to critically evaluate the methodology of research conducted within such an approach and develop their reasoning about the dependence of communication practices on cultural, social, political, technological, etc., context.
Competences
1.Ability to use theoretical views and examples of argumentation presented in the texts studied during the course to form judgments about communication practices observed in their professional activities.
Assessment
Individual work
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Title
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% from total grade
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Grade
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1.
Individual work |
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At the end of the course, an essay must be prepared – a draft of one subsection of one’s doctoral thesis. (This could be a subsection for either the methodology section of the doctoral thesis or one of the theoretical sections). This text should address some of the theory and/or concept put forward in media anthropology, digital anthropology, or communication ethnography, and examples of how this theory or concepts are used in the studied literature to analyse specific communication practices. This text should result in specific conclusions on how/whether the theoretical and methodological approaches developed in media anthropology that have been learned in this course can provide new insights into one’s researched subject matter. Volume of this written work: 15,000 – 18,000 characters (with spaces).
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Examination
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Title
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% from total grade
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Grade
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1.
Examination |
-
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-
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2.
Examination |
-
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-
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In order to receive an assessment for the study course, each doctoral student enrolled in it must:
1) attend at least two seminar sessions with a report that has been prepared in advance – a critical reflection on two sources of literature on the topic of the seminar;
2) prepare a 10-minute presentation for the last class of this course on the planning and main contents of the proposed independent work.
The knowledge and skills of doctoral students will be assessed on the basis of how the doctoral students orientate themselves in the theoretical and methodological approaches learned during the course, how well they substantiate their point of view using the ethnographic and sociological data found in the course literature, as well as how skilfully they use the theoretical frameworks and concepts learned during the course, critically analysing relevant empirical issues in their doctoral thesis.
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Study Course Theme Plan
FULL-TIME
Part 1
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Lecture
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Modality
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Location
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Contact hours
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On site
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Auditorium
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2
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Topics
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Points of intersection between communication studies and anthropology.
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Lecture
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Modality
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Location
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Contact hours
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On site
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Auditorium
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2
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Topics
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Verbal and non-verbal, direct and indirect communication.
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Class/Seminar
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Modality
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Location
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Contact hours
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On site
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Auditorium
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2
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Topics
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Ethnography of mass media (TV, radio, web portals, press) and audiences.
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Lecture
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Modality
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Location
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Contact hours
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On site
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Auditorium
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2
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Topics
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Knowledge, communication and power.
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Class/Seminar
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Modality
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Location
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Contact hours
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On site
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Computer room
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2
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Topics
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Ethnography of users of communication technologies (mobile phones, computer networks).
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Lecture
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Modality
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Location
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Contact hours
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On site
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Auditorium
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2
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Topics
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Ritual communication. Use of the arts for communication purposes.
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Class/Seminar
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Modality
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Location
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Contact hours
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On site
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Auditorium
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2
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Topics
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Ethnography of the gaming industry and virtual worlds. The construction and spread of myths today.
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Class/Seminar
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Modality
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Location
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Contact hours
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On site
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Auditorium
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2
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Topics
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Social networks and virtual versions thereof (Facebook, Youtube, draugiem.lv etc.) from anthropological perspective.
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Total ECTS (Creditpoints):
3.00
Contact hours:
16 Academic Hours
Final Examination:
Exam
Bibliography
Required Reading
1.
Andersson, Kerstin B (2019) ‘Digital diasporas: An overview of the research areas of migration and new media through a narrative literature review’, Human Technology, 15(2), pp. 142–180. doi: 10.17011/ht/urn.201906123154.
2.
Aneesh, A (Aneesh), Hall, Lane and Petro, Patrice (2012) Beyond globalization : making new worlds in media, art, and social practices. Rutgers University Press.
3.
Barton, D. and U. Papen (2010). The anthropology of writing. Understanding textually-mediated worlds. New York, NY: Continuum International Pub. Group.
4.
Bloch, M. (1974). Symbols, Song, Dance and Features of Articulation Is religion an extreme form of traditional authority? European Journal of Sociology, 15(1), 54-81.
5.
Boellstorff, Tom. 2012. Ethnography and virtual worlds : a handbook of method. Princeton: Princeton University Press. Chapter 1, Pp.1-12.
6.
Boyer, D. (2011) News Agency and news mediation. Social Anthropology, 19, 6-22.
7.
Caliandro, Alessandro. 2014. "Ethnography in Digital Spaces: Ethnography of Virtual Worlds, Netnography, and Digital Ethnography". No red. Rita Denny un Patricia Sunderland Handbook of Anthropology in Business, 738–61. Walnut Creek: Left Coast Press
8.
Chee, Florence M. 2015. "Online Games and Digital Ethnography". No The International Encyclopedia of Digital Communication and Society, 1–6. Hoboken, NJ, USA: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. doi:10.1002/9781118767771.wbiedcs086.
9.
Cui, Xi (2019) ‘Mediatized Rituals: Understanding the Media in the Age of Deep Mediatization’, International Journal of Communication. University of Southern California’s Annenberg Center for Communication, 13(0), pp. 4155–4168.
10.
Donkin, Ashley; Donell Holloway un Lelia Green. 2015. "Towards an online ethnography of children’s virtual worlds: A review of current literature and research methods". ECU Publications Post 2013 (1. janvārī): 1–15.
11.
Duclos, Vincent. 2017. "Inhabiting Media: An Anthropology of Life in Digital Speed". Cultural Anthropology 32 (1) (27. februārī): 21–27. doi:10.14506/ca32.1.03.
12.
Duranti, Alessandro. 2018. "Linguistic anthropology: the study of language as a non-neutral medium". No red. Rajend Mesthrie The Cambridge Handbook of Sociolinguistics, 28–46. Cambridge: CAMBRIDGE UNIV PRESS.
13.
Eckert, Penelope and McConnell-Ginet, Sally (2013) Language and gender. Cambridge, New York.
14.
Ginsburg, F., Abu-Lughod, L., & Larkin, B., Eds. (2002). Media worlds: Anthropology on new terrain. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.
15.
Goody, J. (2000) Power of written tradition: Smithsonian Institution Press.
16.
Hendry, J. and Watson, C.W. (2001) An Anthropology of Indirect Communication ASA Monographs 37, London, New York: Routledge.
17.
Horst, H. A, and D. Miller. (2006) The cell phone: an anthropology of communication. Oxford; New York: Berg.
18.
Horst, Heather A. un Daniel Miller. 2012. Digital anthropology. London, Oxford, New York: Berg.
19.
Jackson, J. (2008) Anthropology and Communication. Journal of Communication, 58, 664–678
20.
Katz, J. A, and M. Aakhus (2002) Perpetual contact: mobile communications, private talk, public performance. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
21.
Knoblauch, H., Jacobs, M. and Tuman, R. (2014) Culture, communication, and creativity: Reframing the Relations of Media, Knowledge, and Innovation in Society. Frankfurt am Main, Berlin, Bern, Bruxelles, New York, Oxford, Wien: Peter Lang.
22.
Leach, E. (1976) Culture and communication. The logic by which symbols are connected. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
23.
Miconi, Andrea and Serra, Marcello (2019) ‘On the Concept of Medium: An Empirical Study’, International Journal of Communication; Vol 13 (2019).
24.
Miller, Daniel; Elisabetta; Costa; Nell; Haynes; Tom; McDonald; Razvan; Nicolescu; Jolynna; Sinanan; Juliano; Spyer; Shriram; Venkatraman un Xinyuan Wang. 2016. How the world changed social media. London: UCL Press. Chapters 1-4, Pp. 1-41.
25.
Moeran, B. (2006) More Than Just a Fashion Magazine. Current Sociology, 54, 725–744.
26.
Peterson, Mark Allan (2004) Anthropology and Mass Communication : Media and Myth in the New Millennium. Berghahn Books.
27.
Postil, John (2017) ‘The Diachronic Ethnography of Media: From Social Changing to Actual Social Changes’, Moment Journal, 4(1), pp. 19–43.
28.
Roudakova, N. (2008) Media-political clientelism: lessons from anthropology. Media, Culture, Society, 30, 41-59.
29.
Rudick, C Kyle and McGeough, Danielle Dick (2019) ‘Toward a Performative Understanding of Politeness’, International Journal of Communication; Vol 13 (2019)
30.
Saville-Troike, Muriel (2003) The ethnography of communication : an introduction. 3rd edn. Malden, MA and Oxford, Melburn, Berlin: Blackwell Publishing Ltd.
31.
Sedlenieks, K., Blauzde, L., Imša, K., Kursīte, E., Miķelsone, M., Prombergs, M. et al. (2014) Tālruņa sociālā dzīve, Rīga: Rīgas Stradiņa universitāte.
32.
Stanlaw, James, Salzmann, Zdeněk and Adachi, Nobuko (2018) Language, culture, and society : an introduction to linguistic anthropology. Routledge.
33.
Tannen, Deborah. 1990. You just don’t understand : women and men in conversation. Morrow.
34.
Thomas, Tanja, Kruse, Merle-Marie and Stehling, Miriam (2019) Media and participation in post-migrant societies. Rowman & Littlefield.
35.
Varis, Piia. 2016. "Digital ethnography". No red. Alexandra Georgakopoulou un Tereza Spilioti The Routledge handbook of language and digital communication, 55–68. London and New York: Routledge.
36.
Whitehead, Neil L and Wesch, Michael (2012) Human No More. Digital Subjectivities, Unhuman Subjects, and the End of Anthropology. Louisville: University Press of Colorado
37.
Witteborn, Saskia; Trudy Milburn un Evelyn Y. Ho. 2013. "The Ethnography of Communication as Applied Methodology: Insights from Three Case Studies". Journal of Applied Communication Research 41 (2): 188–194.
Additional Reading
1.
Andersson, Kerstin B (2019) ‘Digital diasporas: An overview of the research areas of migration and new media through a narrative literature review’, Human Technology, 15(2), pp. 142–180. doi: 10.17011/ht/urn.201906123154.
2.
Archambault, J. S. (2012). ''Travelling while Sitting Down': Mobile Phones, Mobility and the Communication Landscape in Inhambane, Mozambique.' Africa: Journal of the International African Institute 82(3):393-412.
3.
Arno, A. (2009) Alarming reports: communicating conflict in the daily news. New York: Berghahn Books.
4.
Bergvall, Victoria L (Victoria Lee), Bing, Janet Mueller and Freed, Alice F (1996) Rethinking language and gender research : theory and practice. Longman.
5.
Bräuchler, B, and J. Postill. (2010) Theorising media and practice. New York: Berghahn Books.
6.
Degarrod, Lydia N. 2013. "Making the unfamiliar personal: arts-based ethnographies as public-engaged ethnographies". Red. Phillip Vannini un Heather Mosher Qualitative Research 13 (4) (16. augustā): 402–413. doi:10.1177/1468794113483302.
7.
De Gournay, Chantal. 2002. 'Pretense of Intimacy in France.' In Perpetual contact : mobile communications, private talk, public performanceedited by James E. Katz and Mark Aakhus, 193-206. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
8.
Gershon, Ilana. 2010. The breakup 2.0 : disconnecting over new media. Cornell University Press. Chapter 3. Remediation and Heartache. Pp.91-121.
9.
Hahn, Hans Peter, and Ludovic Kibora. 2008. 'The Domestication of the Mobile Phone: Oral Society and New ICT in Burkina Faso.' The Journal of Modern African Studies 46(1):87-109.
10.
Jankovskis, Ģirts and Jankovska, Maija (2016) Being There and Together. Media Habits of Teens in Latvia. Rīga: Creative Media Baltic.
11.
Johnson, M. C. (2013) 'Culture's Calling: Mobile Phones, Gender, and the Making of an African Migrant Village in Lisbon.' Anthropological Quarterly 86(1):163-190.
12.
Miller, Daniel un Jolynna Sinanan. 2017. Visualising Facebook : a comparative perspective. London: UCL Press.
13.
Morley, David. 1992. Television, Audiences, and Cultural Studies, 1992 London and New York: Routledge.
14.
Ojha, Ajay K. un Tammy L. Holmes. 2010. "Don’t Tease Me, I’m Working: Examining Humor in a Midwestern Organization Using Ethnography of Communication". Qualitative Report 15 (2): 279–300.
15.
Oosterbaan, M. (2009) Sonic Supremacy : Sound, Space and Charisma in a Favela in Rio de Janeiro. Critique of Anthropology, 29, 81–104.
16.
Rothenbuhler, E.W. and Coman, M. (2005) Media anthropology. London: Sage.
17.
Siegenthaler, Fiona. 2013. "Towards an ethnographic turn in contemporary art scholarship Introduction: New art practices necessitate new methods". : Critical Arts: South-North Cultural and Media Studies 27 (6): 737–752. doi:10.1080/02560046.2013.8675
18.
Spitulnik, D. (1993) Anthropology and Mass Media. Annu. Rev. Anthropol., 22, 293-315.
19.
Spitulnik, D. (1996) The Social Circulation of Media Discourse and the Mediation of Communities. Journal of Linguistic Anthropology, 6, 1610187.
20.
Turner, Fred. 2009. "Burning Man at Google: a cultural infrastructure for new media production". New Media & Society11 (1–2) (1. februārī): 73–94. doi:10.1177/1461444808099575.