This class examines sensory perception—hearing, smell, sight, taste, and touch—as a mode of ethnographic inquiry as well as an object of cultural analysis. The class begins with an investigation of vision in the history of Western philosophical traditions and proceeds to examine the legacy of a hierarchy of the senses in the study of diverse cultures and everyday knowledge practices. By analyzing the historical, cultural, and political valences behind sensory experience, the class will rethink classical modes of participant-observation outside of a visualist paradigm, as well as engage in ongoing anthropological debates about the senses as an area of shared, cultural knowledge. We will explore multimedia, experimental forms of representation and consider how anthropological investigations of the senses may be re-configured through genres such as graphic novels, podcasts, food blogs, video games, and other hybrid forms. As this course will be taught online, students will reflect on the sensorial experience of remote learning, investigate ways to conduct digital ethnography, and formulate research methods that reframe sensory studies in a time of social-distancing.

Intended Audience:

This course is open to advanced undergraduates and graduate students.

Class Format:

As a DC (Distance due to COVID) course, all aspects of this course will be fully compatible with remote online learning. The course will be conducted synchronously during the scheduled class time in the form of seminar discussions. Assessments include group-based projects (conducted online), individual projects, and written assignments.