Seeing comes before words, but words quickly exert their dominance, reducing the visible to a subset of the written. This is as true in anthropology as in most other academic disciplines, in which the visual is made significant insofar as it is transmitted in print. This course examines the potential of images (particularly when presented in the form of photographs, video and film) for revealing aspects of culture normally obscured by the written word and for transmitting different, sometimes undervalued insights and knowledge of the social world. In the course of the semester, we will examine some of the ways in which filmmakers have approached the task of documenting and understanding our own society and those of other peoples. In addition, we will compare print and film representations of the same society to gauge what is lost and gained through the use of different media, and we will evaluate the success of various experiments using visual tools to represent cultural phenomena. In the course of the semester, we will also consider differences between mainstream, independent, academic, and indigenous documentary filmmakers. Format: seminar. Requirements: class participation, midterm, final, and independent project. Prerequisite: Anthropology or Sociology 101 or other department course. Enrollment limit: 20 (expected: 20).