brochure ma web200911

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Information Brochure

M.A. ProgramVisual and Media Anthropology

Department of Political and Social Sciences

Institute of Social and Cultural Anthropology

Head of the Program: Prof. Dr. Undine Frmming E-mail: [email protected] coordinator: Tobias Becker M.A - Teaching Coordinator: M.A. Florian Walter.Artistic Supervisor: M.A. Kristian Petersen - Program/admission information requests:

www.master.fu-berlin.de/visual-anthropology/ - E-mail: [email protected]


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Content

1 Editorial........................................................................................................................3

2 FactsabouttheProgram..............................................................................................5 2.1 StudentsandAlumnis............................................................................................................................................5Nationalities............................................................................................................................................................................5 ExampleCVsofsomeofourstudents...........................................................................................................................6

2.2 TechnicalFacilities..................................................................................................................................................7EditingWorkStations,CamerasandSoundSystems.......... .......... .......... ......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ...7

2.3 Nationalandinternationalcooperations.....................................................................................................8

3

Overview:ProgramStructure.......................................................................................9

4 E-learning-andsocialnetworktools...........................................................................10

5 ExampleOnline-courses.............................................................................................11 5.1 ExampleOnlinecourseProfileModule2B:SocialAnthropologyinvirtualWorlds...............11 5.2 ExampleOnlinecourseProfileModuleC2:AfricaOnline...................................................................14 5.3 ExampleOnline-Course:BasicModule1bClassicsandVarietiesofEthnographicFilm......16 5.4 ExampleOnline-course:ProfileModuleB2IndigenousMedia........................................................19

6 Virtual3D-classrooms.................................................................................................216.1 SpecialActivitiesin3Denvironments.........................................................................................................23

7 ResearchActivities.....................................................................................................23 7.1 StepsforacontinuousimprovementofourE-learningtools...........................................................23 7.2 PapersandConferenceParticipations(selection).................................................................................24 7.3 ResearchandPhDProjects......................................................... .................................................................. ....24ThirdPartyResearchproject.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ......24ExamplesforrunningPhD-Projects.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ...25


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1 Editorial

During the Bologna process in the years 2006-2008, the idea was born to create this new M.A. Pro-gram in Visual and Media Anthropology. The institute had to restructure the old Magister Program,Ethnologie, into B.A. and M.A. Programs. This lead to the creation of the M.A. in Visual and MediaAnthropology. the B.A. Sozial- und Kulturanthropologie (inception 2005), and the M.A. Sozial- undKulturanthroplogie (inception 2008).

The Program in Visual and Media Anthropology, as a sub-

field of Social and Cultural Anthropology, should be evenmore radical in its renewal than our new B.A. and M.A. pro-grams in Social and Cultural Anthropology. We had the vi-sion to build up a program that should bring visual and me-dia anthropological knowledge to people who have alreadysettled, and are future leaders, in the film industry or gov-

ernmental and non governmental organizations, as well as

to the current and future leading voices of the museums, newmedia and art production industries. The continuous highnumber of applications since the inception of the program inthe year 2008, demonstrates that there is a strong interest inour program, which is unique in Germany. None of the existing programs worldwide (e.g. University of

London, University of Manchester, University of Barcelona; University of Troms; University of South-ern California; University of Kent) offer a M.A. program in Visual and Media Anthropology as an onlineprogram with 3D classrooms in combination with in-house courses. Our lectures are visual and mediaanthropologists from different universities worldwide (see international cooperations).

The aim of the program is to overcome the Eurocentric, non-scientifically grounded, audio-visual doc-umentations about non-European countries that often give the local or indigenous communities of

least, or better to say alternatively developed countries, no voice and ignore other important ethicalguidelines in documenting and interpreting cultures. Furthermore the role of new media, especially

social networks in political processes, resistance, transnational migration and community building isone important research area of Media Anthropology.

Another idea of the program is to widen the traditional concept of ethnographic audiovisual research interms of integrating ideas of sensual, artistic and fictional ethnographic film/photography-making and

herewith cross the boundaries from a mere distant scientific interpretation of cultures to a participationin trans-regional cultural processes.

According to the Bologna declaration, the program should fulfill the following criteria:

1. International Program: students from all over the world and media professionals or profes-sionals engaged in the development cooperation sector (with a first degree (BA) in Social and

Cultural Anthropology and related subjects such as Philosophy, Sociology, Human Geogra-phy, Mass Communication studies etc.) have the opportunity to apply for this program, there-fore all courses are taught in English.

2. The Program is open for professionals in sectors that are relevant for Visual and Media An-thropology:

Professionals from governmental and non-governmental organizations in the sector of sus-tainable development and capacity building in least or alternatively developed countries.

People employed in the media / documentary film industry (e.g. journalist) or independent pro-fessional photographers engaged in documentary photography.

People engaged in the museum landscape and art industry (curators, artists).

Mostofthein-housecoursestakeplace

atthenewconferencecentreofFreie

UniversittBerlinTheDahlemCube


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3. Flexible Program: The use of e-learning tools in combination with in-house courses inworkshop /block-style with a duration of two to three weeks, twice a year, enables studentsand lecturers to study this program flexibly, in the sense of being able to participate in theweekly courses from all over the world with abilities such as:

Staying in the home to take care of their children and families (opportunities for singlemothers or fathers)

Staying in different countries (idea of the global /transnational citizenship as a oppor-tunity for professionals with a global job description such as international governmen-

tal and non-governmental organizations).

Being on long-term ethnographic fieldwork (opportunity for students interested in aprofessional carrier as Anthropologists)

4. Real-time-Online-Meetings: The difficult question was: how can our lecturers, besides our ownstaff, coming from different international universities, be in more personal contact with the stu-dents during the online-courses other than only in terms of a written communication (Black-

board Discussion board, E-mail), and how can the students tie their social network with each

other and feel comfortable in our academic community without being present the whole time.The solution for this question leads us to establish the following steps: 1) 3D-virtual classroomlectures and courses with avatars and voice chat; 2) Virtual 3D office hours of lecturers withavatars and voice-chat; 3) Virtual real time 3D-Film screenings; 4) Social Network tools: news-letter, Facebook group, student Blog; 4) Skype video call meetings.

5. Multimedia Content Management System (CMS)-Online Modules: The idea was to present thewhole content of the online courses in attractive multimedia online-modules in the form of acombination of the course in weekly units, that with content in form of text, film and picture,supplemented with mandatory and recommended readings, questions and assignments. Eachcourse is written / designed by the lecturer who teaches the course as well. The courses areonly to a small part self-learning courses and are accompanied by weekly online meetings

with the lecturer, similar to the traditional in-house courses where students give weeklypresentations in the virtual classroom and discuss themandatory readings with the lecturer and fellow students.

We offer two forms of Online courses: 1.) Synchronal real-time courses in the 3D classroom with avatars and voicechat and 2.) asynchronal non-real-time courses (the course

discussion takes place via LMS Blackboard), which allow awider flexibility for students and lecturers by offering partici-pation in the discussions at any time with their posts. Fur-thermore, mini online units that offer a reading, in form of

pfd. downloads, on the most important course content,questions and assignments, accompany each in-house

course. In March 2012 we start the fifth application processand again about 20 students will be matriculated to start theMasters Program in Visual and Media Anthropology in Octo-ber 2012.

Prof.Dr.UndineFrmming-Junior

Professor,HeadoftheM.A.Program

VisualandMediaAnthropology


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2 Facts about the Program

The Institute of Social and Cultural Anthropology (Department of Political and Social Sciences) at theFreie Universitt Berlin is offering an innovative new Master's (M.A.) program in Visual and MediaAnthropology. The two-year-full-time Master's program comprises 120 ECTS. We offer 25 places eachyear. The M.A. program is a blended learning Program (a combination of e-learning and in-house-classes). Our E-learning philosophy is a mixture of different web based learning tools: 1) LMS Black-board 2) CMS-Online modules with multimedia content 3) Avatar based 3D-virtual classrooms with

multi-learner scenarios, notably simulation of ethnographic field work in 3D environments.

The program is a combination of E-learning and in-house learning with five main units:1. The distance-e-learning modules2. Four in-house workshops (lasting from two to three weeks long)3. An internship in a TV production company, film festival, Ethnological Museum, film archive or otherrelated fields4. A short film or media project5. The Master's thesis and/ or the film/media project

This two-year-full-time Master's program comprises 120 ECTS and is educating both researchers witha background in anthropology and media professionals. The Master's Program focuses on the rela-tionships between culture and media in a number of areas, such as: virtual cultures; problems in rep-resentation of culture and gender through media, the significance of ethnographic films and photog-raphy for Social and Cultural Anthropology, the development of media in Indigenous, Diaspora, andnon-Western communities. The language of instruction is English. The program is highly international.For our real-time online-classes (via avatars and voice-chat) with students coming from countries allover the world we use a world-clock meeting planner.

Tuition Fees

The tuition fees are 4,450 per year of study (2,225 per Semester). In addition, there are the uni-versitys regular registration fee of approximately 88,18 Euro per semester and 158,50 Euro Semes-terticket (allows to use one year the whole Berlin railway / U-Bahn-System). Please note that the addi-tional university registration/semester fees may change slightly. Students must assume additional

(travel, room) costs arising from the in-house and fieldwork periods. In the cases of financial need andin particular social circumstances of the applicant, the fee may be reduced upon written request. Thisshall be decided by the Selection Committee (see 2 (3), tuition statue).

2.1 Students and Alumnis

Nationalities

Angola, Australia, Bangladesh, Brazil (2), Bulga-ria, Colombia, China, Denmark, United Kingdom

(2), Estonia, Finnland, Germany (10), Greece (2),Hungaria, Iran (2), Italy (2), Latvia, Malawi, Nepal,Netherlands (2), Panama, Pakistan, Poland, SouthAfrica, Switzerland (2), Thailand, USA (2), Viet-nam.

InstituteofSocialandCulturalAnthropology,Freie

UniversittBerlin


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Example CVs of some of our students

Farhana v. Mitzlaff

Nationality: Bangladeshi

I studied Mass Communication and Journalism in Bangladesh. Being

interested in photography and social issues, I worked for a news agencyand reported on sensitive issues including those of tribal communities.Later I had the opportunity to work on issues to improve the situation ofindustrial workers in the clothing sector. Few years back I moved toGermany adding my experience with a television project and workingwith an Internet Radio.

Socio-cultural differences, I regard as opportunities althoughrealizing that often this is the beginning of non-understanding andhostility. Talking about ethnic minorities can easily happens in a contextof vulnerability and being bias whereby it may be worth to examine theimpact of non-representative media.Indigenous knowledge is often not visualized and is not acknowledged

with its alternative concepts of human coexisting with global sustainabil-ity. Those and other questions brought me to this study at the FUBerlin and I look forward to experiment in the fieldwork.

Nora Mertens

Having a BA degree in Cultural Studies (social studies, literature and languages such as English,

French and Russian), Im currently doing my MA is Visual and Media Anthropology at FU Berlin. I pre-viously worked in the music business -both on the side of a record label and as a band-/tour managerfor an international music band.Since childhood I have been fascinated by people's differing realities, values, ideas and stories, whiletrying to find my individual 'truth'. Realizing that I was already doing 'ethnographic fieldwork' in my daily

life by visually documenting and observing (video andphotography) my own experiences and surroundings,combined with an artistic/aesthetic approach and a greatinterest in 'others' and traveling, it came natural to me topursue a degree in Visual and Media Anthropology,where I'm improving my technical and academic skillsand am enjoying to meet and be inspired by similarminded people.

I'm intending to apply my skills and knowledge in an aes-thetic and respectful approach, looking to be involved inprojects that help promote understanding and tolerancewith all kinds of forms of expression, people and back-grounds, without being too sophisticated and while beingtrue to my own values.


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Lefteris Fylaktos

Eleftherios FylaktosBorn in Thessaloniki, Greece in 1973.Studied Communication Arts in the United States from 1991 to 1995.Have been working as a TV director for ERT (Greek Radio Television)from 1997 to date.Have directed documentaries, corporate videos, etc. for television, private,public and international institutions.At the moment living in Berlin, Germany, in pursuit of a Master of Arts inVisual and Media Anthropology in Freie Universitt Berlin.Homepage: http://web.me.com/lefterisfylaktos

Thomas John

Born 1984 in Germany, currently living in several places,predominantly in Granada, Spain.

After doing a year alternative civilian service and trekking andtraveling for a year in India and Nepal, I did from 2006-2010 a B.A.in Cultural- and Social Anthropology and a B.A. in ComparativeReligious Science in Mnster, Germany. In 2010 I started with theVisual and Media Anthropology M.A. at FU Berlin. Within under-graduate studies I got in touch with anthropological film, went toethnographic film festivals, did two visual anthropology classesand resulting from those a few documentary films and participationin an ethnological intercultural youth-film project. The combinationto do science and being in the same time creative in an audio-visual way turned out to be something I like and enthuse over. I

tasted blood and decided therefore to follow this path by doing the M.A. of Visual and Media Anthro-pology. Besides other reasons for developing skills in this field, I really appreciate the possibility tocombine anthropological research and knowledge with the creation of very visible outcomes as repre-sentation, to have a practical emphasis through combining anthropology with creativity and audio-visual art. I`m looking forward to make something out of it!

2.2 Technical Facilities

Editing Work Stations, Cameras and Sound Systems

The M.A. Program purchased together with the institute of Communication Studies and the Depart-ment of Political and Social Sciences two new Avid-Editing Work stations and two Final Cut-EditingWork stations. The M.A. Program furthermore purchased for the in-house courses (camera and edit-ing) several new HD-Sony cameras (Sony VX 2100; HVR-A1), Sennheiser wireless sound systems

(SK 100 G2) and Tascams (DR 100) and uses several cameras (Sony VX 1000) and other cameraequipment (statives, light, sound) of the department.


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2.3 National and international cooperations

Universities and international lecturer

Loughborough University, UK, Department of Social Sciences, Sociology, Prof. Dr. Sarah Pink University of Troms, Norway, Department of Cultural Sciences, Dr. Rosella Ragazzi, Associate

Professor

Centre for Transcultural Research and Media Practice, Dublin Institute of Technology (Marc Cur-ran)

Goldsmiths, University of London Department of Anthropology, Dr. Christopher Wright, AssistantProfessor

Australian National University, Department of Anthropology, Dr. Gary Kildea, Prof. Dr. Peter Craw-

ford

CIESAS Sureste in San Cristbal de las Casas, Mexiko Social Anthropological Research Centre(Jose Luis Escalona, Director)

Photography programme at Institute of Art, Design and Technology, Dun Laoghaire, Dublin (MarcCurran)

Zentrum Moderner Orient (ZMO) (Dr. Samuli Schielke)

The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Department of Linguistics, cooperation on EduNa-tion Island (Dr. Randall Sadler)

Freie Universitt Berlin: Department of Media and Communication Science (Prof. Dr. JulianaRaupp, Margret Lnenborg); Seminar for Film Science, Department of Theatre Studies (Prof. Dr.Gertrud Koch)


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3 Overview: Program Structure

Basic Module 1: Visual Anthropology(1. Semester, 15 credits)

1a) Introduction to Visual Anthropologyin-house course + mini-online-unit

1b Classics and Varieties of Ethnograph-ic Film(online course)

1d) Reading and editing moving images(Digital Editing workshop, in-house-course)

1c) Producing and reading moving im-ages (camera workshop, in-house)

Basic Module 2: Media Anthropology (1. Semester, 15 credits)

2a)Introduction to Media Anthro-pology (in-house-course + mini-online-unit)

Profile Modules (2. Semester, 15 credits, choose two Profile Modules)

Profile Module A: Basics and Varieties of Ethnographic Film Production

Profile Module B: Communication/Mediascapes (15 credits)

Profile Module C: Applied Visual and Media Anthropology (15 credits)

A1 Ethnographic ShortFilm Workshop I(in-house-course)

A2 Ethnographic ShortFilm Workshop II(in-house-course)

A3 Poetic Framing(online Course, with in-house supervison)

B1 Montage and the reflex-

ive application of the pho-tograph(in-house course)B3 Experimental Film

(in-house course +mini-online-unit)

B2 Indigenous

Media(online-course)

Social Anthropology in Virtual Worlds(online-course)

C2 Africa Online(online-course)

C3 Applied VisualAnthropology(online-course)

C1 Photography and An-thropology(in-house course+ mini-online-unit)

Project Modules 3. Semester, 30 creditsProject Module 2: Film/Media ProjectProject Module 1 Internship

P1a Internship (9 weeks - 15 credits)

P1b Professional Perspectives (online)

P2a Haptic Cinema(Super 8 work-shop)

P2b Exploring boundaries(in-house)

Supervision Courses (Collouium) 4. Semester, 15 credits (choose on)

Master Thesis / Film/Media Project 4. Semester, 30 credits

I Visualizing EnvironmentalAnthro olo

II) Visual Anthropology ofChildhood and Mi ration

III Beyond overser-vation

V The Ambiguity of PhotographyIV Picturing Intangible Cultural Heritage


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4 E-learning- and social network tools

M.A. ProgrammVisual and Media

Anthropology

Multimedia CMS-Online-Modules Blackboard (Discussion-Board,Chatroom)

Social Network ToolsCommunication Tools

StudentBlog

NewsletterWebsite NewsE-mail

Virtual office cinema - 3D-classrooms

Join us onVideo Calls


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5 Example Online-courses

See below three examples of CMS-Online-Courses of the M.A. Program in Visual and Media Anthro-pology. The aim of the courses is to deliver content of the courses written by the lecturer and profes-sors in form of a lecture to each unit. Supplemented by mandatory and recommended readings (with

pdf. downloads), streamed film material and assignments or questions for each unit. Students cannavigate to each weekly unit with the unit navigation. The weekly online-lectures to the courses takeplace either on the discussion Board (LMS Blackboard) or at real-time-classes with Avatars and voice-chat in our virtual classrooms on EduNation Island, according to the preference of the responsiblelecturer.

5.1 Example Online course Profile Module 2B: Social Anthropology invirtual Worlds

Image1StartpageOnlinecourse:ModuleB2:SocialAnthropologyinVirtualWorlds


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Image2ContentExampleUnit3

Image3ReadingsUnit3


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Image4AssignmentsUnit


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5.2 Example Online course Profile Module C2: Africa Online

(The classes take place via Discussion Board - LMS Blackboard. This course has 13 units you see parts of one unit)

This module focuses on modern Information- and Com-munication Technology (ICT), especially the Internet, forthe purpose of audio-visual self-representation of Africanpeople. Special emphasis will be placed on a currentlysignificant anthropological, but also political and eveneconomic, subject: the mediation of transformation- andappropriation processes as they actually accrue afterdramatically improved broadband Internet connectivitysince Sept. 2009 in (East-) Africa. Indeed some scientistsalso prognosticate a leap frogging effect of ICT for thecontinents development. The module is created for ahighly practical approach to the topic as we are also co-

operating with media companies such as the Kenyanbased online news agency A24 Media. A24 calls itselfAn African Voice telling the African Story... So it aims toself-represent the African complexity by selling video

Does the Internet offer any potential for the sus-tainable transformation of the predominatelynegative perception of African reality to a morebalanced one? Students will analyse and have acloser look at it by discussing and using therecent scientific approaches to media anthro-pology. Doing so, students will furthermore ana-

lyse which role Open Source Applications, Web2.0 and mobile technology can play also to-wards an e-democracy and Africans forms ofdevelopment. In addition students will alsolearn more about indigenous and traditionalforms of self-representations and their continui-ties or even dis-continuities. Because of thetopics complexity, the cooperation with A24Media and the improved broadband access inEast Africa, the focus of the Module lies firstlyon developments in Kenya


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Image5StartpageOnlinecourse:AfricaOnline

Image6ContentUnit1

Image7QuestionsUnit1


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5.3 Example Online-Course: Basic Module 1b Classics and Varieties ofEthnographic Film

This course has 12 units (you can see a part of unit 1)

Image1)Introductiontothecourse

Image2)Content


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Image3Films

Image4Studentscanwatchthefilmsdirectly


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Image5Readings

Image6Assignments


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5.4 Example Online-course: Profile Module B2 Indigenous Media

This course has 12 units (you can see a part of unit 1)

Image8Content


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6 Virtual 3D-classrooms

The M.A. Program in Visual and Media Anthropology has rented two plots on EduNation is-land (Second Life Software). Some courses of the program take place in our virtual class-room on this island. Students and lectures meet up with Avatars and communicate (viavoice-chat). Furthermore we simulate ethnographic fieldwork situations and practice visualanthropological methods. At the beach of the plots is an outdoor cinema available that ena-

bles to watch films together. Click here for Teleport

Image9Virtual3-DclassroomsM.A.ProgramVisualandMediaAnthropologyonEduNationIsland


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Image10ClassofthecourseSocialAnthropologyinVirtualWorldsVirtual3-DclassroomoftheM.A.Pro-gramonEduNationsIsland

Image11ClassofthecourseProfessionalPerspectivesinVisualandMediaAnthropology-Virtual3Dclass-

roomoftheM.A.ProgramonEduNationIsland

Image12Ourprofessorsandlecturersoffervirtualofficehoursforallstudents.


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6.1 Special Activities in 3D environments

The 3D environment on EduNation Island enables us to offer special events such as excursions toexhibitions, or seasonal special happenings, e.g. a winter party which was used to evaluate the coursein form of a personal feedback discussion between students and lecturers of the Program. After iceskating and sledding with the avatars we met up in an igloo to start the feedback discussion.

Image13VirtualwinterpartywithstudentsandlecturersinSecondLife

7 Research Activities

7.1 Steps for a continuous improvement of our E-learning tools

The future development of our program according to the ongoing changes in E-learning technologiesand new forms of E-Didactic is one of our aim, therefore professors and research associates of theProgram participate regularly at international E-learning conferences. The focus of our interest lies in aconcentration of the best E-learning tools for Visual and Media Anthropology. Furthermore we partici-pate at several conferences to present our own research in the field of Visual and Media Anthropolo-gy.

Image 14 Prof. U. Frmming partici-pated with her Avatar at theRoundtable: conference: Universi-ties in Second Life 8th INST WorldConference CCKS, Cities, Culturesand Knowledge Society (UNESCO),Click here to a video link of theconference and panel discussion


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7.2 Papers and Conference Participations (selection)

18.09.2011 Undine Frmming particpted at the Panel discussion at the Slanguages conference Univer-sities in virtual words Sky conference centre.

17.09.2011 Virtual Cultures Research (panel organization: Undine Frmming) Slanguages Con-ference. Situated Learning ans serious games http://www.master.fu-berlin.de/visual-anthropology/Conferences/Slanguages_conference_2011/index.html

Undine Frmming 17.09.2011 paper presentation panel introduction: Situated learning methods inVisual and Media Anthropology, Slanguages Conference

17.09.2011 Tobias Becker: Learning from Virtual Architecture Slanguages conference 28.01. 2011 Tobias Becker und Martin Tscholl: Vortrag: Experimentelle Reprsentationsstrategien in

der Visuellen Anthropologie. Kunstakademie Dsseldorf

26.11.2010: Undine Frmming: 8th INST World Conference CCKS, Cities, Cultures and KnowledgeSociety (UNESCO) Section title: Cities, Cultures and Language in virtual worlds. Panel discussion:Universities in virtual words. Organisation: INST Vienna, Austria and in Second Life

15.10.2010 Undine Frmming and Tobias Becker: Vortrag: "Visual Anthropology in Virtual Culture.The construction of Culture through Language and Image" with short machinima-film presentation:"Jazmin Orfan" by Tobias Becker, based on a visual anthropological research in virtual muslim cultures.Slanguages conference, organisation: University of Manchester, UK

24.-27.8.2010 Florian Walter: Vortrag On the road with Maruch: the promises and limits of open,non-linear hypermedia documents in anthropological work after the crisis of representation andWeb 2.0 im Rahmen der11th EASA Biennial Conference in Maynooth, Irland / 24.-27. August 2010

10.11.2009 Undine Frmming, Vortrag: "Visuelle Anthropologie in virtuellen Kulturen". (Visual Anth-ropology in Virtual Cultures) Institutskolloquium Institut fr Europische Ethnologie, Humboldt UniversittBerlin mit Live-bertragung aus Second Life

Oktober 2009 DGV-Tagung Vortrag: "Ethnographic Machinimia. Kulturelle Aneignungen virtuellerRume" (Ethnographic Machinima. Cultural Appropriation of virtual spaces) Workshop der AG Vi-suelle Anthropologie auf der DGV-Tagung 30.09.-03.10.2009: Kulturelle Aneignungen - Anverwandlung -Camouflage

14.09.2009 Participation Workshop "Virtuelle Welten - 3D-Seminar- und Tagungsorte als internatio-

nale und hochschulbergreifende E-Learning-Architekturen" Pre-Conference "E-Learning 2009:Lernen im Digitalen Zeitalter".

15.09.09-17.09.09 Participation Conference "E-Learning 2009: Lernen im Digitalen Zeitalter" A con-ference of: GMW'09, DeLFI 2009 und Verleihung des Medida-Prix

2.10. 2007 paper: "Digital iconic tun. ber die Bedeutung globaler Digitalisierungsprozesse fr dieethnologische Forschung und Theoriebildung", Tagung der deutschen Gesellschaft fr Vlkerkunde,Halle (Salle).

7.3 Research and PhD Projects

We try to offer the best graduates of our program further research positions in our research areas of

our institute (besides Visual and Media Anthropology, Environmental Anthropology, Anthropology ofEmotions and Medical Anthropology) and integrate them during their time as PhD candidates intoteaching activities of the M.A. program. Therefore we offer them teaching contracts for in-house clas-ses and online-courses and help them in finding appropriate PhD scholarships. See a list of all runningPhD projects under this link. See a list of all running PhD projects under this link

Third Party Research project

BMBF-project: Visualizing and mapping of local knowledge in the alps (Prof. Dr. U.Frmming) (part of the joint research project: Alpine risks in times of climate change (AlpineNaturgefahren im Klimawandel) (Prof. Dr. W. Dombrowsky). One Phd candidate (Christian

Reichel M.A) and one Postdoc (Dr. Josef Bordat) are employed in this project at the Instituteof Social and Cultural Anthropology (April 2011-March 2014).


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European Union research project - Longlife Learning (LLP) - GRUNDTVIG-GMP with the Ed-ucation, Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency Project title: WRITING READING IN-CLUSION: TOWARDS EUROPEAN REINASSANCE / WRITER Project coordination: Uni-versitt Perugia, Italien: Tiber Umbria Comett Education Programme, Prof. PAOLO CAR-BONE, project partner Prof. Dr. Undine Frmming (Visual and Media Anthropology, Freie Uni-versitt Berlin)

Examples for running PhD-Projects

PhD-Project: Africa Online How World Wide is the Web? Africa between Adaptation und audio-visual Innovation

Kani Tuyala (PhD project funded by DAAD: Promos, supervision: Prof. Dr. U. Frmming)

Start: October 2010

Abstract of the PhD project

Kani Tuyalas research project Africa Online. Audio-visual self-representation of African People in theInternet is based on the cooperation with the Kenyan Media Company A24 Media. Through an ade-quate and contemporary methodology the aim is to scientifically analyze the dictum of media as amotor of social and political transition in an African and virtual context. Even to leapfrog wholestages of development now seems possible for several parts of the African continent.The potential ofonline-communication to overcome the biased and all to frequent single-sided perception of the mysti-fied African continent, forms a further vital pillar of the thesis not least because both emphases de-scribe two sides of the same coin.

Due to the issues and the African continents complexity, the research project Africa Online focuseson the state of Kenya and local online-initiatives (A24 Media, Ushahidi etc.), with the potential to en-sure a scientifically funded analysis. Furthermore, besides representatives of the corresponding facul-ties of the university of Nairobi, also the opinions and estimations of journalist e.g. from the ARD Stu-dio in Nairobi will be considered, to ensure a holistic approach to the topic.

A24MediaKenia,

Photo:KaniTuyala2010


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PhD-project: Critical theory on new media and Internet and the impact of the Internet on socialcommonality - case study of Iran

Sadaf Javdani Haji, PhD project funded by DAAD (Stibet-Program), Supervision: Prof. Dr. Undine

Froemming

Start of the project: January 2011

Abstract

This study will focus on Iranian students between the age of 20 and 30 in two groups: Students wholive and study in Iran; students who has left Iran in favor of continuing their education. The first part will

explore the role of Internet as a new way of communication. With the special focus on the critical theo-ries about technology in the work of Marcuse, Habermas and Heidegger, the second part will explorethe role of Internet in changing social interaction and commonality in my target group. Comparing mytwo target groups, one aim of this study is to analyze if the role of Internet and its negative/positivesides could be altered by the context of the study. The theoretical focus throughout both parts will beon media studies and critical theories starting out from Martin Heidegger and the Frankfurt School,that is, from doctrines keenly sensitive to the failure and indeed the threat of modern technology.

On the other hand, this study also aims to go beyond the pessimist approaches about modern tech-nology and look into the advantages of the Internet and the alternatives and new possibilities that itprovides. Internet open new opportunities for human communication and build an integrated and uni-fied picture of our world. Consequently there are two sides while studying this new media: Capitalismhas survived its various crisis and now organizes the entire globe in a fantastic web of connections

with contradictory consequences (...) The internet opens fantastic new opportunities for human com-munication, and is inundated with commercialism. Human rights prove a challenge to regressive cos-tumes in some countries, while providing alibis for new imperialist ventures in others (Feenberg2005). Therefore while studying this subject, we should pay a parallel attention to both sides. In sum-mary, the study has two aims: the first is the theoretical exploration of internet and analyzing its im-pacts on human interactions and the second is to use these studies and gather data that enable theauthor to analyze the impact of internet on the social interactions of Iranian students living both insideand outside of country.

Nocountryforyoungmen

SadafJavdani2010

brochure ma web200911

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