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Public Anthropology brings together researchers from within and without the academic world to explore what kind of research and insight arises when the boundaries between a university and its surrounding social world are broken down.
The two main strands within the section are media and creative and collaborative enterprise, both of which merge industry expertise (based on the research work of its industry partners) with academic research agendas.
At present, there are four graduate programmes based in Public Anthropology:
- Ethnographic and Documentary Film (Practical) MA is led by leading filmmakers through high quality practice-based learning. Students are taught to tell stories in various documentary film modes, draw on anthropological and social science approaches to documentary, think critically about the relationship between form and content in ethnographic and documentary practice, master the technical skills needed to produce different kinds of films of different lengths for varied audiences, and to critically view and review film material. (Richard Alwyn, Marc Isaacs, Dieter Deswarte, Lars-Olof Johansson, Lucy Parker)
- Creative Documentary by Practice MFA offers students the opportunity to to develop an understanding of non-fiction film as a research practice and to explore and reconceptualise what a ‘documentary film’ is. The programme draws on broad based anthropological thought about the social and cultural world to produce filmmakers who are imaginative, risk-taking, intellectually engaged, and pushing boundaries in the field. (Ellen Evans)
- Creative and Collaborative Enterprise MA is designed for students who want to start and run original enterprises, The programme combines innovative tools and practices from the creative performing arts and effectual entrepreneurship with anthropological insights to encourage students to embark on their entrepreneurial journey in today’s complex socio-cultural frameworks. (Gregory Thompson, Ana Carolina Barreto Balthazar)
- Immersive Factual Storytelling MA (commencing in 22/23) gives students the practical skills and confidence they need to become successful member of the international immersive VR/AR documentary community. Immersive factual storytelling is a developing field across enterprise and entertainment, and this programme focuses on creating stories for enterprise use and encourages collaboration across other UCL faculties. (Dinah Lammiman)
- Audio Storytelling for Radio and Podcast MA focuses on the art of audio storytelling and the crafted audio feature, drawing on resources from the global audio community in many parts of the world. Students have in depth contact with leading practitioners throughout, culminating in a graduate project mentored by industry professionals.
- Designing Audio Experiences: Art, Science and Production MA will create highly trained individuals who understand how humans make sense of the world through sound and can apply that knowledge, along with specialist technical spatial audio skills, to create compelling, convincing audio experiences for diverse audiences and contexts.
Public Anthropology also houses London’s global non-fiction film festival, Open City Documentary Festival. They produce an annual film festival, the bi-annual journal Non-Fiction, and screening projects throughout the year. Attended by more than 5000 people annually, the festival aims to challenge and expand the idea of documentary in all its forms, and nurture and champion the art of non-fiction cinema.
The section is also home to a catalogue of short courses covering the study of documentary in various forms, including filmmaking, audio, virtual reality, film theory, practical camera training, and film editing. The courses use external expertise to provide practice-based training and tools to critically respond to the world around them.
By 2023, Public Anthropology will move to UCL East in its entirety and its activity will also be part of the new School for the Creative and Cultural Industries (a four-faculty collaboration between Arts and Humanities; Social and Historical Sciences; IOE, UCL's Faculty of Education and Society). The section's new home in Stratford will have access to UCL’s new cinema, and will connect with communities in east London through public engagement events and learning opportunities.