The graphic anthropology field school will be held in Belgium. Famous for its waffles, chocolate, and monk-made beers, Belgium also boasts a complex history. As a buffer zone between great European powers and under diverse cultural influences, the country speaks three national languages (French, Dutch and German).

The project will take place in three different Belgian cities showing a variety of specific social and cultural settings : Charleroi, Antwerp, and Brussels. Possible topics for field research abound, especially within the fields of anthropology of tourism, ethnic relations, diversity and urbanity.

Directed at The field school is directed towards young anthro-pologists, artists and cultural scientists; however, any individual who would like to learn about graphic anthropology and fieldwork is welcome. Previous knowledge or experience is not required. We aim for an individualized program that can start at any level. One does not need to know how to draw to get his/her hands into graphic anthropology. This opportunity will be tailored to different skill levels and no expensive material is necessary - just the will to learn, be creative, and see through a variety of perspectives.

Leading professors and researchers Sam Janssen (Expeditions) Maarten Loopmans (KU Leuven) Bruno Tondeur (Studio TABASS.co) Kim Tondeur (Expeditions)

Goals • Development of various graphic skills as observation

and communication techniques • Explore the advantages and disadvantages of drawings

compared to more standard forms of «recording», such as word-based note-taking

• Practice techniques to help you think creatively • Discuss methodological, epistemological and ethical

issues of graphic anthropology • Writing of a co-authored article • Promote the use of drawing in anthropology and other

social sciences

Session dates March 27, 2016 - April 10, 2016

Course description The course runs for 15 days. During those two weeks, the participants will alternately take part in technical graphic

URBAN ANTHROPOLOGY THROUGH THE PENCIL EXPLORING PUBLIC SQUARES

GRAPHIC ANTHROPOLOGY FIELD SCHOOL

exercises and open sketching fieldwork sessions with a special focus on social dynamics and interactions in public squares. The program will be dedicated to developing sketching as a tool for anthropology, from fieldwork observations to reflexivity practice and research results communication.

About Graphic Anthropology The use of sketches and drawings in anthropology begins with the discipline and its naturalist legacy. But brushes and pencils soon disappeared from the anthropologists travel kit. Next to the rise and spread of photography, a verbocentric focus within our academic field influenced this evolution.

Yet, today graphic anthropology is being revived and revamped from several directions. Established scholars in anthropology such as Manuel Joao Ramos make extensive use of drawings as a means to distribute research findings. In the field of comics and journalism, the development of graphic novels and reports has meant a move towards more investigative forms of storytelling.

In the field, the use of graphics and drawings can present diverse advantages. They may lead you to explore different and perhaps more relaxed mindsets, and they push you to look, explore, and scan things from multiple angles in order to help you realize how subjective and biased your perceptions are. Sketches, as they embody at the same time a process of making, observing, and describing, also help you to track back those dynamics more easily. But the most accessible and direct utility of graphic anthropology lies in its power to arouse curiosity and provoke interactions.

Graphic anthropology shows refreshing potential. As a nearly universal language, graphics can serve the democratization of knowledge and lead to a more collaborative practice of anthropology. Thinking even further towards comics-like research reports, it is not hard to see how this could facilitate the appropriation of research conclusions by your informants, and thus helping academic knowledge leave the ivory tower.

Program Charleroi : 5 days; post-industrial Walloon city Antwerp : 5 days; Flemish port metropolis Brussels : 5 days; capital of Belgium and the heart of Europe

Practical information Kim Tondeur kim.tondeur@xpeditions.be

Application Sam Janssen sam.janssen@xpeditions.be

Fees The price of the course is 1.800 euros. This course fee includes:

• accommodation • all meals • local transport • course materials • transcript of records • supervision with graphic skills, fieldwork analysis, and

write-up stages