The Faces of Change project, supported by the National Science Foundation and currently housed at the Smithsonian Institution, contributed to the emerging field of visual anthropology and particularly what is known as “observational cinema.” Grimshaw and Ravetz’s book on anthropology, film, and social life used the Afghanistan project and the work of Herbert Di Gioia and David Hancock as an important example of the new observational cinema.
- Grimshaw, A., & Ravetz, A. (2009). Observational cinema: Anthropology, film, and the exploration of social life. Bloomington: Indiana University Press.
The earlier field of visual anthropology that focused on photography as a research method was based on the early works of John Collier and more recently the revised and expanded edition by John Collier, Jr., and Malcolm Collier. This text is particularly useful in thinking about still photography as evidence.
- Collier, J., & Collier, M. (2009). Visual anthropology: Photography as a research method. Albuquerque, N.M: University of New Mexico Press.
The basic principles of visual anthropology originally set out in a text by that title edited by Paul Hockings provided a basis for the field of observational cinema and visual anthropology.
- Hockings, P. (ed.) (1975). Principles of visual anthropology. The Hague: Mouton.
Two additional subfields of visual literacy and visual pedagogy are explored in these books:
- Elkins, J. (2008). Visual literacy. New York: Routledge.
- Goldfarb, B. (2002). Visual Pedagogy: Media Cultures in and beyond the Classroom. Duke University Press.
In the 1970s, Norman Miller wrote a controversial article challenging the idea of universal education for African countries. It was adapted to the Kenya Boran culture that he had recently filmed, and published as a field staff article.
The booklet accompanying the Faces of Change film series, distributed by Documentary Educational Resources, may be viewed here:
See the Miller print archives at Michigan State University and the Smithsonian Institution for more material on this topic. See also the Brief Guide to the Norman Miller Archive.