The Certificate Program in Culture and Media (formerly the Certificate Program in Ethnographic Film and Video) was initiated in the fall of 1986 as an interdisciplinary course of study combining the rich resources of the Departments of Cinema Studies and Anthropology at NYU. This program provides a focused course of graduate studies integrating production work with theory and research into the uses and meanings of media in a range of communities and cultures. Training in this program enables students to pursue the following:

1. Production work in film and video based on their own or other anthropologists’ fieldwork.
2. Teaching the history, theory, and production of ethnographic film and media studies.
3. A career in media requiring an understanding of anthropology, such as specialized programming and distribution of ethnographic film and video, community-based documentary production, or management of ethnographic film/video libraries and archives.

Located in New York, the program provides students with ready access to the many ethnographic film activities that take place in the city, such as the annual Margaret Mead Film and Video Festival, the Biannual Native American Film and Video Festival, and the African Diaspora Film Festival. The ethnographic film program itself sponsors many events that allow students to meet and see the works of ethnographic filmmakers from around the world and follow developments in the field. These include monthly workshops in visual anthropology; occasional events with distinguished guests such as Jean Rouch; conferences on special topics such as ethnographic film archives and new technologies; and an annual symposium on ethnographic film held in conjunction with the Margaret Mead Film and Video Festival.

Admission: To enroll in the Certificate Program in Culture and Media, interested students should follow the procedures for applying to the M.A. or Ph.D. program in cinema studies or the Ph.D. program in anthropology. Application forms and financial aid information are sent under separate cover. Students should indicate on their application that they are interested in pursuing the certificate. Once accepted, students meet with the departmental liaison to the certificate program to begin designing the course of study appropriate to their overall plan for graduate work.

Course of Study: To complete the certificate program, students must fulfill the requirements outlined in the following curriculum. The program consists of the following eight courses in addition to those required for the M.A. or Ph.D. degree in cinema studies. Six of the courses that count toward the certificate may also be counted toward an M.A. or Ph.D. degree in cinema studies; they are the courses listed below with an H72 code. All students are required to complete an independent original ethnographic video project, which may be either a production or scholarly research, designed in consultation with the departmental liaison. The curriculum is organized into two tracks to complement the course work required by one of the two disciplines.

Required Courses for All Certificate Students:
Culture and Media I (H72.1402)
Culture and Media II (H72.1403)
Cultural Theory and the Documentary (H72.2001)
Cinema: The Language of Sight and Sound (H72.1998)
Video Production Seminar I, II (G14.1218, 1219) or Documentary Workshop (H56.1041)

Required Course for Anthropology Students:
Television: History and Culture (H72.1026)

Required Course for Cinema Studies Students:
Social Anthropology: Theory and Practice (G14.1010) or approved elective in social anthropology or advanced production course

Approved Elective:
Approved internship/independent project/reading course

With the approval of the director of the program, anthropology students with prior training in media may be able to substitute other courses from the extensive curriculum offered in history and theory by the Department of Cinema Studies or in film and video production.

Internships: In addition to studying ethnographic film history, theory, and production, students in the Certificate Program in Culture and Media may arrange appropriate supervised internships or research projects. Students interested in this should consult with the departmental liaison to the program.

Resources: The Department of Anthropology has a film and multisystem video theatre that seats up to 40 and has an excellent collection of over 300 ethnographic film and video works. The Department of Cinema Studies has a collection of over 600 films. New York University’s Avery Fisher Music and Media Center has over 1,000 documentaries in its video library facility available to students. In addition, some of the best film, video, and broadcast libraries are available in New York City, including the Donnell Film Library, the Museum of Modern Art Film Library, the Museum of Television and Radio, and the film and video collection of the National Museum of the American Indian.

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