Spiti: Some notes on the practice of documentary photography

A twenty five page photo essay consisting of twenty four black and white photographs, a short essay, thumbnail images and captions, published in 'Beyond text? Critical practices and sensory anthropology' a book arising from the major 2007 anthropological conference also entitled Beyond Text?

Beyond text? is “about the relationship between anthropological understandings of the world, sensory perception and aesthetic practices. It suggests that if different sensory experiences embody and facilitate different kinds of knowledge, then we need to develop new methods and more creative forms of representation that are not based solely around text or on correspondence theories of truth. The volume brings together leading figures in anthropology, visual and sound studies to explore how knowledge, sensation and embodied experiences can be researched and represented by combining different visual, aural and textual forms which it demonstrates through an accompanying DVD.

The book and DVD make an argument for a necessary, critical development in anthropological ways of knowing that take place not merely at the level of theory and representation but also through innovative fieldwork methods and media practices.”

The text of this chapter is restricted because of the publisher's copyright policy. Please contact ualresearchonline to request a copy.