David MacDougall

Photo hierarchicus: Signs and mirrors in indian photography

The Indian hill station of Mussoorie in northern Uttar Pradesh has an astonishing range of photographers and photographic practices. This diversity can be seen as a direct cultural manifestation of Mussoories class structure and history, including a recent upsurge of middle‐class Indian tourism. But it also reflects desires and contradictions in Indian attitudes towards photographic representation which have parallels in Indian art, religion and popular culture. Although the example is Indian, these issues are by no means unique to India and are relevant to how photographic meaning is constructed and confronted in many other societies.

Where Is the Theory in Visual Anthropology

Is there a real theoretical underpinning for visual anthropology? Or are we just borrowing theoretical concepts, as needed, from other disciplines? Here eight visual anthropologists offer their thoughts on this fundamental question succinctly.