This course looks at documentaries on the city starting from the city symphonies of the 1920s to the video diaries of Jonas Mekas in New York and James Benning’s style of ‘Slow Cinema’ in Los Angeles.
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This course usually runs once or twice per year.
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- WHAT: An eight week short course that identifies various ideas relating to urban anthropology, modernism, and ethnography, framed within the context of cities. Explored via films, photography and texts.
WHERE: Online distance learning, take part in this class from your home with a computer/tablet.
WHO:Run by anthropologist Barbara Knorpp.
WHEN: Thursday evenings, 7:00 – 9:00 PM (UK Time) 5th February – 26th March 2026.
COMMITMENT: 2 hours contact time per week. Optional readings between sessions.
WHAT YOU GET: 8 weeks to engage in online seminar discussion and watch and discuss films, photography and writings on the subject of urban anthropology.
DEADLINE TO SIGN UP: TBC.
HOW MUCH: General Price: £295, Students/Concession: £275.00 UCL Student: £255.00
BURSARIES: TBC.
AGES: Open to all.
Led by Dr Barbara Knorpp, ‘Visual Anthropology and the City’ looks at documentaries on the city starting from the city symphonies of the 1920s to the video diaries of Jonas Mekas in New York and James Benning’s style of ‘Slow Cinema’ in Los Angeles. Urban anthropology has fascinated journalists, photographers and policy-makers since the emergence of the Chicago School in the 1920s. Ethnography and long-term research facilitated deeper insights into the everyday lives of urban neighbourhoods that were often associated with violence, crime and housing problems. Cinema and photography have also since their inception engaged with the urban, and their development is deeply entwined with that of the modern metropolis. We are interested in films, photography, and writings that look at modernity, subcultures, non-western cities, regeneration, urban elites, domestic space, social movements and urban architecture. Those taking this course will have the chance to hear about, watch and discuss films, photography and writings on the subject.
Session 1: The City Symphonies of the 1920s
Looking at early examples of documentary and city films revolving around urban life style and modern architecture, e.g. Walter Ruttman’s Berlin: Symphony of a Great City (1927), and Dziga Vertov’s Man with a Movie Camera (1929).
Session 2: Jean Rouch and Cinéma Vérité
Best known for Chronicle of a Summer (1961), Jean Rouch is one of the most controversial figures in ethnographic filmmaking. His film Petit à Petit (1970) tells the story of an African businessman who is conducting ethnographic research in Paris – a reversed anthropology.
Session 3: The Heart of the Angel and Observational Cinema
Working from Molly Dineen’s The Heart of the Angel (1989), a film following 48 hours in the everyday lives of the people who work on the London Underground, this session will discuss the history of British documentary and the stylistic conventions of observational cinema.
Session 4: La Haine and Docu-Fiction
Mathieu Kassovitz’s powerful drama La Haine (1995) takes an unblinking look at a racially diverse group of young people trapped in the Parisian economic and social underclass. Using the film as a starting point, this session will explore the history of the city’s colonialism.
Session 5: US Filmmakers and Slow Cinema
Experimental filmmakers such as James Benning have experimented with time and silence, which are essential features of slow cinema. Benning holds the camera in one place for several minutes to play with framing and perception. In contrast we will watch personal accounts resembling amateur home videos on everyday life by Jonas Mekas who migrated to New York from Lithuania.
Session 6: [Guest Speaker] Dave Swindells on Club Culture in London 1980s-1990s (former Timeout Nightlife Editor and Photographer)
Dave Swindells will talk about the photographs that he took as a nightlife editor at Timeout on club culture and subculture in London during the 1980s-1990s.
Session 7: ‘The Exiles’ and Native Americans on Film
Kent MacKenzie spent his student days in the bars of Los Angeles where he befriended a gang of Native Americans. Following their dreams of urban life, The Exiles (1961), offers a refreshing perspective on people living in exile away from their native lands and traditions.
Session 8: Shinjuku Boys in Tokyo
Kim Longinotto’s film introduces three ‘onnabes’ – women who live as men and have girlfriends but don’t usually identify as lesbians -, working as club hosts in Tokyo. Shinjuku Boys (1995) is a remarkable documentary about the complexity of female sexuality in Japan.
Image courtesy of Dave Swindells.
These sessions will be recorded, in case you miss a session.
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This course will be delivered via online distance learning, and students will require a computer or other internet connected device.
This course offers bursary places. Please check our Terms and conditions to see if you are eligible to apply.
If you still have other questions relating to a specific course or request, please get in touch with us via emailing shortcourses@opencitylondon.com
What is UCL’s section of Public Anthropology?
Public Anthropology is a subsection of UCL’s Anthropology department. It hosts the short course programme, Open City Documentary Festival, and several graduate degree programmes.
The two main strands within Public Anthropology are media and creative and collaborative enterprise, which both merge industry expertise with academic research agendas.
Graduate degree programmes based in the Public Anthropology section include:
Public Anthropology houses London’s global non-fiction film festival, Open City Documentary Festival. Open City Documentary Festival produces an annual film festival, the bi-annual journal Non-Fiction and screening projects throughout the year.
Public Anthropology runs short courses in filmmaking, audio, virtual reality, film theory, practical camera training and film editing.
Tutors
Barbara Knorpp
Tutor
Dr Barbara Knorpp is a visual anthropologist with a special interest in film history. She has taught and done research in higher education in the UK, Germany, Australia, and Japan for nearly two decades and has worked as a curator in museums and art galleries and as a picture researcher. She is currently associated with Open City, Docs and Central Saint Martin's, University of the Arts.