Imagination and Ethnography.

Bridging the Gap of (not) Being There through Film

Abstract

Abstract: In this paper, I will explore the use of fiction films as a teaching methods in classes of social anthropology with regional interest. I will compare the use of different films from the Black Sea region as way to 1. familiarise my students with the historical dis/continuities and presuppositions which contribute to the formation of the 'region', 2.bring them in contact with the methods of doing and writing ethnography. For this undertake, I am going to use four films, two from Georgia and two from the eastern shores of the Black Sea (Bulgaria and Romania). The discussion proposes a method of teaching through fiction films which traces the interlinks between imagination and representation.

Keywords: stereotypes, area studies, the Caucasus, the Black Sea, Georgia, Bulgaria, Romania, violence, corruption