About the GCVA.

Since its creation in 1987, the Granada Centre for Visual Anthropology has been widely recognised as the world’s leading centre for Visual Anthropology. Its graduates have produced more than 300 ethnographic films seen around the world and it is now at the forefront of the emergent dialogue between art and anthropology, including sensory ethnography, experimental and practice-based methods, sound and performance, photographic and digital media, and art/museum installations.

Our Masters and PhD programmes combine anthropology with training in film-making, editing, photography and sound. Students are provided with professional equipment and supported by an internationally renowned staff comprising the largest visual anthropology faculty in Europe. We welcome students from across the social sciences and humanities and the course is tailored to meet the needs of different levels of anthropological and film-making experience, from people who have little or no background in formal anthropology, film-production, visual methods and photography to those who may have substantial experience in one or more of these areas.

Why Manchester?

The Granada Centre’s teaching and research continues to set the standard of excellence in the social sciences as well as arts. This was formally recognised by the ESRC’s review of research in the social sciences in 2006, and by the AHRC’s awarding the Masters programme the status of a Professional Preparation Masters, something accorded to no other visual anthropology programme in the UK. In 2012 the Granada Centre’s MA in Visual Anthropology received a special commendation for teaching excellence by the UK’s Association of Social Anthropologists and the Higher Education Authority.

Granada Centre graduates work in a wide range of academic, professional and media positions, including university professorships, working for the UN and directing TV series such as Tribe, Horizon and BBC and C4 Documentaries. Graduates include anthropologists, such as Sarah Pink, Rane Willerslev and Sylvia Cauiby Novaes. While in terms of film and television recent achievements include the success of Granada Centre graduates Andrew Palmer (as producer) and Gavin Searle (as director) who won the 2011 BAFTA (the British equivalent of the Oscars) for Best Television Documentary Series for Welcome to Lagos (BBC/Keo Films)

Manchester is a creative, energetic and cosmopolitan city noted for its music scene, media links and industrial past. An advantage of studying in Manchester is the cheap cost of living and accommodation in that rents are approximately half the cost of London.

Teaching

Since it was founded in 1987, the Granada Centre has established an international reputation for its practice-based approach to teaching in visual anthropology. It forms part of the Social Anthropology Discipline Area at the University of Manchester and plays the central role in the delivery of the following postgraduate programmes:

Film Library

The Granada Centre Film Library houses a collection of some 2000 titles and related literature, from classic documentary to contemporary film and world cinema. It is open to all staff and students of the University of Manchester. Film acquisition is an ongoing process, and we try to include titles which cover a great variety of contemporary anthropological issues, explore the increasing number of new global ethnographic and documentary film and expand the base of classic European and non-European documentary.

The Film Library also holds titles of considerable relevance to other disciplines within the University, such as Sociology, Religions & Theology, English, Education, Media Studies and Drama.

Thanks to the Central Library our students have access to the Alexander Street Press Ethnographic Video Online collection (over 300 films) and Kanopy Streaming (26,000 documentaries, indie and foreign films, must-see classics and blockbuster movies).