About CAV
In 1971, the "Film Commission" was established concomitant with the foundation of the SAA. In 1977, it was renamed "Commission for Audio-Visual Documentation" until it became the "Audio-Visual Commission of the SAA" or "CAV”.
Audio-visual media have gained considerable significance in ethnographic practice as well as in the production of anthropological theory. The CAV aims to facilitate a constant professional exchange between anthropologists of all Swiss Universities that are teaching and researching with, and about the use of, audio-visual media seeking to establish national and international networks in the research areas of Audio-Visual and Media anthropology.
The main purpose of the CAV is to expand and archive the audio-visual collection of the SAA. Furthermore, it is responsible for the organisation and realisation of anthropological projects that incorporate or integrate any media productions. The commission organises several events each year, e.g. a panel at the annual meeting of the SAA, symposia and summer workshops for students (organized in 2012 – 2014 – 2017).
The CAV consists of representatives of all institutions that are collective members of the SAA, and specialists in the field of Audio-Visual Anthropology.
Audio-Visual Commission of the Swiss Anthropological Association Summer School 2022
The Audio-Visual Commission of the Swiss Anthropological Association proposed its third summer school of visual anthropology. By choosing the title “Beyond Observational Cinema” (MacDougall 1998), the organizers inscribed this practical training week with a twofold purpose. On the one hand, students were invited to look at the legacy of observational cinema as a mode of research in the social sciences. On the other hand, they took a step back from the representational paradigm, examining contemporary experiments that attempt to account for social and cultural processes. In doing so, they produced short films on the theme of People & Things.
