A Line That Doesn't Make a Letter : Preface to the Thematic Section on Drawing in Anthropology
Črta, ki ne vodi v črko : Uvodnik v tematski blok refleksij risanja v antropologiji

english
slovenian

2026

volume 4, issue 2

coding   drawing in anthropology   methodology   presentation   visual anthropology

Univerza v Ljubljani, Filozofska fakulteta (Oddelek za etnologijo in kulturno antropologijo)
(Obvezni izvod spletne publikacije)

Where can a line lead, if not to a letter? The notion of drawing within the discipline and its specific knowledge production isn’t all that novel. Drawing has been used in anthropology since the beginning, albeit with a focus on its illustrative possibilities. But what can its role be in the present day, especially acknowledging the discipline’s overwhelming interest in expanding its multimodal approaches? Even a quick overview offers us an inkling that the method greatly exceeds its original purpose of illustration. It can act as a collaborative research technique, nudge its way into autoethnographic reflections, or visually mediate what is otherwise hidden. Unlike a photograph, drawing can visually cross the bounds between what is affectively experienced and what can be seen, as also pointed out by artist and anthropologist Karina Kuschnir. A pen in our hand allows us to freely move beyond what can be captured using a camera. In a drawing, a dog can appear bigger than it actually is, emotions take place in a chosen colour palette, time and space assume their embodied forms. The technique as such presents an alternate way of communicating; when words give out, a camera is not enough, or when a fleeting moment is visually obscured.

23.07.2026