History of Photography: Technology, Document, Art

This course provides a critical overview of photography from pre-photographic times to the present. Given that there is no single history, but only histories of the medium, the course will explore a variety of approaches to the study of photography, its emergence as a technology for documenting the world, its evolution in relation to other art forms, its connection to other fields of knowledge (i.e., medicine, anthropology, history, post-colonial studies), its role in the development of mass culture, and its use as a means of social control.

Students consider the photographic image in a range of contexts, including art, advertising, journalism, and propaganda, and will explore the social, political and ethical consequences of photographic media in contemporary culture. This course makes active use of photographic materials in local collections for both seminars and written assignments.