2020-2021 Catalog

ART 326 Photography and Social Engagement: A Road to Activism

Photographic images are not a simple documentation of a reality that precedes them.   Photographs document a reality that is constituted, retroactively, by the recording, production and circulation of the photographic image.  In this course students explore the intimate relationship between photographs and the fate of diverse communities and social life in the U.S.   Drawing insights from urban studies and critical photography studies, students investigate the political expediency of photographs and how photographs contribute to forging the moral values that bring social life into existence in the U.S.Students will develop an understanding of what is a photograph and gain familiarity with the tradition of documentary photography, including its role in various social and political struggles such as those associated with race, class, gender, sex, the environment, food scarcity, globalization, and geopolitics. Using New York City as inspiration and backdrop, students will construct their own photographs to create cohesive visual essays that analyze how communities come into being.

Credits

3

Cross Listed Courses

Same as PHR 326