History of Photography

Catalog description

A survey of the history of photography, examining the invention, development, and proliferation of the medium in its artistic and cultural contexts, from the advent of the daguerreotype in 1839 to the ubiquity of the digital image today. International and interdisciplinary in scope, the course considers the cultural assumptions, traditions, and experiences related to the history of the medium around the globe in dialogue with our contemporary understanding and use of photography in the United States today. Through the close study of significant photographers, photographic technologies, and individual photographs, the course considers issues of politics, gender, nationalism, imperialism, globalization, race, and class intrinsic to the medium. Counts as a Human Diversity & Commonality course. Counts as a Understanding Global Perspectives course.