[Myth] = Barthes, Roland. Mythologies. 2nd ed. Translated by Richard Howard and Annette Lavers. Hill and Wang, 2012. ISBN: 9780374532345.
[NHP] = Weaver, Mike. A New History of Photography. Konemann, 1999. ISBN: 9783829013284.
| Ses # | Topics | Readings |
|---|---|---|
| Week 1: Introduction | ||
| 1 |
Photography, France, How to talk / write about photographs |
No readings. |
| Week 2: What is photography? I. (Moment or Network) | ||
| 2 | The Decisive Moment with Special Guest Dr. Nadya Bair |
WatchTravelartist Streetphotography. “Henri Cartier-Bresson: The Decisive Moment.” August 31, 2016. YouTube. ReadCartier-Bresson, Henri. The Decisive Moment. Steidl, 2015. ISBN: 9783869307886. [Buy from Steidl Books] Nadya Bair, “The Decisive Network: Producing Henri Cartier-Bresson at Mid-century.” History of Photography 40, no. 2 (2016): 146-166. |
| 3 | Making the News | |
| Week 3: What is Photography? II (Science or Art) | ||
| 4 | Is it Technology? |
WatchAt least one of the videos from the Photographic Processes Series made by the George Eastman House. Look AtWilfrid Rouff’s Official Website. ReadWarren, Bruce. "Technical History of Photography." In Photography: The Concise Guide. 2nd ed. Wadsworth Publishing, 2011. ISBN: 9780495897804. [Preview with Google Books] Daguerre, Louis Jacques Mandé. "Daguerreotype." In Classic Essays on Photography. Edited by Alan Trachtenberg. Leete's Island Books, 1980. ISBN: 9780918172082. Manovich, Lev. “The Paradoxes of Digital Photography.” In Amelunxen, H.V., Stefan Iglhaut, Florian Rotzer, et al., eds. Photography After Photography: Memory and Representation in the Digital Age. Art Stock, 1997, pp. 240–249. ISBN: 978-9057011016. |
| 5 | Is it Magic? With Special Guest Photographer Wilfrid Rouff | |
| Week 4: Capturing the World: Albert Kahn to Aerial Photography | ||
| 6 | Albert Kahn & The Archives de la Planète |
ReadOkuefuna, David. The Dawn of the Color Photograph: Albert Kahn's Archives of the Planet. Princeton University Press, 2008. pp. 9–27. ISBN: 978-0691139074. Murray, Susan. “Digital Images, Photo-Sharing, and Our Shifting Notions of Everyday Aesthetics.” Journal of Visual Culture 7 (2008): 147–163. WatchCITRIS. "Visualizing Space, Elizabeth Kessler." November 4, 2014. YouTube. "Edwardians in Colour: The Wonderful World of Albert Kahn." Episodes 1–5. BBC (documentary). [Watch Episode 1 on YouTube] |
| 7 | Aerial photography and surveillance | |
| Week 5: Likeness and Identity (Portraiture) | ||
| 8 | From Early Portraiture to the Selfie |
ReadBarthes, Roland. Camera Lucida: Reflections on Photography. Hill and Wang, 2010, pp. 63–73. ISBN: 9780374532338. [Myth] “The Harcourt Actor.” Grenier, Roger. A Box of Photographs. University Of Chicago Press, 2013, pp. 6–11 and 104–107. ISBN: 9780226308319. [Preview with Google Books] Stallabrass, Julian. “On Selfies.” London Review of Books 36, no. 11 (2014): 20. |
| 9 | Photography, Identity, & Resemblance | |
| Week 6: Politics, Propaganda, Protest | ||
| 10 | Protest Photography from May ’68 to Nuit Debut |
Read[Myth] “Electoral Photogeny.” If you don't read French, please read this article: Reynolds, Francis. "Chim's Eye: On Photography and Politics." The Nation. April 15, 2013. French readers please read this article: Guiol, Elsa et Stéphanie Marteau. “Y a-t-il un président pour sauver la presse people ?” M le magazine du Monde. 7 fevrier 2014. Quinn, Ben. "French Police Make Women Remove Clothing on Nice Beach Following Burkini Ban." The Guardian. 23 August 2016. |
| 11 | Photography and the President | |
| Week 7: Urban Exploration (Street Photography) | ||
| 12 | Documenting Urbanism |
WatchRob Hooley. “André Kertesz BBC Master Photographers (1983).” April 14, 2013. YouTube. ReadMorand, Paul. “Foreword.” In Paris by Night. Pantheon Books, 1987. ISBN: 978-0394563275. Stallabras, Julian. “Paris Pictured: Street Photography 1900-1968.” Royal Academy of Arts, 2002. Meyerowitz Colin and Joel Westerbeck, “An American in Paris.” In Bystander: A History of Street Photography. 1994. pp. 343–350. ISBN: 0-8212-1755-0. Rafman, Jon. “The Nine Eyes of Google Street View” + Comments. August 12, 2009. Art F City. |
| 13 | People in the Streets | |
| Week 8: Research and Investigation | ||
| 14 | Peer Review Workshop |
Watch"Harold "Doc" Edgerton - How Fast is Fast?" From the Vault Video Collection. MIT+150. Produced by MIT Video Productions for the Edgerton Foundation, 1994. Read[NHP] "The Body of Evidence" and "The All Powerful Eye." |
| 15 | Visit to the MIT Museum – Berenice Abbott Archive | |
| Week 9: Marking Art I (Realism & Abstraction) | ||
| 16 | Photography & Painting |
ReadBenjamin, Walter. The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2010. ISBN: 9781453722480. Krauss, Rosalind. "The Photographic Conditions of Surrealism." October 19 (1981): 3–34. |
| 17 | Visit to MIT LIST Gallery – Charlotte Moth Exhibition | |
| Week 10: Writing Week | ||
| 18 | Exhibition Review Workshop |
ReadExhibition Reviews by Sarah Moroz: "Sarah Moroz: A Media Portfolio." Sarah Moroz's tumblr page. Reviews by Sean O'Hagan: Profile: Sean O'Hagan. The Guardian. Watch"The Role of the Critic in Photography - Roger Ballen and Shelley Rice in Conversation." [Watch Part 1 on YouTube; Watch Part 2 on YouTube] |
| Week 11: Tourism & Travel | ||
| 19 | The Postcard |
ReadSteinorth, Karl. "Photography for Everyone." In You Press the Button We Do the Rest: The Birth of Snapshot Photography. Dirk Nishen Publishing, 1988. ISBN: 9781853780103. Alloula, Malek. The Colonial Harem. University of Minnesota Press, 1986, pp. 1–26. ISBN: 9780816613847. |
| 20 | Snapshot photography | |
| Week 12: Making Art II (Institutions) | ||
| 21 | Museum Visit |
ReadBaudelaire, Charles. The Salon of 1859. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2014. ISBN: 9781503306233. [NHP] "Photographic Institutions and Practices." Solomon-Godeau, Abigail. "Calotypomania: The Gourmet Guide to Nineteenth-century Photography." In Photography at the Dock: Essays on Photographic History, Institutions, and Practices. University of Minnesota Press, 1994. ISBN: 9780816619146. |
| 22 | Photography and the Art Market / Museum | |
| Week 13: Surveillance & the Law | ||
| 23 | Photographs as Witnesses |
ReadTucker, Jennifer. “How Facial Recognition Photography Came to Be.” Gunning, Tom. "Embarrassing Evidence: The Detective Camera and the Documentary Impulse." In Collecting Visible Evidence. University of Minnesota Press, 1999. ISBN: 9780816631360. [Preview with Google Books] Laurent, Oliver. “Protecting the Right to Photograph, or Not to Be Photographed.” The New York Times, April 23, 2013. Estrin, James. "Criminalizing Photography." The New York Times, August 14, 2012. |
| 24 | Photography as Crime | |
| Week 14: Spreading the News (Humanistic Photography and Ethics) | ||
| 25 | Humanist photography |
ReadSontag, Susan. "Looking at War." The New Yorker, December 9, 2002. [NHP] “Looking at Others: Humanism and Neo-realism.” [Myth] “Shock Photos” and “The Family of Man.” Lavoie, Vincent. "War and the iPhone: New Fronts for Photojournalism." Translated by John Tittensor. Etudes Photographiques 29 (2012). |
| 26 | Aesthetics and Suffering | |