ART 281 - American Photographs

1 unit(s)

(Same as AMST 281) This course traces a history of American photography, exploring the medium’s central role in negotiating changing conceptions of nation, identity, and citizenry. We interrogate how the photograph has been employed since its introduction to the US in the late 1830s to both shape and fiercely contest constructs of nationhood. Settler colonial occupation and other asymmetric power relations formed the sociopolitical context in which photographic exchanges in North America began. Positing the medium as inseparable from the long histories of contact that have shaped the Americas, we explore the camera as mediator in shifting relations of place, inclusion, and belonging in the US. Considering photographs as material, as well as visual objects, we pay particular attention to their contexts of viewing and circulation and make multiple visits to the Loeb Art Center to view original works.

Open to all classes.

Two 75-minute periods.

Not offered in 2020/21.

Course Format: CLS