Course Syllabus
AH 273 Photo History Theory Syllabus Summer 2022.docx
History and Theory of Photography
Instructor: Kolya Rice
Office: Art 302
E-mail: krice@uw.edu
Office Hours: by Zoom appointment
Teaching Assistant: Giordano Conticelli
E-mail: conticg@uw.edu
Office Hours: by Zoom appointment
Course Description:
Is it possible today to imagine a world without photography? Photographs inform and impact so many aspects of our lives, we know—but how, specifically? This course is a survey of photography from its beginnings in the early 19th century to the digital imaging of today. Online video lectures, course readings and discussion forums will address photography’s multiple histories and theorizations: as an artistic medium, as a social text, as a technological adventure, and as a cultural practice. Key photographers, cultural movements and recurring themes will be explored with close attention to the social and cultural contexts in which photographs were produced, circulated and consumed. Further, we will explore critical approaches to, and complex theories concerning the operations and impact of photography, emphasizing a consideration of how photographic media impacts each of us, today.
The course is "asynchronous," meaning participants will work through sequences of materials and assignments organized in weekly “modules” on Canvas according to their own individual schedules with a great degree of flexibility.
Course content will be delivered through a series of Panopto video lectures and coordinated readings. Online discussion forums, reflective papers on readings, online quizzes and assignments have been designed to engage students with course topics, foster creative and critical thinking, allow dialogue concerning the stakes involved in visual representations, and allow instructor assessment and evaluation of participants’ progress.
Required Readings:
1. Robert Hirsch, Seizing the Light: A Social History of Photography, 3rd edition (2017)
2. Electronic reserve (ER) readings of special topics articles on Canvas.
Student Responsibilities:
3 quizzes (50% of overall grade)
Each quiz will require students to write short answers and longer essays on topics covered in the Panopto lectures and readings. These are open notes quizzes—you may return to the lectures and readings when composing your answers. Each quiz will only cover the topics for that 3 week section of the course. In other words, they are not comprehensive. These quizzes will be graded on a 100-point scale.
Summary/Reflective Essays (25%)
To ensure that participants have on strong comprehension of key ideas from course readings and lectures, and to allow me to offer feedback, each week students will write 3 summary/reflective essays on the readings. These essays will be graded on a 10-point scale.
Participation in weekly Discussion Forums (25%)
The topics of this course lend themselves to rich discussion and manifold perspectives. Candidly, this is often difficult to achieve in an online course. My hope is that you will engage with each other, respectfully and thoughtfully in the weekly online discussion forums. Each week I will provide you with specific topics, ideas and issues raised in the lectures and reading. Each student will be required to make one post in the discussion forum before the end of the day on Wednesdays. You are required to respond to at least one of these posts from another student by the end of the day on Fridays. You are welcome and encouraged to post/respond as many times as you desire. Your posts/responses will be graded on a 10-point scale based upon how well the reflect course content and student engagement.
VeriCite anti-plagairism software:
Notice: The University has a license agreement with VeriCite, an educational tool that helps prevent or identify plagiarism from Internet resources and work submitted by previous students of this course. I will use the service in this class; all assignments and quizzes you submit will be checked by VeriCite. The VeriCite Report will indicate the amount of original text in your work and whether all material that you quoted, paraphrased, summarized, or used from another source is appropriately referenced. All instances of intentional plagiarism will result in zero credit on the assignment, and a report of indicating academic dishonesty to the School of Art and the University of Washington. For further information, visit: https://itconnect.uw.edu/learn/tools/canvas/canvas-help-for-instructors/assignments-grading/vericite/plagiarism-faqs/
Course Outcomes:
Learn Actively - Learning is a personal, interactive process that results in greater expertise and a more comprehensive understanding of the world.
- Distinguish formal qualities that separate different stylistic periods of photography
- Employ interdisciplinary methods of visual analysis
- Explore the relationships between photography and its social, cultural, political, historical and/or religious contexts
- Develop interdisciplinary knowledge to examine how power and privilege manifest in culture and investigate how systems of power are related to class, race, gender, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, and other identities
- Identify strategies in visual representation for challenging systems of power and privilege
- Apply prominent theories of photography
Think Critically, Creatively and Reflectively - Reason and imagination are fundamental to problem solving and critical examination of ideas.
- Use a variety of approaches to think critically about and reflect on personal and cultural assumptions and biases, and to consider alternative views regarding issues of power and inequality as they relate to issues of the visual representation of sexuality, ethnicity, gender, and religion
- Identify key art historical issues, determine the assumptions underlying arguments, and recognize the way that historical and cultural context affect meaning
- Explore and articulate various ways that photography represents cultural identity which is shaped by varying degrees of power and privilege, in relation to both a local context and interconnected world
- Investigate and critique prominent theories of photography
Communicate with Clarity and Originality - The ability to exchange ideas and information is essential to personal growth, productive work, and societal vitality.
- Discuss multiple interpretations of course content as it relates to structures of power, privilege and inequality using discipline-appropriate concepts and theories, and articulate how and why these structures inform personal, professional, and social identities
- Articulate points of view while using details of a photograph and/or its context as evidence
- Demonstrate proficiency to conduct guided research using a wide variety of materials from multiple points of view
- Use appropriate sources and technologies to gather and present information
- Question and reflect on assumptions, statements and information made throughout the course by the text, readings, instructors, and other students
- Demonstrate effective use of interdisciplinary methodologies and theories of photography employed in the course to visually analyze photographs
- Contribute ideas and information individually and in a group dynamic
Religious Accommodations Policy
Course Summary:
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