Art History 635 - History of Photography

Introduction to the history of the medium from 1839 to the present. Lectures focus on the social and cultural factors underlying each type or form of photography, relation of the medium to other arts, and visual analysis of the images themselves.

The course will explore the history of photography as a global practice in the nineteenth century, studying its networks from the Ottoman Empire to India, China, Japan, the Americas, and Europe. Vernacular photographies as well as colonial and post-colonial legacies of photographic practice across the world will be considered. The course will be conducted in seminar style, and incorporate several sessions at the area museums' photography collections.