First Year Seminar 191HFA41 - FYS- Topics in HFA

First-year (R1ST) Topic - Pics or It Didn't Happen: Photography in the Age of AI
Course Description - This seminar examines the complex relationship between photography and truth in a world saturated with images. From early documentary photography to algorithmically altered and AI-generated images, students will explore how photographs shape perception, memory, and belief. Rather than treating photography as a stable record of reality, the course investigates how truth is constructed through framing, staging, performance, and, increasingly, through data, code, and digital platforms. Students will consider the historical connections between photography and truth and analyze how these relationships have been reshaped by the rise of artificial intelligence. Through close analysis and hands-on projects, students will develop the skills to critically interpret images and produce their own visual work that engages questions of truth, representation, and manipulation. No prior experience in photography is required, though students must have access to a camera (cell phone cameras are acceptable).