PHOT A230: Photography Since 1945
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| Curriculum Committee Approval Date | 11/03/2021 |
| Top Code | 101100 - Cinematography |
| Units | 3 Total Units |
| Hours | 54 Total Hours (Lecture Hours 54) |
| Total Outside of Class Hours | 0 |
| Course Credit Status | Credit: Degree Applicable (D) |
| Material Fee | Yes |
| Basic Skills | Not Basic Skills (N) |
| Repeatable | No |
| Grading Policy | Standard Letter (S),
|
| Associate Arts Local General Education (GE) |
|
| Associate Science Local General Education (GE) |
|
| California General Education Transfer Curriculum (Cal-GETC) |
|
| Intersegmental General Education Transfer Curriculum (IGETC) |
|
Course Description
A critical history of photography from 1945 to the present. Works will be considered from social, political, and art historical perspectives. Will survey the work of major photographers, exhibitions, and critical writers, as well as the ever-increasing role of photography in contemporary cultural life. Transfer Credit: CSU; UC.
Course Level Student Learning Outcome(s)
- Identify the trends, works and ideas of key practitioners in post WWII photography.
- Analyze and articulate the ideas and thinking behind their work.
Course Objectives
- 1. Discuss the history and traditions of photography from 1945 to the present.
- 2. Recognize the aesthetic approaches of major photographic practitioners, as well as lesser known figures.
- 3. Discuss the aesthetic and conceptual concerns underlying photographic practice.
- 4. Discuss the relationships between the history of photography and the social histories it both shapes and records.
- 5. Discuss specific ways in which photography has shaped society.
- 6. Discuss specific ways in which photography has influenced the other visual arts.
- 7. Recognize the impact on practitioners of the technical development of photography.
- 8. Recognize the aesthetic and conceptual concerns underlying modernism.
- 9. Recognize the aesthetic and conceptual concerns underlying post-modernism.
- 10. Discuss the relationship between social events and the work of certain individual photographers.
Lecture Content
The order below is variable as is the focus on individual photographers. The photographer cited for each subject is the primary subejct of discussion. Other practitioners will be also be included. Some topics provide material for more than one lecture. Overview of contemporary practices Introduction to topics listed below Documentary Photography 1: The Photo Essay Life, Look, Ebony and the picture magazines Life Magazine and Beyond: W. Eugene Smith, the Vietnam War: Larry Burrows The fight for Civil Rights in the U.S.: Gordon Parks Documentary Photography 2: The Anti Photo Essay "The Americans" by Robert Frank Civil Wars in Nicaragua and El Salvador: Susan Meiselas The Photo Diary: Larry Clark The Photo Diary 2: Hiromix (Hiromi Tishikawa) The Influence of John Szarkowski and MoMA The Psychological Portrait 1: Diane Arbus Street Photography 1: Garry Winogrand The Social Landscape: Lee Friedlander New Color Photography: William Eggleston Street Photography 2: Vivian Maier The Directorial Mode 1 Photography Collage: Frederick Sommer The Photographic Narrative: Duane Michals Dreams Visions: Graciella Iturbide Dreams Visions: Deanna Lawson The Fictional Museum: Joan Fontcuberta The Directorial Mode 2 The Fictional Self-portrait: Cindy Sherman Constructed Narratives1: Jeff Wall Migrations: Christina Fernandez Camera Obscura: Abelardo Morrell The Manipulated Landscape: Myoung Ho Lee Approaches to Landscape 1 New Topographics: Robert Adams Panoramas: Lois Conner Industry Beyond: Edward Burtynsky The Altered Lan dscape: Toshio Shibata Excavating History: Sally Mann Approaches to Landscape 2 Nomads: Jungjiin Lee War Games: An My Le The New China: Sze Tsung Leong Cosmologies: Sharon Harper Walking Artists: Hamish Fulton Portraits 1 The American West: Richard Avedon The Post-Colonial era in Burkina Faso: Sanlé Sory New York City the Lower East Side: Peter Hujar The Psychological Portrait 2: Rineke Dijkstra Conflict Resolution: Fazal Sheikh Portraits 2 Family: Gay Block Recontextualizing the Slave Portraits of J.T. Zealy: Carrie Mae Weems The Fantastical Portrait: Mickalene Thomas Arab Female Identity: Laila Essaydi Conflict Disaster Mexico: Enrique Metinides Afghanistan: Tim Hetherington Columbia: Newsha Tavakolian South Africa: Lindokuhle Sobekwa Social Critique Activism Photo-Collage and Protest: Martha Rosler Revisiting Lynching Sites in California: Ken Gonzalez Day Coopting Advertising: Barbara Kruger Examining the Media: Sarah Charlesworth Dissidents: Ai Wei Wei Photography and Conceptual Art The Camera as Objective Recording Device: Ed Ruscha The Mythic Being: Adrian Piper Tricksters: John Baldessari Lyricists: Felix Gonzalez Torres
Method(s) of Instruction
- Lecture (02)
- DE Online Lecture (02X)
Instructional Techniques
Lecture, slide shows, discussions
Reading Assignments
Students will spend 2 hours per week reading from the assigned text books as well as additional readings assigned by the instructor.
Writing Assignments
Students will spend 2 hours per week writing responses to assigned readings and in-class lecture material
Out-of-class Assignments
Students will spend 2 hours per week either visiting relevant exhibitions or researching assigned photographers in the library.
Demonstration of Critical Thinking
Written assignments, report, exams
Required Writing, Problem Solving, Skills Demonstration
Lecture responses, reading responses, short papers, report
Eligible Disciplines
Photography: Masters degree in photography, fine arts, or art OR bachelors degree in any of the above AND masters degree in art history or humanities OR the equivalent. Masters degree required.
Textbooks Resources
1. Required Sontag, Susan . On Photography, Latest Edition ed. New York: Picador, 2001 Rationale: This is a seminal text on photography, one that has influenced the thinking of numerous scholars and photographers. 2. Required Sontag, Susan. Regarding the Pain of Others , Latest Edition ed. New York: Farrar, Strauss, Giroux, 2003 Rationale: This is a seminal text that considers the role of the photojournalist in covering war and disasters. 3. Required Barthes, Roland. Camera Lucida, Latest Edition ed. Hill and Wang, 2010 Rationale: This is a classic text on photography and this is the most recent edition. 4. Required Charlotte Cotton. The Photograph as Contemporary Art, ed. Thames Hudson, 2020 5. Required Robert Adams. Art Can Help, ed. Yale University Press, 2021 6. Required Sally Miller. Contemporary Photography Theory: Concepts and Debates , ed. Routledge, 2020