[Myth] = 
Barthes, Roland. Mythologies. 2nd ed. Translated by Richard Howard and Annette Lavers. Hill and Wang, 2012. ISBN: 9780374532345.
[NHP] = Weaver, Mike. A New History of Photography. Konemann, 1999. ISBN: 9783829013284.
| Ses # | Topics | Readings |
|---|---|---|
| Week 1: Introduction | ||
| 1 |
Photography, France, How to talk / write about photographs |
No readings. |
| Week 2: What is photography? I. (Moment or Network) | ||
| 2 | The Decisive Moment with Special Guest Dr. Nadya Bair |
WatchTravelartist Streetphotography. “Henri Cartier-Bresson: The Decisive Moment.” August 31, 2016. YouTube. Read
Nadya Bair, “The Decisive Network: Producing Henri Cartier-Bresson at Mid-century.” History of Photography 40, no. 2 (2016): 146-166. |
| 3 | Making the News | |
| Week 3: What is Photography? II (Science or Art) | ||
| 4 | Is it Technology? |
WatchAt least one of the videos from the Photographic Processes Series made by the George Eastman House. Look AtWilfrid Rouff’s Official Website. Read
Daguerre, Louis Jacques Mandé. "Daguerreotype." In Manovich, Lev. “The Paradoxes of Digital Photography.” In |
| 5 | Is it Magic? With Special Guest Photographer Wilfrid Rouff | |
| Week 4: Capturing the World: Albert Kahn to Aerial Photography | ||
| 6 | Albert Kahn & The Archives de la Planète |
Read
Murray, Susan. “Digital Images, Photo-Sharing, and Our Shifting Notions of Everyday Aesthetics.” Journal of Visual Culture 7 (2008): 147–163. WatchCITRIS. "Visualizing Space, Elizabeth Kessler." November 4, 2014. YouTube. "Edwardians in Colour: The Wonderful World of Albert Kahn." Episodes 1–5. BBC (documentary). [Watch Episode 1 on YouTube] |
| 7 | Aerial photography and surveillance | |
| Week 5: Likeness and Identity (Portraiture) | ||
| 8 | From Early Portraiture to the Selfie |
Read
[Myth] “The Harcourt Actor.”
Stallabrass, Julian. “On Selfies.” London Review of Books 36, no. 11 (2014): 20. |
| 9 | Photography, Identity, & Resemblance | |
| Week 6: Politics, Propaganda, Protest | ||
| 10 | Protest Photography from May ’68 to Nuit Debut |
Read[Myth] “Electoral Photogeny.” If you don't read French, please read this article: Reynolds, Francis. "Chim's Eye: On Photography and Politics." The Nation. April 15, 2013. French readers please read this article: Guiol, Elsa et Stéphanie Marteau. “Y a-t-il un président pour sauver la presse people ?” M le magazine du Monde. 7 fevrier 2014. Quinn, Ben. "French Police Make Women Remove Clothing on Nice Beach Following Burkini Ban." The Guardian. 23 August 2016. |
| 11 | Photography and the President | |
| Week 7: Urban Exploration (Street Photography) | ||
| 12 | Documenting Urbanism |
WatchRob Hooley. “André Kertesz BBC Master Photographers (1983).” April 14, 2013. YouTube. ReadMorand, Paul. “Foreword.” In Stallabras, Julian. “Paris Pictured: Street Photography 1900-1968.” Royal Academy of Arts, 2002. Meyerowitz Colin and Joel Westerbeck, “An American in Paris.” In Rafman, Jon. “The Nine Eyes of Google Street View” + Comments. August 12, 2009. Art F City. |
| 13 | People in the Streets | |
| Week 8: Research and Investigation | ||
| 14 | Peer Review Workshop |
Watch"Harold "Doc" Edgerton - How Fast is Fast?" From the Vault Video Collection. MIT+150. Produced by MIT Video Productions for the Edgerton Foundation, 1994. Read[NHP] "The Body of Evidence" and "The All Powerful Eye." |
| 15 | Visit to the MIT Museum – Berenice Abbott Archive | |
| Week 9: Marking Art I (Realism & Abstraction) | ||
| 16 | Photography & Painting |
Read
Krauss, Rosalind. "The Photographic Conditions of Surrealism." October 19 (1981): 3–34. |
| 17 | Visit to MIT LIST Gallery – Charlotte Moth Exhibition | |
| Week 10: Writing Week | ||
| 18 | Exhibition Review Workshop |
ReadExhibition Reviews by Sarah Moroz: "Sarah Moroz: A Media Portfolio." Sarah Moroz's tumblr page. Reviews by Sean O'Hagan: Profile: Sean O'Hagan. The Guardian. Watch"The Role of the Critic in Photography - Roger Ballen and Shelley Rice in Conversation." [Watch Part 1 on YouTube; Watch Part 2 on YouTube] |
| Week 11: Tourism & Travel | ||
| 19 | The Postcard |
ReadSteinorth, Karl. "Photography for Everyone." In
|
| 20 | Snapshot photography | |
| Week 12: Making Art II (Institutions) | ||
| 21 | Museum Visit |
Read
[NHP] "Photographic Institutions and Practices." Solomon-Godeau, Abigail. "Calotypomania: The Gourmet Guide to Nineteenth-century Photography." In |
| 22 | Photography and the Art Market / Museum | |
| Week 13: Surveillance & the Law | ||
| 23 | Photographs as Witnesses |
ReadTucker, Jennifer. “How Facial Recognition Photography Came to Be.” Gunning, Tom. "Embarrassing Evidence: The Detective Camera and the Documentary Impulse." In Laurent, Oliver. “Protecting the Right to Photograph, or Not to Be Photographed.” The New York Times, April 23, 2013. Estrin, James. "Criminalizing Photography." The New York Times, August 14, 2012. |
| 24 | Photography as Crime | |
| Week 14: Spreading the News (Humanistic Photography and Ethics) | ||
| 25 | Humanist photography |
ReadSontag, Susan. "Looking at War." The New Yorker, December 9, 2002. [NHP] “Looking at Others: Humanism and Neo-realism.” [Myth] “Shock Photos” and “The Family of Man.” Lavoie, Vincent. "War and the iPhone: New Fronts for Photojournalism." Translated by John Tittensor. Etudes Photographiques 29 (2012). |
| 26 | Aesthetics and Suffering | |