Photography and Objectivity

From the moment of its arrival in Western culture, the photograph has been characterized as the product of a machine, of optics and chemistry. The mechanical nature of the medium seemed to guarantee it a special relation to its subject: the photograph showed something real, through an analog technology that was essentially objective. This graduate level seminar will investigate the notion of objectivity, as it has been analyzed in the history of science and other fields, and as it has been discussed in relation to photography. Enrollment limited to 15 graduate students.