Photography as a Tool for Social Change

(3 Credit Hours) · Undergraduate

In this course, "Photography as a tool for social change" students will probe and analyze how photography can shake society from indifference to induce social action. The importance of developing a photographic vision will be studied and critiqued in the following categories: Observation: (reportage) locating the subject matter, creating a workable psychological, physical distance, Contact: establishing a presence, making contact with the subject, taking creative control, Engagement: creating a dialogue or collaboration with the subject, including them in the work, Direct intervention of the photographer, Appropriation and aesthetics in contemporary photography bringing awareness to or changing public opinion. Each course will culminate in a weekly shooting objective, directly related to the days session. Throughout the course students will engage with contemporary social issues (i.e. homelessness, adolescence, urbanization/gentrification of Paris, sex industry, wealth gap, etc...), learn to "read" a photograph, to analyze subjects through aesthetic photographic practices. A collective project in the form of a book will be one of the key objectives of this course. Specific readings will be assigned.