Photography and the Making of the Modern World

Undergraduate catalogue

A survey of photography from its multiple inventions in the early 19th century to its omnipresence (and possible obsolescence) in the 21st. Themes will include photography's power to define the "real"; its emulation and eventual transformation of the traditional fine arts; and its role in the construction of personal and collective memories. For department majors, this course satisfies the 1800-present historical period distribution requirement. Two lectures, one preceptorial.