Photography: Identity and the Photograph

3 units

Photography has opened the possibilities to reveal, reclaim, and interrogate personal and collective identity in contemporary practice. In this studio course we will consider how artists have portrayed the self and others to question constructs of race, gender, and class. Course readings, lectures, and discussions will address strategies for engaging the topic of identity through genre-based explorations, including portraiture, personal narrative, and critical fabulation. Students will create their own lens-based works centering identity with a focus on exploration and revelation. This is a studio-based course with a discussion component. Students will be evaluated through critiques and discussion participation.