ARTH 359 Studies in Contemporary Photographic Art

• Tuesdays, 9:00-11:30
• EV-1-605
• Instructor: Georgia Phillips-Amos

Contemporary photography has been shaped by many influences and critical perspectives. Drawing examples from the last thirty-five years of photographic practice, this course will engage with the trends, themes, and genres that have shaped photography’s relationship to broader artistic and social contexts since the 1980s. By reading key primary texts in photography theory and criticism, we will consider their effects on contemporary practice. As art historians and artists, we will share insights into contemporary photography by questioning authorship, subjectivity, and power alongside their relationship to consumption, circulation and display. We will look at the implications of new technologies and how image making and image viewing are being transformed by the ever-changing medium. Students will come away from this course familiar with the concepts, theories and artworks important in the history of photography and in contemporary practice, a vocabulary to discuss and analyze photographic works; and the tools to develop and engage in debates on the cultural value and significance of contemporary photography.