COMP 281 - Photography and Memory

Institution:

Williams College

Subject:

Comparative Literature

Description:

This course is an introduction to Visual Culture with a special focus on photography and its relationship to the construction of memory. Students will read western reflections on the practice and cultural impact of photography by critics such as Barthes, Baudelaire, Baudrillard, Bazin, Benjamin, Berger, Crimp, Derrida, Eco, Flusser, Greenberg, Hirsch, Kemp, Kracauer, Krauss, Metz, Mitchell, Moholy-Nagy, Solomon-Godeau, Sekula, Sontag, and Virilio. Students will supplement the theoretical and conceptual readings by examining photographs and collections of photography and their relationship to the construction of memory--from the personal album to museum collections and historical archives to the collected works of individual artists. Many class sessions will be held at the WCMA and local museums and libraries and students are encouraged to seek out and pursue projects that are meaningful to them.

Credits:

3.00

Credit Hours:

Prerequisites:

Corequisites:

Exclusions:

Level:

Instructional Type:

Seminar

Notes:

Additional Information:

Historical Version(s):

Institution Website:

www.williams.edu

Phone Number:

(413) 597-3131

Regional Accreditation:

New England Association of Schools and Colleges

Calendar System:

Four-one-four plan

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