Undergraduate Course: Towards a Global History of Photography (HIAR10210)
Course Outline
| School | Edinburgh College of Art |
College | College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 10 (Year 3 Undergraduate) |
Availability | Available to all students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | The course investigates the history of photography as observed through a multiplicity of practices from around the world, starting with the 19th century and into the 21st. It explores the medium's multiple genealogies, addressing key themes such as colonialism and modernity, while taking an in-depth look at various case studies situated between the local and global. |
| Course description |
The emergence of photography in the mid-nineteenth century fundamentally altered preceding aesthetic categories. Hugely popular, rapidly applied in fields as diverse as science, medicine, commerce, entertainment, media production, art and design, photography came to define us, while we struggled to define ourselves through its means. To what extent are our identities mediated by a photographically informed, predominantly visual culture? How are we situated within these visual environments, worldwide, as image-makers and consumers of images? In how far are we spectators and when do we become engaged? Images 'touch' us, but do we still touch them? Is photography a democratic medium? Can it fight injustice? Does photography create change?
Driven by similarly fascinating and often hard-to-resolve questions and concerns, the course investigates the history of photography from the perspective of broader social, political, economic and cultural forces. We will explore a multiplicity of practices, thinking about photographic production, aesthetics and social engagement, in-between the local, transnational and the global. As the field has substantially shifted in recent years - not least through the rise of decolonial perspectives - Eurocentric ideas that have previously informed what constituted the history of photography and its canon are now being challenged. One of the goals of this seminar is to set a new course towards considering the history of photography in its truly global and decentred dimensions.
The course is structured in a loosely chronological manner, with weekly 2-hour sessions revolving around themes such as identity, race, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, consumer culture, modernity, colonialism, conflict, ethics, the archive, and many more. In a collaborative, discussion-driven setting, the course aims to generate critical perspectives on photography, where an array of material, across genres, beyond conceptual and geographic boundaries, will be engaged. Working individually or as groups, students will prepare weekly discussion responses based on required readings. They will contribute a short presentation to be delivered in class during weeks 3-8, which will help inform their final essay and exam.
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
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Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | None |
Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | Visiting students should have completed at least 3 History of Art courses at grade B or above, and we will only consider University/College level courses. **Please note that 3rd year History of Art courses are high-demand, meaning that they have a very high number of students wishing to enrol in a very limited number of spaces. These enrolments are managed strictly by the Visiting Student Office, in line with the quotas allocated by the department, and all enquiries to enrol in these courses must be made through the CAHSS Visiting Student Office. |
| High Demand Course? |
Yes |
Course Delivery Information
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| Academic year 2024/25, Available to all students (SV1)
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Quota: 20 |
| Course Start |
Semester 1 |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
200
(
Lecture Hours 9,
Seminar/Tutorial Hours 9,
External Visit Hours 2,
Feedback/Feedforward Hours 1,
Summative Assessment Hours 2,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
173 )
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| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
0 %,
Coursework
100 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
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| Additional Information (Assessment) |
This course has 2 assessment components:
- Presentation (10-minute individual presentation) 40%, written script or recording and slides due Weeks 8-9
- Essay (2,000 words), 60%, due during the exam diet |
| Feedback |
Formative Feedback
Students will prepare a spoken presentation to deliver to the class (or to record in case of an active Schedule of Adjustments) during weeks 3-6. This work will be supported through a one-to-one meeting with the Course Organiser beforehand. Students can request an optional one-to-one meeting thereafter to discuss feedback. The research conducted on the presentation will contribute towards the final essay and feed into a Wikipedia edit-a-ton towards the end of the course. Students will decide on the topic of their choice and consult with the Course Organiser in developing their essays. Essay plans will be submitted in Week 8 and will be discussed in a one-to-one meeting with the Course Organiser.
Summative Feedback
The course is assessed through an individual presentation and an essay. Marks on the presentation will be determined by peer-assessment for the spoken component (20%) and by the Course Organiser for the script (20%). Written feedback on the presentation script submitted mid-November will be provided by the Course Organiser via Turnitin. Final feedback on essays will also be provided via Turnitin. Feedback on both components will be provided as per University regulations. |
| No Exam Information |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Demonstrate breadth of knowledge and understanding of historic to contemporary photographic practices from diverse regions of the world (e.g., Latin America, Africa, Asia), going beyond the Euro-American canon.
- Engage with and analyse in a critical manner contexts and ideas associated with vernacular, social and modernist photography from a global perspective.
- Apply art historiographical and interdisciplinary methodologies and analyse relevant texts, images and theoretical approaches ranging from postcolonial, decolonial, feminist, queer theory, performance, memory and disability studies.
- Conduct visual and textual analysis through image-based learning.
- Formulate, structure and communicate arguments, verbally and in writing, in a clear and compelling manner.
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Reading List
Duganne, Erina, Heather Diack, and Terri Weissman. Global Photography: A Critical History. London: Routledge, 2020.
Christopher Pinney, Nicolas Peterson, eds. Photography's Other Histories. Durham: Duke University Press, 2003.
Pinney, Christopher, Naluwembe Binaisa, Vindhya Buthpitiya, Konstantinos Kalantzis, Ileana L. Selejan, and Sokphea Young, eds. Citizens of Photography: The Camera and the Political Imagination. Durham: Duke University Press, 2023.
Rosenblum, Naomi. A World History of Photography. 5th edition. New York: Abbeville Press, 2022.
Warner Marien, Mary. Photography: A Cultural History. 5rd edition. London: Laurence King Publishing, 2021. |
Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Personal and Intellectual Autonomy: This course will help students to develop their visual analysis skills, enhancing their abilities as critical and reflective thinkers, by asking them to engage with critical arguments put forward in a variety of texts.
Personal Development: The course will help students develop their abilities as creative problem-solvers and independent researchers, by asking them to explore how artists and institutions have framed art works within diverse cultural contexts, and to develop convincing interpretations (both visual and textual) in relation to those examples.
Communication: The course will help students develop their skills as effective communicators, in writing, through coursework and assessment (including an essay), as well as in spoken form, through an individual presentation. They will learn to organise and plan their research, to develop arguments in a well-structured manner, and to articulate ideas clearly in writing. The emphasis on seminar class discussion will help students develop their critical skills through listening to and engaging with others¿ ideas and working constructively through group discussion to develop new understanding. |
| Keywords | photography,history,visual culture,global,transnational,colonialism,modernism,analogue,digital |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Lorna Dillon
Tel:
Email: ldillon@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Mx Hannah Pennie Morrison
Tel: (0131 6)51 5763
Email: Hannah.PM@ed.ac.uk |
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