Prospectus

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Photography: Analysis & Theory

Course
2024-2025

Admission requirements

There are no additional requirements.

IMPORTANT NOTE: This course is part of the additional requirements regarding components that have to be completed for the first (positive) binding study advice. This means that the student should have passed this course in order to be able to continue in the programme. See the programme-specific part of the Course and Examination Regulations.

Description

This course provides an overview of classic and contemporary theories of photography. It begins by unpacking several influential concepts that shaped the early days of photography, such as: indexicality, iconicity, and transparency theory. Having revisited these historical notions, it then turns to more contemporary debates, such as: materiality and agency, memory, and the genres landscape and snapshot. To work with these theories, the course makes use of two methodologies; those are: visual and discourse analysis. By using these methods, it inquires: to what extend can an attentive reading of visual materials tell us about their content? In which ways does the content of a photo or a photo series change when read through a specific social/political/historical discourse? Therefore, by exploring both classic and contemporary debates surrounding photography, this course creates a theoretical overview of ideas that have been shedding light onto this medium over the past centuries.

Course objectives

Students who successfully complete the course will have a good understanding of:

  • visual/discourse analysis methods in photography;

  • the sociopolitical applications of photography in contemporary discourses.

Students who successfully complete the course will be able to:

  • independently and critically reflect on diverse photographic practices;

  • choose and apply suitable theories and concepts in photo analysis;

  • collaboratively present and orally analyze photos by using multimedia materia;

  • apply the necessary academic skills for writing an individual academic photo-essay.

Timetable

The timetables are available through My Timetable.

Mode of instruction

  • Lecture

  • Seminar

Assessment method

Assessment

  • Group presentation (midterm)

  • Academic photo-essay

Weighing

  • Group presentation (30%)

  • Academic photo-essay (70%)

The final mark for the course is established by determining the weighted average. To pass the course, the weighted average of the partial grades must be 5.5 or higher.

Resit

If the final mark is below 5.5 rewrite can be done for the academic photo-essay.

Inspection and feedback

If the final mark is below 5.5 rewrite can be done for the academic photo-essay. How and when an exam review will take place will be disclosed together with the publication of the exam results at the latest. If a student requests a review within 30 days after publication of the exam results, an exam review will have to be organized.

Reading list

Study material will be announced on Brightspace before the start of the course.

Registration

Enrolment through MyStudyMap is mandatory.
General information about course and exam enrolment is available on the website

Registration À la carte education, Contract teaching and Exchange

Information for those interested in taking this course in context of À la carte education (without taking examinations), eg. about costs, registration and conditions.

Information for those interested in taking this course in context of Contract teaching (with taking examinations), eg. about costs, registration and conditions.
For the registration of exchange students contact Humanities International Office.

Contact

  • For substantive questions, contact the lecturer listed in the right information bar.

  • For questions about enrolment, admission, etc, contact the Education Administration Office: Arsenaal

Remarks

Not applicable