History and theory of photography part II: 1940 - present
Proposed to be offered next in 1996
A Marsh
8 points * 3 hours per week * Second semester * Clayton * Prerequisites: Two visual arts subjects at first-year level
The second part of the subject will introduce students to the development of photography through the twentieth century. It will address the distinction between high art and an art of reproduction and look at issues of originality and authorship in relation to the museum. It will also consider the current practices of surveillance in Western society and the developing world, focusing on the social history of photography. Theories of simulation will be addressed and students will be required to familiarise themselves with recent postmodern critiques of photography which draw on psychoanalytic and semiotic theory. Contemporary practice in Australia will be considered, most significantly the photographic record of Aboriginality.
Assessment
Seminar paper (1500 words): 25% * Essay (3000 words): 50% * Visual test (1.5 hours): 25%
Preliminary reading
Barthes R Camera Lucida Jonathan Cape, 1982
Bolton R (ed.) The contest of meaning: Critical histories of photography MIT Press 1992
Burgin V Thinking photography Macmillan, 1982
Prescribed texts
Solomon-Godeau A Photography at the dock U Minnesota P, 1991
Squiers C (ed.) The critical image: Essays on contemporary photography Bay Press, 1990
Tagg J The burden of representation U Massachusetts P, 1988