SOC 15
Photographic Literacy and Personal Vision Winter 2020

Cross-listed ANTH 15
This is not the current course catalog

When you look at a photograph, what is it really saying? How can you make a photograph that says what you want to say? This course is about seeing with emotion and literacy, and making photographs that reflect your own personal voice and vision. This is not a course on technical photography–this is about breaking down the barrier between your ideas and your camera. Students will conceptualize and photograph a project of their own choosing. Whether a narrative documentary project or a more abstract exploration of form, students are expected to photograph on their own outside of class for at least five hours a week. Students must own or borrow a digital camera. Williams has a stock of excellent cameras available for loan. Mondays and Fridays we’ll be looking at amazing historical and contemporary photographic work to cover a broad range of what is possible with the medium and discussing what the current conversations and controversies are within the practice. We’ll be looking at slides, screens, photobooks and gallery shows to get a sense of how photographs function differently depending on how they’re shown. The work we discuss is always adapted to reflect students’ interests. On Wednesdays we critique each others’ work–we look at students’ top images for the week and try to reconcile them against the project’s conceptual basis. We have a focused discussion about each student’s work for 20-30 minutes, and how to make each project better. After critiques I’ll be sending everyone photographic references to use for inspiration depending on your subject matter and aesthetic approach. At the end of the course the class will design and produce a campus exhibition of their photography. This event will serve as a synthesis of all the knowledge students gained while working together to make each others’ projects stronger. No photography experience is necessary! Anyone is ready to start reading photographs critically, and establish a concept-driven workflow that will serve you well as long as you take pictures. Adjunct Instructor Bio: Ben Brody is an award-winning photographer working on long-form projects related to the American wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and their aftermath. Themes of generational trauma, propaganda, and tragic comedy recur in his visual approach. His new book, Attention Servicemember, published by Red Hook Editions, will be available this fall.