Course Syllabus
Photojournalism C |
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| Semester & Location: |
Fall 2025 - DIS Copenhagen |
| Type & Credits: |
Elective Course - 3 credits |
| Major Disciplines: |
Communication. Journalism. Photography. |
| Pre-requisite(s): |
None |
| Faculty Members: |
Mette Frandsen, (current students please use the Canvas Inbox) |
| Time & Place: |
Tuesdays 8:30-11.25 Location: F24-202 |
Course Description
Photographer Diane Arbus describes the camera as a license into people's lives. This class requires that you take full advantage of your Danish setting and immerse yourself in the lives of those around you. Working as a photojournalist is a challenging endeavor and fosters growth in personal leadership.
The course is centered around your production of images that apply a photojournalistic and documentary approach to photography and visual storytelling. The focus is highly intercultural and anthropological, as you will spend a significant portion of the course outside the classroom, independently interacting with and reporting on stories of photojournalistic relevance and societal context.
Combined with this fieldwork, the course offers critical perspectives on cultural categories, stereotypes, and prejudice through in-class analysis and discussion of the work of renowned photojournalists, including the professor’s own work.
Although there are no prerequisites for this course, it is important to note that this is a photojournalism class. The main focus will be on applying photojournalistic theories directly to your own production and development of assignments that require engagement, curiosity, and the ability to create meaning across cultural and linguistic boundaries.
Learning Objectives
Through practical assignments, this class provides you with hands-on experiences in photojournalism. Lectures, field studies, guest instructors, student presentations, and group work will help you develop an analytical foundation and the insight needed to reflect on and assess the impact of photographs on our understanding of the world.
By the end of this course, you will:
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Be able to create a photojournalistic picture story and understand the conventions and challenges of telling stories through images
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Be conscious of the underlying cultural assumptions embedded in photojournalistic practice
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Gain personal leadership through challenging, intercultural assignments and encounters
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Learn to work independently in real-world contexts and cultivate visual sensitivity to people, places, and events
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Develop critical thinking skills to analyze images as cultural texts and understand their social and political implications
Faculty
Mette Frandsen
BA in Photojournalism, Danish School of Media and Journalism. Educated from Fatamorgana, Danish School of Documentary and Art Photography. Teaches Masterclasses in Visual Storytelling and other workshops at several photography schools and art institutes. Lectures on projects, and works around the world. With DIS since 2015.
Required Readings
Readings on Canvas
Barthes, Roland. “Rhetoric of the Image”. Encyclopedia of Semiotics (1964)
Barthes, Roland. Camera Lucida: Reflections on Photography. Hill and Wang, Reprint ed. (2010)
Cotton, Charlotte. The Photograph as Contemporary Art. World of Art Series, Thames and Hudson, 3 edition (2014)
Cornell, Lauren. “Self-Portraiture in the First-Person Age”. Aperture; Winter 2015, Issue 221, p 34.
“Latent Image; W. Eugene Smith’s Controversial Minamata Photograph”. Aperture; Summer 2000, Issue 160, p14.
Important Information
Each of you is responsible for providing your own digital camera. A phone camera will also work. We will keep the sharing of pictures low tech when possible and each of you will have a folder. In the folder, you will add your photos as you take them throughout the semester. Also keep a copy of your selected photos in an electronic version that is accessible in class (e.g. zipdrive or online).
Laptop Policy
Laptops and electronic devices may not be used in the classroom unless given permission by your professor.
Grading and Student Evaluation
The primary criterions for strong grades are: active and enthusiastic participation in classes; ability to read and discuss material in class; active participation during workshops; ability to situate your own work in the larger tradition of photojournalism and to reflect critically on your own work; completion of assignments by the deadlines.
The technical and aesthetic mastery of the photos are regarded as less vital for the purpose of this course. The learning process of trial and error is the priority. Your grades will be uploaded to the Grade Center on Canvas.
Late Paper Policy
Late papers and assignments will be deducted a third of a grade point per day they are late.
Class Participation and Attendance
25% of final grade.
You are expected to attend all DIS classes when scheduled. Absences will jeopardize your grade and your standing at DIS and your home university will be notified. Allowances will be made in cases of illness, but in the case of multiple absences, you are required to provide a doctor’s note. Missing deadlines will have consequences.
Academic Regulations
Please make sure to read the Academic Regulations on the DIS website. There you will find regulations on:
DIS - Study Abroad in Scandinavia - www.DISabroad.org
Course Summary:
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