Course Syllabus
Photojournalism B |
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| Semester & Location: |
Spring 2020 - DIS Copenhagen |
| Type & Credits: |
Elective Course -3 credits |
| Major Disciplines: |
Communication. Journalism. Photography. |
| Faculty Members: |
Mette Frandsen, mette.frandsen@dis.dk |
| Program Director: |
Iben de Neergaard, idn@dis.dk |
| Time & Place: |
Tuesdays and Fridays 8:30-9:50 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 yields growth in personal leadership. The class is centered around your production of a five-picture story with different assignments leading up to it. The focus is highly intercultural and anthropological in that you will be spending a significant portion of the course outside of the classroom, independently interacting with and reporting on the life of a self-selected subject, in the attempt to capture the essence of this person in a five-picture story.
Combined with the field work, the course offers critical perspectives on cultural categories, stereotypes and prejudices through in-class analysis and discussion of the works of well- known photojournalists, including the professor’s own work. The course concludes with a photo exhibition to demonstrate your ability to skillfully communicate with images in a reporting context.
Although there are no prerequisites for this class, it is important to note that this is a photojournalism class. The major focus of this course will be on applying photojournalistic theories to close work with a subject and on how to put together the five-picture story, not on techniques or learning how to use your camera.
Learning Objective
Through practical assignments, this class provides you with hands-on-experiences in photojournalism. Lectures, field studies, guest instructors, student presentation and group work will help you develop the analytical basis and insight to reflect upon and assess the impact of photographs on our ideas of the world.
By the end of this course, you will:
Be able to create a five-picture story and understand the conventions and challenges of telling stories through images
Be conscious about the underlying cultural assumptions of photojournalism
Gain personal leadership through challenging, intercultural assignments
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. 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. Write your name and the date on the back of each photo. Also keep a copy of your selected photos in an electronic version that is accessible in class (e.g. zipdrive or online).
Further Information
During the course, you will produce a portfolio with most of the work leading up to the final five- picture story. You will work intensively, half the semester, with one person, of your choice, as your subject matter. The course provides a great opportunity to immerse yourself in Danish culture, as you are not allowed to photograph fellow students, your host family or someone at DIS for the final five-picture story assignment.
Laptop Policy
Laptops and electronic devices may not be used in the classroom unless given permission by me or in classes with photography assignments.
Course Evaluation
• Class attendance and participation - 20%
• Assignment 1: study tour assignment – 10%
• Various minor assignments (together) -25 %
• Final five-picture story, exhibition and a 1500 word academic reflection– 45%
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. Perfection has less priority compared to the learning process of trial and error. 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
20% 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.
Assignment 1: Study tour assignment
10% of final grade.
During core course week, approach a foreigner and take pictures of this person. Select the two best pictures and write a 500 word “what happened” paper in which you include a short description of the person (name, age, why he or she was where they were, doing what they did), why you chose this person, which of the two pictures is your favorite, and your thoughts on the process (was it awkward to make contact with a stranger, was anything surprising, what have you learned that you can use in future assignments)
February 14 : assignment is due at the beginning of class, in hard copy.
Assignment 2: Various assignments
25 % of final grade.
Description will be given in class. Deadline differs from time til time and will be given in class, as well.
Final project: 5 picture story
45% of final grade.
Produce a photojournalistic story with 5 pictures of the same Dane of your choice (plus captions) with an accompanying introduction text. The Dane cannot be someone you know or live with. You must also write a 1500 word, academic reflection in which you draw on at least 3-4 course readings.
March 10'th: 1st shoot: You should have taken at least 40 pictures of your Dane. Select and bring the 5-7 best pictures, in print, to class. (write your name and the date on the back). Not graded.
April 31'st: 2nd shoot: You should have taken at least 40 NEW pictures of your Dane. Select and bring the 5 best pictures in print of your Dane from this second shoot. Not graded.
April 14'th: 3rd shoot: You should have taken at least 40 NEW pictures of your Dane. Select and bring the 5 best pictures in print from this third shoot. Not graded.
Date will follow: Draft of the introduction-text accompanying your pictures due at the beginning of class, not graded.
April 17'th: 4th draft. Bring the 8 best pictures of your Dane, from all shoots.
April 21'st: Final version of Final Assignment due at the beginning of class.
The 5 pictures you have selected (sequenced)
+ accompanying intro-text
+ academic reflection (1500 words)
Regarding the academic reflection:
Everything that we have talked about, you have seen, learned, read and discussed in this class, has been leading up to your Final Project. Connect the learning, theory, issues, topics, that you find relevant to your Final Project. Let me know what you’ve learned, what you’ve used yourself, what makes sense (and not) regarding your own work with your Final Project.
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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