Course Syllabus

History of Photography in Europe: Technology, Culture, Art

Course Description

This course investigates the impact of photography on culture, art, and society from the first photographic images recorded in Europe around 1840 and up until today. We explore the role of photography beyond mainstream cultural accounts, integrating a diversity of disciplines from history to journalism, law, medicine, and science. Through hands-on exercises, field studies and meetings with professionals in studios, we zoom in on the interplay of seeing and learning, investigating photography’s role in shaping societies, memories, and identities.

Learning Objectives

By the end of this course you will have gained:

• an overview of the historical development of photographic technologies
• insights into the impact of photograpy within a number of fields, disciplines, and historical contexts
• experience with studying the rhetoric of photographic images
• an understanding of the interplay of the photographic image, memory, and identity formation 

Faculty

TBA

Readings

Excerpts from the following books, among others:
Hershberger, Photographic Theory: An Historical Anthology, Wiley-Blackwell, 2013
Marien, Photography: A Cultural History, Laurence King Publishing, 4th ed., 2020

Field Studies

Visit to a cultural institution in Stockholm focusing on photography such as Fotografiska as well as city exploration and a studio visit. 

Study Tour

Grading

Academic Regulations  

Please make sure to read the Academic Regulations on the DIS website. There you will find regulations on: 

• Course Enrollment and Grading  
• Academic Expectations and Honor Code 

DIS - Study Abroad in Scandinavia - www.DISabroad.org