PG 300 - Photography: A Critical Introduction

The two main purposes of this course are:

1. To introduce you to the basic techniques that help you to master the fundamental rules of “making,” not just simply “taking,” photographs
2. To offer a general idea of the conceptual issues concerning the reading of photographs, and images, in general. This encompasses how photographs are taken, what their different forms and meanings can be, why they occupy such a key role in our society, who controls their circulation, where their main centers of production are located and when this overwhelming global process originated.

Since theory informs practice, the proposed conscientious engagement with questions about photographic meaning helps students develop not only a better critical understanding of the images they are wrapped up in the environment they live in, but also a deeper sense of the hidden agendas underlying the pictures they learn to both interpret and construct. You will also discover how to combine your images with words and sounds to create your own multimedia “audio-slideshow.”