Credit Points: 30
Study Time: 300

The unit introduces you to the history of photography and the writings that inform(ed) its development, how it is understood - and what it has come to mean. It traces the technical and aesthetic development of the medium from its invention to the present day and explores the texts, images and practitioners that have influenced and enhanced its status as an art form. The introduction of key concepts encourages your analytical and critical abilities, and the integration of historical and theoretical issues within your creative practice.

Outline Syllabus
An indicative guide to the content covered by this unit:

• The 19th century - process and progress 
• The “Pencil of Light” 1920s and 1930s modernist practices 
• The autonomous discipline
• Propaganda and photography 
• The dawn of photographic education 
• The significance of the text Postmodernism - and it‟s aftermath 
• Photo-Conceptualism

Method of Delivery
Lectures, seminars, demonstrations, independent learning, individual and group tutorials, critique.

Aims

A1 To provide opportunities for the discussion and communication of photography within historic and contemporary creative practice.
A2 To provide you with a sound knowledge of the history and development of photography.
A3 To provide awareness of the development of your ideas and creative practice in the context of historic and contemporary models.

Learning Outcomes
On completion of this unit you will able to:

LO1 Demonstrate sound knowledge of photography within historic and contemporary creative practice.
LO2 Demonstrate sound knowledge of the history and development of photography.
LO3 Develop a sound knowledge of how to locate your ideas and creative practice in the context of historic and contemporary models.

Reference Material

Key
Barthes, Roland (1980) (Richard Howard trans.1981) Camera Lucida – Reflections on Photography London: Vintage Classics
Campany, David (ed.) (2003) Art and Photography. London and New York: Phaidon Press Ltd.
Flusser, Vilém (2000) Towards a Philosophy of Photography London: Reaktion Books.
Marien, Mary Warner (1997) Photography and Its Critics: A Cultural History, 1839-1900. London: Cambridge University Press.
Sontag, Susan (1979) On Photography Harmondsworth: Penguin Books

Recommended
Berger, John (1972) Ways of Seeing London and Basingstoke: Macmillan Press
Burgin, Victor (1982) Thinking Photography London and Basingstoke: Macmillan Press
Frizot, Michel with Colin Harding and Pierre Albert (eds) (1999) A New History of Photography Cologne: Konemann Verlag.
Maynard, Patrick (1997) The Engine of Visualization: Thinking through Photography. New York: Cornell University Press.
Wells, Liz (ed.) (Third edition 2004) Photography: A Critical Introduction. London and New York: Routledge.