This week’s readings:
Mirzoeff Ch 1 “How to See Yourself” 29-69
Sturken and Cartwright, Chapter 3 “Modernity: Spectatorship, the Gaze and Power” pp 89-118.
These following key theoretical texts figure in our readings for his week. Read for key terms and concepts: Foucault “Panopticism download“; Barthes, “Rhetoric of the Image download” (these are from The Visual Culture Reader. Ed. Nick Mirzoeff, (London: Routledge, 1998).
Also for reference are these excerpts from Roland Barthes, Camera Lucida download (Vintage, 1993). Note his use of “punctum” and “studium.” These terms were also explained in the introduction of Practices of Looking.
Read Martin Kemp’s essay “Napalmed and Naked download” for his discussion of one very famous photograph. We will use some of the tools from the readings above in class to discuss his argument and the image. (Source: Kemp, Martin. Christ to Coke: How Image Becomes Icon. New York: Oxford University Press, 2012. )
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In your journal for this week, I would like to see you using some of the critical language from this week’s readings. Feel free to add images to your essay in the text box.
How does the 17th century painting Las Meninas convey or represent a set of power relationships? How are Cindy Sherman’s photos different from earlier self-portraits? What do they share with selfies?
What is the Modern relationship between vision and power? How does Foucault’s concept of the panopticon relate to forms of surveillance that you have experienced (or that you know of in popular culture or representations)? Is this still a powerful metaphor?
Can you think of examples where you have experienced what Barthes’ describes as a viewer’s perception of a photograph’s “puctum”?
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1. I prefer that you use the text entry submission to uploading a document. You can include an image using the “insert” tab.
2. Your journal essay should be between 500 and 1500 words in length.
3. You will receive full credit IF you demonstrate that you read or viewed the assigned pieces carefully, you reflected thoughtfully on them, you wrote and proofread your work carefully AND you cited all of your sources in MLA style.
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