FLOR3004: Photography: Identity & Representation

From its beginnings, photography has been used as a tool to explore, analyze, and experience society and our role within it. Already in the 19th century, photographers used the camera to record far-off societies that their contemporaries would otherwise never get to see, as well as critical aspects of their own society their contemporaries had no wish to see. Through this introductory studio course, photography as a medium of documentation, critical communication but mainly personal expression related to social issues and intimate involvement will accompany the students' experience of studying abroad. Learning to see, to critically evaluate images from important masters, but also the photographic images that surround us in ordinary everyday life, is at the basis of building awareness of our own image production. Students will learn photography skills including composition, light, and technical expertise. Alongside developing skills, students will consider questions of identity and expression in photography and look at how photographs have been used as markers of cultural identification. The course will challenge students to question, explore, and express their own identity through photography and to take inspiration from their host city environment, in synergy or contrast with their own identity. They will deepen their ability to think critically and express their thoughts through images and related texts by analyzing and interpreting experiences in Italian society. Through various photographic exercises and assignments, students will explore digital photography as a tool to interpret and narrate different aspects of the city and our personal experience of and with it, reflecting on identity in a visual way. Lectures will cover technical aspects related to shooting and editing, to conceiving and amplifying projects to addressing different audiences. They will also offer an overview on Italian and international photographers and different approaches in contemporary photographic practice. Classroom discussions, assigned readings, and photo responses, combined with the personal experience of the photographic medium, will help students to develop critical skills to understand how photographs work aesthetically and conceptually in various contexts, how they are used in contemporary society and culture, and how they become means of personal exploration.

View on University Catalog