Photography in the Americas: War, Tourism, Art, and Protest

Since it emerged in the 19th century until today, the camera has framed our way of seeing and understanding the world. In this course, students accompany the camera in its path through major events in the Americas—North, South, and Central—and examine the profound connections between them. We discuss photography as a weapon of war, a souvenir for tourists, an instrument of protest, an illustration of history, a journalistic and ethnographic tool, and an artistic medium. Key developments in photographic processes, from half tone printing to digital imaging, offer opportunities to reflect on the relationship between visual culture and technology, and art and politics. Taught in Spanish.