Photography and Migration
Course Description
Summary
This course will introduce students to the components of storytelling in photographic series by examining migration as a theme and using photography as a research tool. Students will develop a robust sense of artistic ethics by studying representations of migration by photographers in diasporic communities and engaging methods for creating visual narratives around topics of belonging, heritage, and identity. This class will be composed of exercises on the different elements of storytelling in a photographic series and will include readings from visual anthropology and gender studies addressing how photography can be used to do collaborative work in different communities. Throughout the semester, students will work with a field diary to reflect on their experiences with different assignments and produce a final photographic series. They will also have opportunities to engage with the Berkshire Immigrant Center.
Learning Outcomes
- Engage with the camera and photographs as elements of research that inform
artistic works. - Create new work while refining technical skills such as setting up suitable
equipment for a photo shoot, thinking composition, working with light, and editing
and sequencing a photographic series. - Participate in critical discussions about migration and representation through
photography assignments, through the work of diasporic artists and scholars, and
through a meeting with a case worker from the Berkshire Immigrant Center. - Sharpen students’ critical perspectives on ethics and power dynamics inherent to making and using images, which informs the choice of suitable methods.
- Develop an interdisciplinary and personal approach to photography while
analyzing, creating, reading, discussing, and writing about photography.