How to Write a Photograph
Bill Johnston
Comparative Literature
Photographs are everywhere: in books, on the Internet, on billboards and in brochures, in magazines and newspapers, on our laptops and in our phones. Often we don’t give them a second glance—it seems that what meaning they have can be comprehended instantly, in the split second it usually takes us to apprehend them. Yet photographs are much more complex and interesting than they might seem. Each one has both an aesthetic and a sociohistorical dimension; each picture is taken by a particular person, at a particular time and place, and captures a particular facet of the world from a particular angle. The assumption that photographs show us “reality,” because they incorporate an imprint of the real world, conceals their complexity, their contextuality, and their partiality. Moreover, professional photographers have their own complex motivations and interests, whether these are artistic, political, social, or—as is usually the case—a combination of these elements and more.
This class is about how to write about photographs, which means that it is about how to think about photographs. We’ll spend our time in class taking a close analytical look at certain photographs and collections of photographs, and also examining how different authors have written about them. We’ll also look at some fictional and non-fictional literary texts in which photographs play a crucial role.
Catalog Information: HON-H 303 INTERDEPARTMENTAL COLLOQUIA