Seminar: Aufbaumodul Kulturwissenschaft I - 19th Century American Photography - Details

Seminar: Aufbaumodul Kulturwissenschaft I - 19th Century American Photography - Details

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General information

Course name Seminar: Aufbaumodul Kulturwissenschaft I - 19th Century American Photography
Course number ANG.05272.04
Semester WiSe 2024/25
Current number of participants 19
maximum number of participants 25
Home institute Institut für Anglistik und Amerikanistik
Courses type Seminar in category Offizielle Lehrveranstaltungen
Next date Monday, 13.01.2025 16:15 - 17:45, Room: Hörsaal XVII [Mel]

Module assignments

Comment/Description

“No other means of representing human likeness has been used more systematically to describe and formulate American identity than photography. Envisioning and exhibiting the American self has been a photographic venture since the inception of the medium. It is an ongoing social, cultural, and political project” (Coco Fusco, “Racial Time, Racial Marks, Racial Metaphors”).
During the 19th century photography became a central means of identity formation in the US – for individuals, communities, and the nation as such. It is the aim of this course to investigate photography as a means of cultural meaning making in the US, starting with the inception of the medium in 1839 and ending around 1880. We will trace the technological development of the medium and its theoretical reflection – dimensions which are closely intertwined with its cultural significance, manifested in a variety of subgenres – landscape photography, photographical portraits, etc. We will also look at how the medium of photography is intertwined with the wider cultural context – e.g. literature, the theater, advertisement, or science.
This course is organized as a digital course, consisting of weekly reading and (short) writing assignments (“Studienleistungen”) and synchronous meetings on a digital platform where we will have the opportunity to discuss the respective topics and reflect on our reading experiences.

Admission settings

The course is part of admission "Aufbaumodul Kulturwissenschaft I".
The following rules apply for the admission:
  • Enrolment is allowed for up to 1 courses of the admission set.
  • A defined number of seats will be assigned to these courses.
    The seats will be assigned in order of enrolment.
  • The enrolment is possible from 17.09.2024, 00:00 to 26.10.2024, 23:59.
Assignment of courses: