PHOTO 010 HISTORY OF PHOTOGRAPHY
Fall 2013
T 6:30-9:40pm
Location: Center for the Arts 216
Lisa Ohlweiler
lisa@lisaohlweiler.com
COURSE DESCRIPTION:
This class is an introduction to the cultural, technological, theoretical and aesthetic history of photography
in the United States and Europe from its inception to the present. The class will examine images and imagemakers and contextualize the production of photographs through lectures, relevant writings, and
documentaries.
NO PREREQUISITE
STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES/COURSE OBJECTIVES:

Recognize, understand and use photographic terms and concepts through discussions, writing
assignments, presentations and exams.

Gain basic knowledge of photographic history, its major events, practitioners and
theorists. 
Develop visual literacy by becoming familiarizing with key figures in photographic movements
and history.

Develop critical thinking skills by exploring the social, political and ethical dimensions of visual
media in our culture through group discussions, readings, lectures and assignments.

Research projects using museum, galleries, libraries and the Internet.
REQUIRED TEXTBOOK:
Author: Hirsch, Robert
Title: Seizing the Light, 2nd edition
ISBN# 9780073379210
Publisher information: McGraw Hill, 2008
REQUIRED READINGS:
Chapters from Seizing the Light
+ handouts throughout the semester (see schedule)
REFERENCE BOOKS:
Michel Frizot, A New History of Photography.
John Szarkowski, Photography Until Now.
Mary Warner Marien, Photography: A Cultural History.
Naomi Rosenblum, A World History of Photography.
Beaumont Newhall, History of Photography.
Graham Clarke, Oxford History of Art Series, The Photograph.
PLEASE NOTE: The instructor reserves the right to modify the course content (grading procedures, tests, etc.) as the
situation dictates. The instructor will inform the students of any such changes via email and/or class announcements.
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Jean-Claude Lemagny and Andre Rouille eds., A History of Photography.
Vicki Goldberg, Photography in Print, Writings from 1816 to the Present.
Carol Squiers Editor, The Critical Image, Essays on Contemporary Photography.
Jonathan Green, American Photography, A Critical History 1945 to the Present.
Barbaralee Diamonstein, Visions and Images, American Photographers on Photography.
Gilles Mora, Photo Speak, A Guide to the Ideas, Movements, and Techniques of Photography, 1839 to the
Present.
Gordon Baldwin, Looking at Photographs, A Guide to Technical Terms.
GRADING:
PARTICIPATION: 10%
RESEARCH PAPER: 20%
MIDTERM EXAM: 20%
COLLABORATIVE PRESENTATION: 10%
READING RESPONSES: 10%
WEEKLY QUIZES: 10%
FINAL EXAM: 20%
Exams will cover relevant chapters in Seizing the Light, any assigned readings, and material covered in
lectures and discussions.
REQUIREMENTS AND ATTENDANCE POLICY:
Students must be dropped from class for failure to attend the first meeting of the class if they have not
made prior arrangements directly with the instructor, and may be dropped for failure to attend the second
meeting if they have not made prior arrangements directly with the instructor. Students who arrive late at
the first meeting of the class may be dropped. After the first week of classes, it is the student’s
responsibility to drop all classes which are no longer being attended.
Students are expected to attend all class meetings of the courses in which they are enrolled. If you have
more than three unexcused absences, your final grade will be dropped by one letter grade; three late arrivals
equals one absence. If you miss a class it is your responsibility to find out what you have missed. If there is
an emergency in your life, please let me know.
You must come to class with proper materials and tools otherwise it is the same as being absent.
Please turn off cell phones before entering the classroom. No texting. If you are using you phone during
class time, you will be asked to leave and you will be marked absent
The instructor may drop a student, however it is the student’s responsibility (not the instructor’s) to
officially drop the class. If you fail to attend class and do not process appropriate drop forms, an academic
letter grade of ‘F’ will be given.
If absence is due to a contagious disease, students must clear through Student Health Services in Room
U104.
PLEASE NOTE: The instructor reserves the right to modify the course content (grading procedures, tests, etc.) as the
situation dictates. The instructor will inform the students of any such changes via email and/or class announcements.
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Academic Integrity:
“Each student should be thoroughly familiar with the Standards of Student Conduct and with regulations of
the College. Students attending the College are expected to maintain satisfactory standards of citizenship at
all times on the campus and in the community. Satisfactory citizenship includes conduct, which respects the
rights of all individuals, which avoids actions disruptive to the ongoing education program and which does
not violate specific prohibitions outlined in the Education Code. When it is indicated that citizenship is
unsatisfactory, the student may be subject to the following: reprimand, disciplinary probation,
administrative class withdrawal, suspension or expulsion, as conditions warrant. Unsatisfactory citizenship
includes, among other things, cheating, plagiarism, hazing and conduct disruptive to the teaching-learning
process. In addition,
falsification of information provided to the Admissions Office is basis for dismissal from a class or from the
College. Individuals engaged in destructive activities involving any kind of physical or psychological
mistreatment of students are subject to prosecution under the California State Law banning hazing and to
dismissal from the College. Penalties for individuals, organizations and
institutions can be severe.”
Disability Policy:
If you have special needs please let the instructor know so that they can best accommodate you. All
students with disabilities requiring accommodations are responsible for making arrangements
in a timely manner through the Disabled Student Program Services (DSP&S). The Disabled Student
Programs & Services is designed to enable eligible students with a verified disability(s) to participate fully
in all of Pasadena City College's academic and vocational programs. Those with learning, physical,
developmental, visual, hearing, speech/language, other health impairments, and /or psychological
disabilities may inquire about services by contacting the DSP&S office. They are located in Room D209
and are open M 8AM – 4PM, T – W 8AM – 6:30 PM and TH – F 8AM – 4:30PM. The telephone number
for DSP&S is 626.585.7127. The contact is Kent Yamauchi.
CLASS SCHEDULE
*Please note that the course syllabus and schedule is subject to change
WEEK 1
August 27th
Introduction to the course: Syllabus, Lancer, course requirements, required readings
Lecture: Photo History: What’s in a photograph: evolution of the camera and its usage
Reading: Seizing the Light: Chapters 1& 2
WEEK 2
September 3rd
Lecture: Before Photography and The Invention of the Photographic Technique: camera obscura
The Invention of the Photographic Image: Nicéphore Niépce, and Louis Jacques Mandé Daguerre,
William Henry Fox Talbot
Reading: Seizing the Light: Chapters 3 & 4;
Rosalind Krauss, “Tracing Nadar” in: October vol. 5
WEEK 3
September 10th
Quiz
Lecture: The Calotype and its useage
The studio tradition, Nadar
Reading: Siezing the Light, Chapters 5 & 6
PLEASE NOTE: The instructor reserves the right to modify the course content (grading procedures, tests, etc.) as the
situation dictates. The instructor will inform the students of any such changes via email and/or class announcements.
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WEEK 4
September 17th
Photograph and the Event. Discovering a Photographic Language
Covering War
Reading: Chapter 7&8
WEEK 5
September 24th
Quiz
Group 1: presentation (7)
Lecture: Truth, the sublime, and the American West
Reading: Chapters 8&9
WEEK 6
October 1st: NO CLASS
WEEK 7
October 8th:
Midterm review
Pictorialism & Early Modernism
Assignment: study for midterm
Reading: “Idealism, Realism, Expression” (Henry Peach Robinson), “Pictorial Photography”
WEEK 8
October 15th
MIDTERM
Group 2: presentation (8&9)
Reading: Chapter 10, Man Ray and Laszlo Moholy-Nagy
Assignment: Research paper
WEEK 9
October 22nd
Group 3: presentation (10&11)
Lecture: Modernism: Photography and Painting
Reading: Chapters 11&12, “The Reappearance of Photography” (Evans)
WEEK 10
October 29th
Quiz
Due: Research Paper
Lecture: The Social Document: Jacob Riis, Lewis Hine
The FSA
Reading: Chapter 13, “The Decisive Moment,” Cartier-Bresson
WEEK 11
November 5th
Group 4: presentation (12&13)
Quiz
Lecture: The Descisive moment & Photography in the street
Reading: Chapter 14, “A Short History of Photography (Benjamin); “Seeing Photographically”
(Weston)
PLEASE NOTE: The instructor reserves the right to modify the course content (grading procedures, tests, etc.) as the
situation dictates. The instructor will inform the students of any such changes via email and/or class announcements.
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WEEK 12
November 12th
Group 5: presentation (14&15)
Lecture: Expanding Boundaries and Social Challenges
Family of Man
Readings: Biology, Destiny, Photography: Difference According to Diane Arbus;
Catherine Lord, “What Becomes a Legend Most: The Short, Sad Career of Diane Arbus”
Reading: Chapter 15
WEEK 13
November 19th
Quiz
Group 6: presentation 16&17
New Street photography: Documentary and Fiction
Reading: Chapter 16&17
WEEK 14
November 26th
Quiz
Lecture: The Rise of Pop Art and the Challenges of Postmodernism
Reading: “In Plato’s cave” (Sontag), Chapter 18
WEEK 15
December 3rd
Due: One page resonse to Sontag
Lecture: Last Picture Show; The 80’s effect, 1990s
Discuss Sontag
Reading: Excert from Camera Lucida (Barthes); “Understanding a Photograph” (Berger)
WEEK 16
December 10th
FINAL EXAM
PLEASE NOTE: The instructor reserves the right to modify the course content (grading procedures, tests, etc.) as the
situation dictates. The instructor will inform the students of any such changes via email and/or class announcements.
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