CORE 003 SC - The Mechanical Eye: Photography from Science to Art

This course will explore changing ideas of the “real” in the history of photography. The readings will touch on the scientific promise once attributed to photographic images, attempts to regulate human differences (e.g., criminology and ethnography) though the photographic archive, the emergence of photography as a fine art, and the challenges presented by digital technologies to the objectivity of the “mechanical eye”. Through readings, hands-on demonstrations, and discussions students will learn to create and then contextualize their own photographic practice in relation to the historical use and misuse of photographic truth claims.

Course Credit: 1.0

Please refer to the course schedule on the Scripps Portal for current course offerings and details.