Since the announcement of the invention of photography in 1839, people have remarked on the medium’s unique relationship to the body. Some feared that the camera would physically take something from one’s body every time the shutter clicked; others described how the camera made distant or deceased bodies seem to suddenly appear, as if by magic. Through close readings of photographs, primary sources, and theory, we will consider the aesthetic and ethical implications of photographic depictions of the body since 1839. We will discuss the work of photographers such as Alexander Gardner, August Sander, Roy Decarava, Robert Mapplethorpe, Carrie Mae Weems, Laura Aguilar, Catherine Opie, Reinecke Dijkstra, Francesca Woodman, and Ai Wei Wei, as well as archival and press photographs as a springboard for larger discussions about gender and sexuality, surveillance, race, and constructions of identity.HAAVC 3000 seminars continue developing students' visual analysis and research skills while providing students the opportunity for in-depth study of the visual/structural artifacts associated with a particular topic, region, or movement. Students will also engage with the relevant primary/secondary literature for the specific topic/theme. Courses will pay particular attention to the larger cultural, historical, and theoretical/ideological contexts in which the visual artifacts and structures under consideration were created. This course cannot fulfill the HAAVC 2000 requirement.

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