It will include general issues such as the evolution of photography, the practicality of dating images and the ways in which photographs can be subject to distortion and manipulation. A large section of the course will be devoted to specific examples of particular photographers in a wide variety of different contexts such as warfare, rural life, urban decay, labour exploitation, imperialism and decolonisation etc. Themes will be selected from: The Time 100 Most Influential Photographs of All Time; Photographs as Evidence - a general exploration; Speed Dating. The route to success; “I longed to arrest all the beauty that came before me...” Julia Margaret Cameron; The Old Closes and Streets of Glasgow and Thomas Annan of Dairsie; South ! Frank Hurley and the Antarctic; Lee Miller - Vogue Model and War Photographer; The Girl in the Polkadot Dress; The Sands of Iwo Jima; The Father of Special Effects - Georges Méliès; Dorothea Lange and the Dust Bowl and the New Deal.....and others
Course aim
This course will examine and investigate the issue of photographs as historical evidence.
Do I need any particular skills or experience?
- You will need your own personal email address so that you’re able to login to the WEA’s digital learning platform: WEA Canvas. You will need to be able to understand how to follow URL links to pages on the internet. If you want to understand more about Canvas please visit: http://bit.ly/WEAonline
- You will need to be able to follow links to join our WEA live video learning platform: WEA Zoom. If you’d like to understand more about our video learning platform, Zoom please visit: http://bit.ly/WEAonline and http://bit.ly/ZoomSpec
- No skills or experience needed
- This course is suitable for beginners and improvers
By the end of the course I should be able to:
- 1. Understanding of the key issues involved in the use of photographs as evidence
- 2. Knowledge of the broader context within which photographs were taken
- 3. Familiarity with the work of some of the most significant photographers
How will I be taught?
- The WEA’s digital learning platform, Canvas will be used to provide resources or to support lessons, enable assessment, provide learner feedback and for other activities for individuals away from the course. If you want to understand more about our digital learning platform please visit: http://bit.ly/WEAonline
- The WEA tutor will use a range of different teaching and learning methods and encourage you and the group to be actively involved in your learning
- Essentially a series of powerpoint presentations and general informal discussion
What kind of feedback can I expect?
- Your tutor will provide written, text and audio feedback recorded in WEA Canvas, WEA’s digital learning platform.
- A range of informal activities will be used by the tutor to see what you are learning which may include quizzes, question and answer, small projects and discussion
- You will have opportunities to discuss your progress with your tutor
What else do I need to know?
- What you need: You will need an internet connection, speakers, a microphone and a webcam so that you can use our video learning platform, Zoom. If you’d like to understand more Zoom please visit: http://bit.ly/ZoomSpec
- You will also need access to the internet outside of your sessions. You could do this using a smart phone, tablet, laptop or a desktop computer (at home or through a library etc.).
- You will need a personal email address to join the WEA’s digital learning platform, Canvas so that you can receive resources, record your progress and achievement and to work with others and share ideas. If you want to understand more about our digital learning platform please visit: http://bit.ly/WEAonline
- Nothing else is needed
- You will need a sense of humour as well !
Pre-course work, reading and information sources
- No pre reading or pre course work is required
- Advice will be given about further reading and relevant documentaries and movies
What can I do next?
- Progress to another WEA course
- Progress to a course with another provider
Download full course information sheet
History Through the Camera Lens: Photographs and Historical Evidence
