research

Introduction to Visual Culture

Collections Project Part III: Interpretive Strategies

Looking Through the Lens In Part III of the Collections Project, students will work with carefully chosen concepts and theories to move his/her analysis and writing beyond the formal and contextual into broader theoretical and cultural interpretation. Students will draw from key concepts and theories that we have covered in class so far, as well as one published textual source. Students will develop an interpretive strategy, meaning a practice of looking that is grounded in established visual and cultural theory. In class, work with your group to review the concepts or theories listed below. What do you remember about each? What examples or activities did we work with in class? Share your recollections with your group and take notes. Next, go back to the forums for Part I: Formal Analysis and Part II: Contextual Analysis and review the Collections. Then, “tag” the work of 5 fellow students by replying to their posts and suggesting one of the interpretive strategies that fits well with their Collections. Tell them specifically why you are making this suggestion. Do not double up tagging until everyone in the class has received feedback. Remember you can use the Search Forums (Advanced Search) function to locate student work. Tagging and feedback are due by midnight before next class. (10 points) After receiving peer feedback, which theoretical approach seems appropriate to your Collection? Why? What more do you need to know about this approach? Locate and carefully select 1 published article or book in addition to the textbook that enriches your understanding of the approach and helps you develop your interpretive strategy. You may be asked to briefly present to the class on your chosen approach and the textual source that you have selected. Keep this sheet handy as it will give you a starting place for your research on Part III. These definitions are drawn from Practices of Looking—relevant page numbers from the text are given for each. Also, be sure to make use of our WORD Glossary!

Introduction to Visual Culture authenticity Authenticity refers to the quality of being genuine or unique. The quality of authenticity is attributed to images/objects/spaces that are one of a kind and original rather than copied. This concept is central to Walter Benjamin’s concerns with reproducibility and his theory of aura—the qualities that are singular and cannot be reproduced. See Practices of Looking, pp. 25-26, 63- 64, 195-199, 208-19. interpretive strategy: When working with Benjamin’s theory, students must specifically explain what is original or what is inauthentic about the selected object, image, or space considering both its formal and contextual properties. Students will thoroughly explain how singularity and/or reproducibility affect the value of the selection. textual source: Benjamin’s original essay, or a related source, is recommended questions: 1. Identify how this selection is or is not authentic according to Walter Benjamin’s theory. 2. How does the determination of authenticity or inauthenticity affect the social, political and economic value of the selection? gaze and gender Following theoreticians such as Michel Foucault and Laura Mulvey, gaze theory addresses power relations between viewing subjects and objects. The concept of the gaze is more than just looking at someone, it is a kind of looking that is relational and engages power. In visual studies, feminist theory and queer theory are interested in analyzing conventions of gendered representation, challenging power dynamics involved in seeing and being seen (the field of the gaze), and promoting critical awareness of gender issues. Given the history of western representation, theories of the gaze traditionally reflect the inequality of gender relations (men looking at women), but these theories can address objectification and discrimination along the lines of race, class, sexuality, age, etc. On the gaze, see Practices of Looking, pp. 5, 121-128, 130, 132, 134. On feminist theory, see Practices of Looking, pp. 93-103, 106-7, 101-111, 120- 36, 272, 282. interpretive strategy: Working with theories of the gaze to interpret a selection, students need to carefully explain how the gaze, or the field of gazes, works to establish power relations among those looking and those being seen. Students using this theory will address concerns of gender representation and issues of gender inequality. textual source: a scholarly article or essay discussing the gaze and/or gender representation is recommended questions:

Introduction to Visual Culture 1. Identify all of the gazes involved in this selection, considering the field of gazes, points of view, directionality of views, perspective, and exhibitionism/voyeurism. 2. How does the exchange of looks affect the power relations within and around this selection, and for what intention or purpose? marxist theory Marxist theory refers to a body of thinking based on the nineteenth-century theories of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. Marxist theory envisions history as a process determined by the base conditions and modes of production of a society, and is driven by class conflict with potential transformation arising from the working class as agents of revolution and change. Marx is known for his critique of the capitalist system (private property, competitive markets) that, in his view, depends upon profound social inequalities. See Practices of Looking, pp. 4-5, 69-72, 98- 100, 183, 240-42. interpretive strategy: Working with Marxist theory, students will analyze the economic and political circumstances of their selection, giving thought to systems of use value, exchange value, labor, and commodity fetishism. textual source: a scholarly article or essay on Marxist theory and visual culture is recommended questions: 1. Identify the aspects of the selection that reflect its relationship to economic and political systems such as capitalism and consumer culture. 2. How do these aspects reinforce or challenge social inequalities? myth of photographic truth Photographic truth was identified by French literary theorist Roland Barthes as a cultural myth in the mid-twentieth century. However, the belief that photographs record documentary evidence still holds great power today in courts of law, in science and criminology, and for documentary or historical purposes. The expectation of photographic truth ignores the fact that photography is a subjective process, and a process of making meaning, in which the producer selects, frames, edits, and presents the image. Photographic cameras themselves are human-made tools and therefore will always reflect human intentions and purposes. See Practices of Looking, pp. 16- 25, 193, 212-17, 219. interpretive strategy: Working with Barthes’ thinking on photographic truth, students will question the expectation for a specific photographic selection to represent an objective truth. With this approach, students will explain how and why a given image purports to represent the truth, then carefully analyze how and why the producer affected its impact through her/his own social and aesthetic concerns, challenging the assertion that the photograph represents an absolute, objective reality. textual source: Barthes’ writing on the myth of photographic truth is recommended

Introduction to Visual Culture questions: 1. Identify the aspects of the photograph that reveal it to be a construction. 2. How do these aspects depend upon the social, political and economic circumstances of its era and the intent of the maker? orientalism Palestinian-American literary theorist Edward Said’s 1972 book Orientalism critiqued major aspects of Western thinking as promoting inaccurate cultural representations of the East. Orientalism refers to a western Eurocentric viewpoint that conceives of Eastern and Middle- eastern cultures as less civilized and progressive but also mythologizes and romanticises these cultures. Emphasizing the exotic, orientalism creates a binary between the West and East which reflects the social and political conflicts of colonialism. See Practices of Looking, pp. 112-119. interpretive strategy: Working with Said’s theory, students will carefully consider how their selection represents non- Western cultures or peoples by marking them as different and/or appealing to western fantasy and desires for the exotic. Taking on the role of cultural critic or ethnographer, the student will analyze in detail the role of their selection in Western cultural mythology, as well as what it says about the role of the West in relation to the non-Western world. textual source: Edward W. Said, Orientalism (1972) or Linda Nochlin, “The Imaginary Orient,” Art in America (May 1983), pp. 118- 31, 187-91. questions: 1. Identify the aspects of the selection that reveal it to be orientalist. 2. How do these aspects depend upon the history of colonialism and concepts of Eurocentrism?