Research essay, 2000 words, due June 3 (worth 50% of total marks)
Write your own response to one of the following essay questions:
How does John Berger differentiate between ‘public’ and ‘private’ images? Does his distinction still work today? Use an example to support your response.
Drawing on your personal experience as well as academic and other analyses, discuss the impact of algorithmic ‘memory curation prompts’ used by devices such as mobile phones and by online platforms for posting and storing photographs.
‘Photography has always had a complex relation to truth, but the growth of computational imaging and generative AI has made this even more complex in the present’. Discuss this contention.
How do the affordances of digital platforms such as Instagram shape contemporary uses of photography? (You can focus on other platforms such as Flickr, Snapchat, Twitter/X or Xiaohongshu if you prefer)
How do the key technical differences between analogue and digital photography manifest in different social and cultural practices?
Can a stereotype be useful or is it always hurtful? Discuss.
‘Images of everyday life are now so common that we almost fail to notice them’. Discuss this contention and explore the extent to which everyday images shape our way of living.
Erving Goffman once wrote” “Chose your self-presentations carefully, for what starts out as a mask may become your face.” Discuss this contention in relation to contemporary uses of photographic images for self-presentation.
Artists are precursors of the wider changes in society. Discuss some of the examples in which artists have pioneered the way we communicate.
If you want to address a different topic of your own choosing, please discuss it with the subject coordinators.
PERSONAL THOUGHTS:
I would prefer if you could choose question 8, as I have spoken about it with my teacher, but for the question selection we can discuss about it if you feel like you will rather choose another one.
ADDITIONAL INFO:
-The course is very strict in terms of AI use, the teacher won’t allow any use of AI, the tolerance is ZERO, please don’t use AI. (Provide me with turnitin report of AI & Plagiarism)
-The course slides, required readings and assignment rubric are attached below. (I have provided you with all the readings but you don’t have to use them all, just the one relevant to the question chosen), and
Thank you!
