[iDC] Embodying the Image-Maker: Understanding Images as an Active Participant

[Stephanie Diamond]

My name is Stephanie Diamond, I have had the pleasure of reading the  
IDC exchanges for a while now, and this is my first post.

I am an artist who works with photography.  As an obsessive image- 
maker I began photographing as an artist at the age of 13, and since  
then, I have documented my -- and everyone who comes in contact with  
me -- life.  My passion to present and discuss photography across  
many vistas, as well as my critical insight, comes from my desire to  
connect communities and people.

I am also a Fine Arts Adjunct Professor at Parsons New School for  
Design and PACE University, both in New York City.  I have recently  
created a class with a criminal justice professor at PACE that is  
part of a program called Learning Communities, where two professors  
from two different fields come together to teach a Freshman level  
course.  The class is split between two days, and addresses the same  
students each day.  My class is titled: Embodying the Image-Maker:  
Understanding Images as an Active Participant  and my colleague's  
class is titled: Image-Making in the Age of Terror: Exploring First  
and Fourth Amendment Rights.

The classes are based on the use of personal, commercial and  
governmental images—photographs, digital images, cell phone pictures,  
videos--from a legalistic perspective, and the immense disparity  
between the positive and negative impact of images in our culture  
today. (See course descriptions below)

We are both teaching a unit on myspace, Facebook, and blogging.   
Additionally, I have a unit on artists who use the ideas being  
addressed in our class, within their artwork.  I would love to have  
your recommendations of websites, artists, articles, and related  
material that I can bring to my students.  I have an on-going list  
that I have been compiling for a while now, but this list serve has  
been invaluable over the years and I would love to have your input as  
well.

Thanks,
Stephanie

____________________
Stephanie Diamond
mail at stephaniediamond.com
http://www.stephaniediamond.com

Course Descriptions:
"Embodying the Image-Maker: Understanding Images as an Active  
Participant "
In this class, you are a photographer.   You will create images  
focusing on the immense disparity between the positive and negative  
impact of images in our culture today.  You will take photographs in  
order to understand and apply the process of photography as a vehicle  
for personal, commercial and governmental expression. You will  
examine the relationship between the self and identity, the  
individual and community engagement, global culture and redefining  
identities, and the evolving practice of the role of the image maker  
in today’s society.

"Image-Making in the Age of Terror: Exploring First and Fourth  
Amendment Rights"
This class will explore the use of personal, commercial and  
governmental images—photographs, digital images, cell phone pictures,  
videos--from a legalistic perspective.  We will examine both the ways  
in which images can be used to expose human rights violations (i.e.  
the photos of Abu Ghraib atrocities and war photography) and  
governmental surveillance of civilian populations.  We will debate  
the justification and effectiveness of the government’s increased use  
of surveillance as a tactic in the war on terror and crime fighting.   
At the same time, we will explore how political activists and members  
of the indie media are increasingly turning their cameras and cell  
phones on the police at political rallies to protect against and/or  
document abuses of power.  We will contrast the legal limitations  
placed on individual image makers (eg. ordinances requiring special  
permits for street photographers or people suspected of terrorism for  
taking pictures of landmarks) with the proliferation of surveillance  
cameras in both private and public spaces.  Given the widespread use  
of and increased public tolerance for governmental surveillance, we  
will also explore the true meaning of privacy in the U.S. and its  
implications.  Finally, we will also explore the ways in which  
personal forms of image-making—especially through the use of the  
Internet—represents a democratization of the media and offers the  
possibility of “speaking truth” to governmental and corporate power. 
  
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://mailman.thing.net/pipermail/idc/attachments/20080906/da6ae3bd/attachment.htm