This course is a seminar on image theories. A seminar is "a select group of advanced students associated for special study and original research under the guidance of a professor" (OED).
In this case there are two professors guiding your study, Yanai Toister, associate professor in visual information, and Asko Lehmuskallio, professor in visual studies. We will be taking turns in guiding you along this seminar. Both of us will attend most of our meetings in order to facilitate discussion from meeting to meeting.
We will hold this seminar in English, as one of our professors is not yet fluent in Finnish. Also all of our readings will be in English, so in order to attend this class you need to be able to read and understand English.
You may ask questions, present your work and submit your final essay either in English or in Finnish.
Our seminar consists of the following:
1. Introduction
2. Vision from Antiquity to Modern Science
3. An ecological approach to images
4. Technical images
5. Anthropology of the image
6. Affectiveness of images
7. Navigational images
8. Mental images
For each class, ALL participants will prepare a text delivered in advance. In addition, we will discuss two to three additional texts, which will be specifically prepared for discussion by select students.
In order to attend the seminar, you will need to do the following:
- Attend all classes in person (you may miss one class, but need to inform instructors why)
- Prepare assigned readings for each class
- Prepare one presentation on the text you have chosen
- Present it for 20 minutes
- Write a final essay on the topic you have presented (ca. 3- 4000 words, in academic style, including references)
AFTER the class, you will have an understanding of select image theories, as well as of the broader academic context within which they have been delivered.
In addition to the theories we will discuss this spring, there are a range of OTHER image theories too.
Good starting points for getting an overview of other image theories are the following publications:
Alloa, E (Ed.) (2011). Bildtheorien aus Frankreich. Eine Anthologie. Fink.
Hall, S., Nixon, S., & Evans, J. (Eds.). (2024). Representation: cultural representations and signifying practices. Sage.
Manghani, S., Piper, A., & Simons, J. (Eds.). (2006). Images: a reader. Sage.
Mirzoeff, N. (Ed.). (2002). The visual culture reader. Psychology Press.
Sachs-Hombach, K. (Ed.) (2012). Bildtheorien. Anthropologische und kulturelle Grundlagen des Visualistic Turn. Suhrkamp.
- Teacher
Asko Lehmuskallio