Photography, Identity, Status

This graduate seminar will explore how photography has shaped, authenticated, and interrogated identity and status from the nineteenth century to the present. Topics include: the rise of mug shots, IDs, facial recognition software (including Artificial Intelligence / AI), and other repressive forms of photo-based identification; anthropological and other forms of photo-based typologies of race, ethnicity, nationality, and other identities; and a range of honorific studio practices that aim to consolidate social status. Special attention will be paid to August Sander and contemporary artists.