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"All photographs are accurate. None is the truth." Richard Avedon (1923-2004)nThe invention of photography inspired the belief that there could be a truthful and objective way to visually record the world. From portraits to travel photographs to documentary, photography has influenced how modern history is understood and remembered. Yet, a photograph is a manipulated image, shaped by the perspective of the photographer and further framed by its printing, presentation, and interpretation. The complex ethical and political issues associated with photography significantly impact how events and moments are recorded by history. Consider, for example, the US government's 18-year ban (ended in 2009) on photographing the flag-draped coffins of America's war dead as their bodies are returned to the United States. What matters most: protecting the privacy of military families or protecting American citizens from the death toll of war?nnOver the past decade, the number of photographers has increased exponentially, further blurring the boundary between what is truth and what is fiction. Even the concept of "gatekeepers" is obsolete: anyone with a smartphone is armed with a camera and can create their own stories, their own records, and their own truths. Further, the Internet grants nearly universal freedom to document and disseminate images that record, incriminate, illuminate, persuade, enrage, and glorify. In this course, we will examine the ethical parameters of photography and the many ways in which photography contributes to presenting powerful truths, creating compelling fictions, and recontextualizing history.nnThe course will feature opportunities to work with photographs in the Cantor's collection and to explore the many photographic communities of the Bay Area including extensive field trips to museums, galleries, artists studios, private collections, photo studios, and more. Our discussions will also be informed by course readings. In addition, special sessions covering photographic techniques will familiarize students with the diversity of the medium and hands on experience to create work, if interested. No prior experience required. Sophomore College Course: Application required, due noon, April 5, 2016. Apply at http://soco.stanford.edu

This class will survey how artists, designers and cultures have historically used images as a means to organize and communicate information. How do representations convey meaning in a manner different from language? What do visual conventions reveal about the cultures and technologies that shape them? How and why might artists and viewers subvert the legibility of images? To address these questions, this course proceeds by way of close visual analysis of key works, while exploring their historical, technological, social and artistic contexts. nn Topics to be explored include: iconography and interpretation; the relationship between maps and painting; the importance of printmaking to the Renaissance and the Scientific Revolution; the visual culture of the newspaper as reflected in (and satirized by) Cubist and Dadaist art; the political impact of photography (illustrated by a visit to an exhibition of Lewis Hine¿s photographs at the Cantor Center for Visual Arts); the rhetorical conventions of television news and advertising. Later weeks will address representational norms which have emerged in the wake of digital technology: multi-screen displays, Powerpoint and interactive infographics, concluding with a discussion around the data-gathering functions of social media platforms such as Instagram. Ultimately, students will learn the fundamentals of visual communication across media and history, but will also reflect on art¿s enduring ability to transcend and resist a purely informational role in culture.

Professional experience in a field related to the Visual Arts for six to ten weeks. Internships may include work for galleries, museums, art centers, and art publications. Students arrange the internship, provide a confirmation letter from the hosting institution, and must receive consent from the faculty coordinator to enroll in units. To supplement the internship students maintain a journal and write a research paper related to the experience and their area of academic interest. Evaluations from the student and the supervisor are submitted at the end of the internship. Restricted to declared majors and minors. May be repeated for credit.