Photographic History and Practice MA/PG Dip

• Examine cultural history, history of science and visual studies approaches, with an emphasis on the history of photography in Europe
• Build a working knowledge of making and using digital resources, using the University’s renowned resource database at kmd.dmu.ac.uk/kmd_photohistory_page
• Develop skills in practice-based and scholarly research in photographic history, giving you the tools to approach photographs, cameras, technical apparatus, manuscripts, historical and theoretical studies, and write critical texts from these primary sources
• Access primary materials and manuscripts in local, regional and national collections and use the DMU photo-history research library, including many important photographic journals from the Kodak Research Library
• Gain the skills for further or ongoing work as a professional or build a platform of knowledge from which you may begin doctoral-level research
• Network and form research and work opportunities with our course partners, including the National Media Museum, Bradford; Birmingham Central Library, and the University of Zurich, Switzerland.

Scholarship Announcement: The Wilson Fellowship in Photographic History
£5,000 MA Photographic History and Practice scholarship
Deadline: 01/08/10

This £5,000 scholarship is available to one student entering the MA Photographic History and Practice in September 2010. Funding has been made available by The Wilson Fellowship in Photographic History, and can be used towards tuition fees and other programme-related costs.
Read more: The Wilson Fellowship in Photographic History  

Key facts
Programme
Staff
Teaching and assessment
Facilities
Career opportunities
Further information request
Open evenings
Photo credits

Download the course brochure (2MB PDF):

 


Programme

You will study three core modules in the following areas:

• History of Photography, Images and Practice
• Theory and Photography
• Photography Resources in a Digital Age.

Throughout the course you will be introduced to the canon of photographic history from the 19th to the 21st century, while being taught how to engage critically with images, equipment and history and digital texts, both old and new. You will be introduced to studies of instrument history, history of ideas and digitising as they relate to photographic development.

While developing skills in critical theory and visual analysis covering the traditional history of images, you will also learn a more material and cultural history approach to images. In the spring semester, you will choose from various specialist modules. Some options will be offered in conjunction with specialist partners and involve study trips and extended research workshops and may include:

• Photography and Industry
• Photographic Ethnographies
• Photography and Science.

You will be required to study applied research methods, which will include object handling skills, process identification, digital resourcing, and writing and study skills. MA students will also be required to complete a dissertation thesis at the end of the third semester.

Staff
De Montfort University has an international reputation in the field of Photography and Lens Media in practice, research and teaching. The current course team includes Dr Kelley Wilder, Professor Stephen Brown, Dr Roger Taylor, Michael Pritchard and Dr Jane Fletcher. The course also draws on a wide range of international specialists, providing extended opportunities to study with a variety of practitioners.

Teaching and assessment
The course is studied on a full-time weekly basis, delivered over three semesters through a combination of workshops, lectures, seminars and practical sessions.

Assessment will be through essay, written and oral assessment. If you are following the MA route you will then proceed with thesis writing in the third semester.

Facilities
We have digital and traditional cameras, DV camcorder kits, lights and microphones. Our purpose-built facilities include digital video editing suites, studios, a digital imaging lab and darkrooms. In each production area, you are able to call on the help and technical expertise of a skilled practitioner.

Career opportunities
The significant recent profiling of photographic history has led to prominent developments across Europe and the USA. As such, the agenda and profile of photographic history is increasing at a remarkable pace and is acquiring a considerable following in many fields of study, requiring a substantial demand for qualified practitioners. Photographic History is a developing field of academic study, which by its nature seeks to interpret the creative and historical output and add to the theoretical and practical discourse currently found in History of Art and History of Science. The course will provide significant opportunities for hands-on research and further academic study.

The course will extend and enhance your professional development, through an emphasis on both theoretical and practical skills aligned with archive curating and history writing. You will be exposed to a variety of disciplines, including museum studies, conservation, visual anthropology, history of art, history of science and photography, and the wider cultural and creative industries.

Photo credits
Arthur von Hippel, Lichtenberg Figure, 1936; Karl Blossfeldt, Urformen der Kunst, Plate 38, 1928.

Back to Postgraduate and Research Courses Home Page