Annotated Bibliography #1 Assignment and Preparations for Week #2

Annotated Bibliography #1 Assignment

Please select one of the photographs from the links below, or a photograph that you come across that you are sure is authored by Keita or Sidibe. (If you select to annotate a photograph from the "In/Sight" link, be sure to click on the photo and read the fine print at the bottom of the image that mentions the photograph's author.) After you have selected a photograph and have read the pertaining photocopied articles (listed in the syllabus in the "Week One" portion of the schedule), you will write at least two mammoth paragraphs; the first paragraph will consist of your observation (as objective as possible) of the photograph at hand, and the second paragraph will consist of the inferences you make as a result of your observations. The inferences (or assumptions) that you make can be backed up by making scholarly references to the articles you've read about these photographers and their work. I encourage you to make such references, as they will reduce the amount of work you will do later when you are writing your research essay--as you will have already backed up the claims you are making! Use MLA format to cite your claims, and if you have a question about the citation source, please email me and I will assist you. 

Please remember to post "Annotated Bibliography #1/[your name]" in your post title.

 

Week #2 -- Partake in discussion by posting on the following Discussion Questions

Read Willis's book and examine the photographs and also familiarize yourself with the one required article listed in the "Week Two" section of the syllabus schedule. (I will be ask you to respond to this article in a subsequent post.) You will find this article in your photocopied packet (after the articles about Keita and Sidibe). As you read, think about our conversations regarding the photographs of Keita and Sidibe.

Discussion Questions for Willis

1)    When studying the photographs taken by African American photographers in the late 19th century, for example, compare their photographer/sitter relationships (within the genre of studio photography) with Keita and Sidibe’s photographer/sitter relationships.

2)    When reading of the "New Negro" period photographers, think about what it meant for black photographers in the U.S. to counter racist imagery. How might this period of image making relate to Keita and Sidibe’s photographs and their subversion of the European gaze?

3)    What do you make of Willis’s quote of bell hooks’ comment: "The camera was the central instrument by which blacks could disprove representations of us created by white folks" (Willis 38)?

4)    When looking at the photographs taken in the 30s and 40s, try to identify which photographs fit which "distinct genre" of photographs of African Americans of this period: "Colorful Black," "Black Victim," "Noble Primitive," "Transformed Black," and "Role Model." What do such genres make you think about? Do such genres still exist in contemporary photographs of African Americans? How might or might not they relate to photographs of Africans of this time period? (Keita was photographing during this period).

5)    For the contemporary period, Willis categorizes African American photography into the genres of “Street Photography,” “Cultural Landscape Photography,” etc… She ends with “Digital Photography,” commenting: “now more than ever before, the photographer has become the narrator as well as the image maker” (Willis 94). What do you think she means by this?

When posting, please title your post "Week #2 Discussion Questions/[your name]."