Reposting of Week #2 Discussion--participation mandatory

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 this week.) 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]."