ARTH 546

Fall 2026 Part of Term 1

Part of Term 1
Aug 24-Dec 9

Seminar in Contemporary Art

Credit: 4 hours.

Intensive study of selected problems or artists.

May be repeated to a maximum of 12 hours. Prerequisite: Consent of instructor.

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ARTH 546 class schedule data for fall 2026
	Status		CRN	Type	Section	Time	Day	Location	Instructor	Section Details
			50380	Seminar	G	2:00PM -4:40PM	R	312 Art and Design Building	Weissman, T	Availability: Open (Restricted) Part of Term: 1 Date Range: 08/24/26-12/09/26 Section Info: Theories of Photography. At certain historical moments, photography becomes a particularly charged and closely examined object of debate. In the 1930s, writers such as Walter Benjamin, Siegfried Kracauer, and Elizabeth McCausland grappled with the political and social stakes of the photographic image. In the 1970s and 1980s, critics including Roland Barthes, Susan Sontag, Abigail Solomon-Godeau, and Rosalind Krauss renewed these debates, questioning photography’s claims to truth, authorship, and aesthetic autonomy. The late 20th and early 21st centuries mark another such moment, as digital technologies and networked circulation have transformed how images are produced, disseminated, and understood. This course introduces students to key theoretical and historical arguments about the status and meaning of the photographic image today. We will examine photography’s relationship to topics such as documentary and witnessing; political rights; racial profiling; imperialism; and the impact of artificial intelligence and algorithmic image-making on photography’s evidentiary authority, authorship, and ethics. Restriction(s): Restricted to Graduate - Urbana-Champaign.