The Handbook of Photography Studies is a state-of-the-art overview of the field of photography studies, examining its thematic interests, dynamic research methodologies and multiple scholarly directions. It is a source of well-informed, analytical and reflective discussions of all the main subjects that photography scholars have been concerned with as well as a rigorous study of the field’s persistent expansion at a time when digital technology regularly boosts our exposure to new and historical photographs alike.
Split into five core parts, the Handbook analyzes the field’s histories, theories and research strategies; discusses photography in academic disciplinary and interdisciplinary contexts; draws out the main concerns of photographic scholarship; interrogates photography’s cultural and geopolitical influences; and examines photography’s multiple uses and continued changing faces. Each part begins with an introductory text, giving historical contextualization and scholarly orientation.
Featuring the work of international experts, and offering diverse examples, insights and discussions of the field’s rich historiography, the Handbook provides critical guidance to the most recent research in photography studies. This pioneering and comprehensive volume presents a systematic synopsis of the subject that will be an invaluable resource for photography researchers and students from all disciplinary backgrounds in the arts, humanities and social sciences.
Biography
Gil Pasternak is Reader in Social and Political Photographic Cultures in the Photographic History Research Centre (PHRC) at De Montfort University (UK). A member of the advisory board for the journals Photography & Culture and Jewish Film & New Media, earlier in life he worked as photojournalist, photography archivist and fine art photographer, and in 2016 he was consultant for the BBC film Smile! The Nation’s Family Album (2017).
‘This is a book designed for twenty-first-century students, one that will prepare them to ask well- informed, timely questions about the medium’s histories and historiography.’--Tanya Sheehan, William R. Kenan Jr. Professor of Art, Colby College, USA
‘This book is a most useful contribution to the study of photography, with many excellent contributions. Chapters are much more substantial than is usual with works of this type, allowing authors to explore their topics in some depth and explore a range of approaches. Pasternak has done a wonderful job.’
--Steve Edwards, Professor of History and Theory of Photography, Co-Director of the History and Theory of Photography Research Centre, Birkbeck, University of London, UK
