Advanced research methods Essay question - initial thoughts
‘What is photography? Is it possible to define it as a medium? Use visual material as well as philosophical methods in your analyses.’
Lucky me, finding this essay question intriguing and having had the first 2 weeks of lectures ( and now the exhibition) dissecting this subject, I am semi-confident into conducting research in this area. As defining the entire medium sounds vast, I will choose a few enthusiastic representatives from different eras since the birth of photography, who have tried to define the medium in their own understanding and will compare their opinions and definitions according to the era they’ve lived in. I am fully aware that will not get away with NOT reading Roland Barthes - Camera Lucida, which should have been an essential piece of my studies already, only I have been discouraged by the language of the book so far. Need to try harder in order to improve not just my English but my way of seeing things more ‘abstract’ and to try to see underneath the surface of a / any subject. Reading takes up a lot of my time already but I guess I just have to roll along with it.
Need to check the essential and the further reading lists and need to start my research as soon as possible. My aim is to read more ‘efficiently’, take shorter but more concise notes and to build up a solid base I can then write my essay from.
