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AMSTUD 104Q: Picturing Americans

General Education Requirements

Way AII


Course Description

Imagine a picture of a person. You’ve probably seen at least a dozen today already, maybe posed for a few, probably been captured unaware in a few more. What do such pictures reveal not only about the individual, but their social, cultural, and historical world? Since at least the introduction of photography in the 19th century, portraits—posed or candid, solo or group, selfies or surveillance shots­—have been commonplace in the United States. What might we learn about American identity through a close study of such likenesses? How have Americans represented themselves? How have they been represented by others? How have such representations shaped understandings of the United States and its citizens in the past? How might today’s representations shape its future?

This seminar uses visual depictions of Americans (mostly photographs, but other media as well) as the starting point for discussions of American history, art, popular culture, social movements, and national identity. Literary and historical texts will support and complement the close study of pictures from the late 19th century through the present. Some examples will depict famous individuals (from Jane Stanford to Steve Jobs), while others will record the likenesses of anonymous or lesser-known figures. We will also take up the question of who has been historically overlooked or marginalized when picturing Americans. Class visits to the Cantor Art Center and Special Collections at Green Library will be regular features of the course.


Meet the Instructor: Elizabeth Kessler

"As a scholar, I think and write about American visual culture in a range of contexts—from science and technology to fashion—and portraits appear in all of them. I recently published an article on the role of portraits in Silicon Valley, and how they give a face to technology that is too small, too complex, or too visually opaque to understand. Pictures of people are often conventional or cliched, but every time I look closely, I find them to be more and more revealing.There’s something very profound about being face to face with another person, even when all we can see of the other is a faded photograph. I love using Special Collections in my classes; the archives are full of amazing things, some rare and some mundane. And it’s such an opportunity for us to discover together. I’ve been a lecturer in American Studies at Stanford for more than 10 years, and I am deeply interested in perspectives on American identity and what it might mean to be American. This course is inspired by these interests and questions, and I’m eager to explore them with you."

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