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Coursera

Seeing Through Photographs

The Museum of Modern Art via Coursera

Overview

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In an era of constant visual noise, there is a difference between looking at an image and truly recognizing its power. This course invites you to bridge that gap, transforming a daily habit into a deeper understanding of the photographic medium. The Museum of Modern Art offers you exclusive entry into one of the world’s most influential photography collections. Videos take you on behind-the-scenes visits to artist studios to explore the diverse ideas and technologies that inform image-making. By analyzing 100 landmark photographs, you will uncover the cultural narratives, scientific breakthroughs, and creative choices that have shaped the medium’s history. Whether you are a student refining your research skills, a professional looking to sharpen your critical thinking, or a lifelong learner looking to learn more about photography, this course will help you develop visual literacy skills applicable to any field. You’ll cultivate your ability to navigate the visual culture that defines our world and gain a global perspective on how photographs are tools for storytelling, documentation, and critique.

Syllabus

  • Introduction to Seeing Through Photographs
  • One Subject, Many Perspectives
  • Documents and the Documentary
  • One and Another
  • Constructing Narratives, Challenging Histories
  • Pictures of People
  • Ocean of Images

Taught by

Sarah Meister

Reviews

3.8 rating, based on 5 Class Central reviews

4.8 rating at Coursera based on 4512 ratings

Start your review of Seeing Through Photographs

  • Anonymous
    This is a thoroughly enjoyable course, firstly because of the well-curated material (variety of short videos each covering a theme from a different perspective), lectures, live material (Sarah Meister, the course leader, does live sessions, Q&As and…
  • Profile image for Anna D
    Anna D
    45
    The course offered various perspectives on photography by focusing on different themes and displaying various artworks. It dwelled into certain specifics of the photography history but overall covered only a small portion of it. The assignments were repetitive, and basically forced you to review every small detail instead of looking at the bigger picture. I wished for the assignments to be more pleasant and interactive.
  • Anonymous
    You will mainly learn the history of photography; there are many texts to read and study more than there are pictures to watch, I didn't expect to read that much and I felt overwhelmed the first weeks, especially since English is not my mother tongue, but the course was very informative and I learnt a lot from past famous photographers.
  • Profile image for Pietro Codara
    Pietro Codara

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