- Why do we look at photographs?
- What is the relationship between a photographic image and reality?
- How do photographs add to our experience of the world, or take away from it?
- Should we limit our “consumption” of images?
- How has photography altered the way we live?
- What do students want to change about their relationship to photography?
- How can students use photographs to enhance our experience of the world?
- Understand Susan Sontag’s argument against “consuming” too many images
- Articulate the difference between a photographic image and the reality it depicts
- Relate Sontag’s arguments on photography to historical and contemporary theories of image
- Identify the multiple uses of photography in modern life and its global impact
- Use photography and visual displays to represent complex ideas creatively
1-5 Class Periods + written or visual assignment (optional)
VIDEOS:
On Photography Video and Transcript
HANDOUTS:
Unit Background
Handout 1
Handout 2
Handout 3
Handout 4
WORKSHEETS:
Class Debate Worksheet
Essay/Speech Worksheet
Presentation Worksheet
Photography Worksheet
TEACHING PLANS:
Teach Handout 1
Teach Handout 2
Teach Handout 3
Teach Handout 4
Class Debate Activity
Essay/Speech Activity
Presentation Activity
Photography Activity
- Art and Culture
Medium > Visual Arts
Subject Matter > Art History
Subject Matter > Philosophy
- History and Social Studies
Themes > Culture
World > The Modern World
Themes > Globalization
- Literature and Language Arts
Genre > Essay
Place > Ancient World
Place > Modern World
Place > American
- Analysis
- Compare and contrast
- Critical thinking
- Cultural analysis
- Debate skills
- Discussion
- Evaluating arguments
- Expository writing
- Gathering, classifying and interpreting written and visual information
- Historical analysis
- Internet skills
- Interpretation
- Literary analysis
- Media analysis
- Making inferences and drawing conclusions
- Online research
- Oral presentation skills
- Persuasive writing and speaking
- Photography
- Representing ideas and information orally, graphically and in writing
- Research
- Summarizing
- Synthesis
- Technology
- Textual analysis
- Using primary sources
- Visual analysis
- Visual art skills
- Visual art analysis
- Writing skills
- ELA Reading: 1-4, 6-7, 10
- ELA Writing: 1-2, 4-10
- ELA Speaking & Listening: 1-2, 4-6
- HSS Reading: 1-4, 6-10
- HSS Writing: 2, 4-10
This lesson explores Susan Sontag’s notion of an “ecology of images,” asking students to think about the role of images in their daily lives: how they use images, which contexts they view them in, and how photographs represent and do not represent reality. Sontag sought limits on the images we “consume” daily, fearing that our endless appetite for images was having a negative impact on reality itself. But “images make up our ecosystem, our native habitat, the only reality we recognize,” as film critic A. O. Scott wrote in a response to Sontag. The lesson raises both philosophical and practical questions, asking students to ponder whether we need limits on our “consumption” of images in essays, debates, presentations, and photographic explorations.
LESSON 1 HANDOUTS
LESSON 1 STUDENT ACTIVITY OPTIONS
- Watch Regarding Susan Sontag and reflect on its relevance to your students and subject area. For extracurricular organizations, community groups, and book clubs, consult our guide on adapting the curriculum.
- Select the handout(s) and student activity you will use with this lesson.
- Begin the lesson by watching and discussing the lesson video module with Handout 1
- Continue the lesson with Handouts 2-4 to deepen learning (optional)
- Complete the lesson with a student activity: options include writing, presentation, and creative assignments as well as class projects or debates
- Download or print all related resources for this lesson at our resource center (video module, handouts, worksheets, teaching plans), and prepare for classroom use. Preview the video module, familiarizing yourself with the content and any potential areas of sensitivity for your students (see Information for Teachers).
- Screen Regarding Susan Sontag and discuss with our educational screening guide before beginning this lesson.
- Assign full texts or articles in place of handout excerpts.
- Assign supplementary texts or facilitate independent research with our photography research handout, which includes:
- Photographers featured by Sontag
- Online photography resources
- Photography reference texts (unit citations and recommendations)
- Allow additional time for discussion, group work, peer-review, editing, revision, or student evaluations and critiques of finished work.
- Coordinate presentations of student activities outside the classroom, such as a class blog, podcast or online gallery posts, school newspaper or literary/art journal publications, student radio or video broadcasts, or all-school exhibits, panel discussions, and screenings.
- Teach this lesson with additional content from the curriculum guide. See our interdisciplinary diagram for help choosing related units and lessons.