VAC37: Critical Approaches to Photojournalism in Times of Conflict
About
This group explores the practice of making photographs that document times of conflict, their circulation, and their study. By analyzing these images, members will consider the critical approaches seen in photojournalism in the mid-twentieth century.
Open to New People
Active since: 2026
- Syracuse University
- Hobart & William Smith Colleges
Collaborative Goals
We seek to bring together scholars of photography with working photographers and media editors to develop a multifaceted and interdisciplinary understanding of how images can work alongside texts to shape public narrative and advocate for social change during times of conflict.
We will build a network across history, art history, media studies, photography, and museum studies programs within the Corridor.
We will identify documentary photographers, photo editors at media outlets, and photography scholars and curators from outside the Corridor.
We will host a session to view and discuss documentary photographs of conflict from the art collections of the Syracuse University Art Museum and Hobart and William Smith. Attendees will consider the roles of the photographers, image framing, image captions and print inscriptions, the news agencies, and the newsroom editors and writers. Discussions of how these factors shape public narratives of conflict as photographs are circulated during and after will be a central focus.
Group Organizers
Meghan Jordan
Clarence A. Davis '48 Visual Arts Curator, Davis Gallery, Hobart and William Smith Colleges
