In 1972, cultural critic John Berger’s pivotal BBC television series and book Ways of Seeing opened by declaring that “seeing comes before words.” Berger wanted to explain the ways that both art and, in a more innovative approach for that time, commonplace images like advertising surround us every day. This course takes Berger’s insistence on the importance of images and updates it by examining both how images circulate online and what sorts of images are generated for and on the Internet. We will look at YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, livestreams and streaming platforms, as well as other forms of social media, memes, emoji and the use of icons in digital communication, fan and user-generated media, and more. Students will develop the ability to critically assess and analyze these media formally, learn about how culture is visual, and develop an understanding of the histories, industries, and cultures that images circulate in and help to shape. This class will have a seminar format that combines lecture and discussion as we learn to carefully examine and understand the visual culture of contemporary, everyday, digitally mediated life. Across many digital platforms today, we are invited to contribute images, annotate or adjust them, like or comment upon them, and position ourselves through our relationship to them. The Visual Culture of Digital Media will help us to understand the complicated and sophisticated ways images work online, as well as the work users do to make and communicate through them.

Course Requirements:

This course requires regular participation in course discussions, timely completion of reading and writing assignments. There will be a few opportunities for hands-on making and learning in the Shapiro Design Lab and the University of Michigan Museum of Art but most assessment will rely upon a series of written assignments (typically short 2-3 page essays), in-class collaborations and participation, and a final research project (8-10 pages). A midterm exam with short answer questions will allow students to demonstrate their understanding of key concepts from class and readings.

Intended Audience:

This course is intended for first year students. Students with all academic interests are welcome.

Class Format:

Fully in-person