COM 382
The Department of Communication and Media Studies and SJU are offering an amazing opportunity to study and practice photography in one of the most photographed places on Earth – Rome, Italy. The course also features trips to Florence, Pompeii, the coastal city of Sorrento and the island of Capri.
The month-long course will run from early July through early August. Our headquarters will be the American University in Rome, where students will stay during the course. Keep an eye on the SJU Center for International Programs website for info on how to register.
About the course
Sometimes we can be in a place and not really see it. The streets of Italy (and Rome in particular) can be an overwhelming farrago of sights and sounds. In this course we will learn to see deeply and document Italian street culture, buildings and landscapes. We will photograph people, scenes and architecture in Rome, Florence and Sorrento. Our task is to find and show new ways to see these places.
This will require far more diligence, technique and temerity than vacation snapshots, though no formal training or education in photography is required nor expected. The course is open to students across the university and we also supply cameras if needed.
This course also digs deeply into the ethical components of making media in public, particularly in a cross-cultural context. Italian and European Union cultural norms and laws regarding street photography are different than the United States.
Like all Communication and Media Studies courses, this one includes study and discussion of theory, practice and ethics. We will also spend time reflecting on our work with the goal of continual improvement.
We will spend a lot of time outside of class shooting (in small groups and alone) in various parts of Rome and in other cities we visit. We will work mostly in digital, but will shoot some film as well.
Light is critical in this work (photography after all, means “writing with light”), so we will build our class time around the best times to shoot photographs – in the morning and late afternoon, when the lower light brings out the richness of color and hue. Much of our class time will be spent:
• Learning the history of street photography, in Italy and Europe in particular
• Learning and discussing photographic technique
• Peer review/critique of each other’s work
• Learning and discussing street photography laws and ethics, particularly in Italy
• The technical aspects of a camera and editing software.
• Reflecting on our work, both formal (written) and informal
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