PHOT 50B

Instructor information

Instructor: Naomi Vanderkindren

Contact: Canvas message are preferred.  Use your Canvas inbox to send me a message.  (alternative contact: nvanderkindren@ccsf.edu).  During the semester, I usually respond within 48 hours, excluding weekends and holidays.  If you have questions between semesters, response time may be longer.  Please see the department website for program details: ccsf.edu/photo.

Office Hours: Hours change each semester.   Use CityZoom on Canvas or send a message to schedule a meeting.

Course details, dates and access

• Please log into the course on the first day of the semester to begin.

• Submit at least one graded assignment or activity by Wednesday of the first week to show attendance and remain enrolled.  

• The course is not self-paced.  Due dates are Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays of each week.

• The course content is fully online. 

•  You will conduct independent field trips to galleries and museums.  Group field trips are encouraged!

• You will access the course through Canvas, a learning management system containing the course content: https://ccsf.instructure.com

Success in online classes

Before you start the semester, create a plan for success!  Visit the CCSF page: Succeeding in Online Classes

If you need help

• For Canvas related problems and questions, please visit the Online Course Support Center..

• If you don't have RAM ID yet for logging in, find instructions on the My CCSF page.

• For minimum system requirements, please visit the CCSF online learning page. 

• For help with accommodations, contact Disable Students Programs and Services. 

• Canvas message are the best way to reach me about private issues (my preferred contact method).  If you are unable to log into Canvas, email nvanderkindren@ccsf.edu. 

• Office hours provide students with live one-to-one help.  Use CityZoom on Canvas or send a message to schedule a meeting.

50B is a traditional online course

This course does not have live meetings.   However, the course is not self-paced so you will need to get familiar with the requirements to show attendance and submit work.  Please get to know the unique aspects of this course.  It may be different from other online courses you have had.  It is designed to express my own teaching style and to facilitate your learning.  

Attendance and dropping no-shows:  

• In online courses, attendance is demonstrated by submitting work.  If a student doesn't submit work, they are absent.  Logging in does not show attendance, even if a student viewed content.

• Students are not permitted to remain enrolled if they stop attending, which is demonstrated through submission of graded work.

• The department policy is that students who miss 10% of total class time will be removed from class (dropped from roster).  In this course, missing attendance for two weeks is more than 10% of total class time.  Students experiencing major illness or other events should contact me as soon as possible.

• Students who have not shown attendance at the start of the course may be removed from the roster.  Students who register after the semester start should log in and show attendance right away.  

• Email as soon as possible if you something prevents you from submitting and you want to remain in the course! 

Add/Drop

In most cases, it is your responsibility to add or drop a course through Web4.  Please watch deadlines carefully, as they are different for compressed courses.

• Please log in on the first day of class and submit an assignment to show attendance.

• Please contact registration office for help with registration deadlines.  Refund dates may be differerent from full-semester courses.

• If a student stops attending after the final drop deadline, an FW grade will be issued.

Waitlist and add codes

• Before the semester begins, students may add to a waitlist on Web4.  If a spot becomes available, students are notified automatically.  Students will then have 48 hours to register before the spot is given to the next  student on the list.  To learn more about waitlists at CCSF, read the Wait list FAQ for Students 

• CCSF no longer uses add codes. Add codes have been replaced with Class Add Request. Students can submit a Class Add Request through their myRAM Portal after the course begins.  Permission to add late  will be granted only if the instructor deems it is still possible for the student to catch up and succeed.  Here are the instructions.

Syllabus

The full syllabus is  only available to CCSF students.  Please log into Canvas  to download the syllabus and schedule.  You can find general information below.

Course overview

This course examines various aspects of photography, including photographers, photographs and technical innovations, within their historical, social and cultural contexts.  Although students will study photography as it has been applied to journalism, science, fashion, advertising, etc., emphasis will be on photography as art.  Transfers to UC/CSU.  

Online content

This course is presented on Canvas, the online course system for CCSF.  You must obtain CCSF RAM ID to access Canvas.  To obtain RAM ID, visit CCSF website (under MY CCSF).

Field trips

As part of the required course content, students will visit museums and galleries to view photographs in person.  A no-cost, in-person ticket to SFMOMA will be given to each student.  These details will be announced in class.  

Required hardware/software

Student must have access to a computer that meets minium system requirements at CCSF.  Student must have access to reliable Internet access and word processing. For testing, you will need to use the Chrome browser and a webcam.  Some assignments may require a basic digital camera, and a way to upload or insert them into a text document.  Basic school supplies are also needed, such as paper, pencils and printer.  Computers are available for use at CCSF computing labs and CCSF Photo facilities.  

For testing: you must have an enabled webcam (computer camera).  You will also use Google Chrome browser.  A laptop or desktop computer are minimum  for testing.  Use of a cellphone or tablet not recceomended for testing.  CCSF photo lab facilities will meet all these needs.

Required Textbooks

• Mary Warner Marien, Photography: A Cultural History, 4th Edition (Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson/Prentice Hall, Inc., 2015). Edition 3 is acceptable, but page numbers may vary.  Copies on reserve at CCSF library.  We will focus on time periods after 1945.

• Understanding Photography by Terry Barret.  We will read most of this book.

• Other readings will be provided in class.

Accessibility and accommodations

This course was designed to serve a diverse student population.  Accessible features are  part of the course content, such as closed captioning.  Students requesting  accommodations should contact Disabled Students Programs and Services.

Want to get started before the semester starts?

If you would like to work ahead, start reading Photography: A Cultural History.

• Summary/Retake at end of chapters 1-9

• Full chapters 10-14

• Start reading the first chapters of: Criticizing Photographs: An Introduction to Understanding