Research Projects

Choose your topic or issue to explore

This assignment requires that students look back and reflect on what specific topics or issues they are most interested in. The topic chosen must be one that is related to the course - whether it’s photography in general - a genre, movement, artist or subject matter or it can be a specific kind of photography or technique that can be researched for its history, social and cultural impacts and/or technical information and connection to science, philosophy, etc….  

Ask a question that will direct your research and investigation

Literally…. Ask the question.  What don’t you know and what do you feel you need to find out?

For example, if you’re curious about pinhole cameras and you want to know “what’s the biggest pinhole camera that has ever been made?” or perhaps the more specific question is: “What is the biggest pinhole print, ever?” You would then find out as much as you can in order to answer that question and informing and sharing in a way that educates and engages your peers will be the next step.

Successful research projects/presentations will

• Share gained knowledge through a small number of video and article resources directly, but primarily will be knowledge and information presented through the filter of the student’s individual question and own understanding of the material.  

• Let your curiosity drive your research and be sure to continue to ask the simple yet effective questions like “who”, “why” “where” and then add some critical questions such as 

  • What assumptions am I making?

  • Where do those come from?

  • What informs the ease of my research - example: Why is it so easy to find certain kinds of photographers and not others? If someone is not written into a history book or text, does that mean they didn’t contribute?

  • What or where else can we look for information that is outside the academic ‘norms’ such as published texts by large publishers…?

  • Are there other ways in which we can gain access to information that are outside of the system?