Description
Book SynopsisWhat can visual artifacts tell us about the past? How can we interpret them rigorously, weaving their formal and material qualities into rich social contexts to reach wider historical conclusions? Unfolding key historiographical and methodological issues,
Writing Visual Histories equips students to answer these questions, showing visual analysis to be a key skill in historical research. A multifaceted structure makes this a practical guide for writing and reflecting on visual histories. A first section includes six case studies -- on topics ranging from medieval heraldry to
Life magazine. These examples are followed by an exploration of essential concepts that inform historical thinking about visual matters, a treatment of disciplinary practices, and discussion of the practicalities (such as accessing museum collections and organising permissions) that scholars working with visual sources have to navigate. This book is an invaluable tool kit for opening up a historical
Trade ReviewThe six chapters offer case-studies from the fourteenth to the twentieth-century in Britain, Europe and the United States, and collectively present visual history as a lively interdisciplinary mode of enquiry. With its additional sections on concepts, practices and practicalities, the volume exceeds the conventional textbook – making it invaluable as a student handbook or toolkit. * Viccy Coltman, Professor of eighteenth-century History of Art, University of Edinburgh, UK *
Table of ContentsList of Illustrations List of Contributors Acknowledgements Introduction 1. Heraldry Topsy-Turvy: Depictions and Performances of Dishonour and Death,
Marcus Meer 2. Costume Imagery and the Visualisation of Humanity in Early Modern Europe,
Katherine Bond 3. Identity and Continuity: The Visual Culture of an Institution over 500 Years,
Ludmilla Jordanova 4. Making an Exhibition of Himself: John Wilkes through Visual Sources,
Jonathan Conlin 5. Writing the History of the Photographic Book: The Case of Weimar Germany,
J. J. Long 6. The Picture Magazine:
Life and the Limits of Photography,
Melissa Renn Concepts Agency Art Discourse Genre Iconography Medium Reception Reproduction Rhetoric Skill Style Visual Culture Practices Description Contextualization Periodization Practicalities Using Image Databases Organizing Permissions Writing Captions Publishing with Pictures Conclusions Notes Bibliography Index
