Looking for America: The Visual Production of Nation and People - Hardcover

Cameron, Ardis

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1405114657 ISBN 13: 9781405114653

Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell, 2005

Synopsis

Looking for America: The Visual Production of Nation and People is a groundbreaking collection that explores the “visual” in defining the kaleidoscope of American experience and American identity in the 20th century.

• Covers enduringly important topics in American history: nationhood, class, politics of identity, and the visual mapping of “others”
  
• Includes editorial introductions, suggested readings, a primer on how to "read" an image, and a guide to visual archives and collections
  
• Well-illustrated book for those in American Studies and related fields eager to incorporate the visual into their teaching—and telling—of the American story.

About this title

Book Description:

Looking for America is a groundbreaking collection that explores the "visual" in defining the kaleidoscope of American experience and identity in the twentieth century. Introducing readers to the visual in all its complexity and variety on the American scene across 100 years - the language of sartorial signs, the lexicon of appearance, the historical construction and meaning of "types," the uses and politics of photography, film, bodily display and documentary film - the volume underscores the productivity of the visual in thinking about race, gender, ethnicity, sexuality, and regionality. It demonstrates - for better or worse - that the ways people see and are seen determine who they are and how they see themselves as citizens and Americans. Looking for America tackles subjects of enduring importance in the history of America: nationhood, class, the politics of identity, and the visual mapping of "others." An editorial introduction provides ample contextualization of the articles, placing them within a narrative structure that tells a collective tale of how this experiment we call "America" took on visual shape and meaning. Suggested readings, a primer on how to "read" an image, and a guide to visual archives and collections round out the volume, making Looking for America an indispensable text.

From the Back Cover:

This groundbreaking collection explores the role of the “visual” in shaping American identity: Introducing students to the visual in all its complexity and variety on the American scene – the language of signs, the historical construction and meaning of “types,” and the uses and politics of photography, film, bodily display, and documentaries – the volume underscores the productivity of the visual in thinking about race, gender, ethnicity, sexuality, and regionality. It clearly demonstrates that the ways in which people see and are seen determine who they are and how they see themselves as citizens and Americans.

An editorial introduction places the articles within a narrative structure that tells a collectivr tale of how experiment called "America" took on visual shape and meaning. Suggested readings, a primer on how to “read” an image, and a listing of visual archives and collections complete the volume, making this an indispensable text for those in American studies and related fields.

About this edition

• Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell
• Publication date: 2005
• ISBN 10: 1405114657
• ISBN 13: 9781405114653
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 404