LIFELONG LEARNING: Short-course in the History of Photography, 1839-1900
Course meets weekly online via zoom - Mondays, March 9-April 27, 2026, 2-3:20pm
Entire Course: $225 for Members/ $275 Non-Members
Mini-Bundle (3-class package): $100 Members/$125 Non-Members
This unique virtual course combines six weekly 80-minute sessions of lecture and discussion, with a culminating hands-on workshop at the Museum. Learn what photography is and how it transformed the world directly from experts in the field using the vast resources of the NBWM photography collection as your study materials.
Everyone walks around today with a camera in our pocket. But that was not always the case. Our world is saturated with photographic images – from magazine covers and Facebook feeds to Instagram and billboards–but have you ever stopped to wonder how these images work, what they are trying to say to you, or what histories they may connect with? This course introduces life-long learners to the history of photography, from the invention of the medium in 1839 to the birth of Kodak and snapshot photography in 1900. Photographs will be studied as art objects and historical artifacts. Themes include technological innovations; debates between art photography, commercial photography, and documentary photography; government and private patronage; individual or collective endeavors; original and published prints; urban and landscape views; and the emergence of amateur photography as a practice. Join us to learn what photography is and how it has documented our world and experiences, from its invention in 1839 through 1900.
Schedule
March 9 – Photography’s origins, 1839
March 16 – Competing technologies
March 23 – Wet-Plate photography
March 30 – World events: photography as documentary
April 6 – Art vs Industry: photography as medium
April 13 – Kodak and the introduction of Snapshot photography
April 27– In-person workshop at NBWM / curator-led tour of “Look Pleasant Please”
