Spring 2025: February 10 — April 18
Subject: HIST
Course Level: 100
Number of Credits: 1 U.S. / 2 ECTS
Max Enrollment: 22
Schedule: Mon, Fri 16:00 – 17:20 CET (Berlin) | 10:00 – 11:20 AM EDT (New York)
Language of Instruction: English
Course Prerequisites: English B2 / Equivalent or higher

If the term ‘documentary photography’ describes a genre of photography that prioritizes capturing of the real situation rather than artistic qualities of the snapshot, the ‘social documentary’ refers to photography focusing on socially sensitive issues: life of marginal people, poverty and humanitarian disasters like famine and earthquakes. Since recently, the photographers turn to representation of migration, victims of terrorism, climate change and environmental harm. The aim of this course is to explore the history of the genre and its theoretical foundations. At what moment the visual language of photography was adopted for documenting social problems? How can photographs critique society, and to what extent can photography become a driving force for social and political changes? What representational strategies are used by photographers? Are there tragedies that cannot be represented? What moral dilemmas the social documentary faces, and what should not be shown in photographs?A considerable part of the course will be devoted to the role of photography in political conflicts and war photography, which constitutes a sub-genre of social documentary photography.In this course, we will consider the work of many outstanding photographers – Americans, Europeans but also coming from other parts of the world: Walker Evans, August Sander, Robert Capa, Dmitry Baltermans, Diane Arbus, Kevin Carter and Gilles Peress.

Guidelines for the Statement of Purpose:
Craft a reflective statement of purpose explaining your interest in the Smolny Beyond Borders online course. The file should be saved with your name and course title as the filename and uploaded accordingly. Your statement’s clarity and substance will significantly influence our selection. Convey your motivations and aspirations for this course succinctly but thoroughly. Kindly write your statement in the course’s Language of Instruction.

Application Portal Instructions:
1) Use the Latin alphabet for all entries on the portal, including your name. If the Language of Instruction is Russian, you may use Cyrillic only within the Statement of Purpose file, and the title of the file should still be in English.
2) Refrain from using email addresses associated with Russian or Belarusian educational institutions.
3) While completing the “Required Information” section, ensure you fill in the “Province” field for your address.
4) Provide an address outside Russia or Belarus in both the “Required Information” and “Geographic Location Confirmation” sections of the “Online Course Application”. This ensures we can send your transcript.
5) You must press the “Sign” button twice during the application.
6) If you hold a bachelor’s degree, select “4th+” in the “Academic Year (online)” section.
7) Applicants either unaffiliated or affiliated with educational institutions in Russia and Belarus should list ‘Smolny Beyond Borders’ as their educational institution.
8) In the student ID section, enter ‘SBB’.
9) Consider drafting your motivation letter ahead of time. Save it as a separate file with this format: LastName_FirstName_CourseTitle for a smoother application process.