Essay in edited book by Uschi Klein
Popular Culture as Everyday Life, 2016
Photography has long stopped being the preserve of an elite, but its place within social networki... more Photography has long stopped being the preserve of an elite, but its place within social networking culture has changed amateur practice too. No longer called upon only for special occasions, popular photography—epitomized by the global phenomenon of the selfie—has rapidly become a cultural practice of the everyday.
Selfies are ubiquitous and abundant in our contemporary popular and visual culture, raising important questions around the notion of photographic time, the visual performance of the self, the shifting boundaries of privacy and its wider impact on other social and cultural fields.
As this essay argues, sharing selfies enables individuals to visually perform their self and engage in a cultural form and everyday practice that facilitates a strong desire to connect with others in an online community. Moreover, individuals can share their present experiences and moments.
The essay ‘Sharing Selfies’ begins by briefly recalling and contextualising the history of photographic self-portraits before I focus on the notions of self-representation, online participation, and the boundaries of privacy and online relationships.
Book Reviews by Uschi Klein
History of Photography, 2019
In Reframing Visual Social Science: Towards a More Visual Sociology and Anthropology, Luc Pauwels... more In Reframing Visual Social Science: Towards a More Visual Sociology and Anthropology, Luc Pauwels aims to deliver a comprehensive, well-balanced, analytical and critical-constructive overview of current and emerging forms and practices of visual research in culture and society. At 337 pages, the book is an attempt to address the growing need to better integrate knowledge and expertise between the social sciences, the humanities and behavioural sciences.
Papers by Uschi Klein
Visual Communication, 2020
Digital photography is deeply embedded in people's daily lives, as camera phones and digital comp... more Digital photography is deeply embedded in people's daily lives, as camera phones and digital compact cameras are widely used in social and cultural settings. People have an increased agency and choice over what they want to photograph, where and when; many people carry their smartphones everywhere and share their images instantly via social media platforms. Within the recent scholarship on everyday photography , however, little attention has been paid to the photographic practices of people with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), one of many margin-alized groups whose photography has not been explored. This article addresses this shortfall. Drawing on a qualitative, image-based investigation , the author turns to phenomenology to examine four young male ASD adults' unique ways of seeing and being-in-the-world as expressed through the use of their camera. Their involvement indicates that ASD people have the potential to have a powerful voice in how society conceives of what autism is and what it means to live with ASD. A case study discussion of key research findings presents examples of the pictures taken in the sphere of participants' everyday lives, revealing that the camera acts as an extension of experience and perception, a mediator and filter. Photography enables the four male ASD individuals' being-in-the-world and exposes the social life of this marginalized group. The article offers a significant contribution to the field of visual communication and sensory experience. K e y w O r D S Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) • everyday photography • perception • phenomenology • visual communication • visual methods 917432V CJ Visual CommunicationKlein: Seeing and communicating A r T I C l e
Photographs are created, recreated and shared extensively and repeatedly, suggesting that people ... more Photographs are created, recreated and shared extensively and repeatedly, suggesting that people have little choice but to look at them. Nonetheless, the diverse ways of seeing in contemporary visual culture entail different visions, experiences and practices of visuality. This article suggests autistic people approach photography in their own ways to visually express their everyday lives. While sensory experiences differ in autistic individuals, they appear to embody visuality with their sensory modalities, using primarily their vision, but also their kinaesthetic experience and proprioceptive awareness to photograph the world around them. Drawing from findings from an empirical study on the photographic practices of young people on the autism spectrum, this paper discusses how two participants use photography to capture the ways they see the world. Photography provides a context in which individuals can illustrate their visual experiences, and specific and diverse social and personal realities. The medium encourages them to make, use and discuss their own photographs, which, in turn, generates thoughts of lived experiences on which they may otherwise never reflect. While offering new insights into how photography mediates autistic individuals' sensory perceptions of their visual world, this paper will further consider the contributions photography makes to the everyday lives of autistic people.
Book chapter by Uschi Klein
The Camera as Actor: Photography and the Embodiment of Technology, 2020
The digitalization of image-making technologies has altered the relationship between photography ... more The digitalization of image-making technologies has altered the relationship between photography and its users and affects the way people interact with the world. With a focus on the ‘doing of photography’, this chapter is concerned with photography as a social act and examines its use and movement in an everyday context to recognize the complexity inherent in photographic practices. Drawing on findings of an empirical and interdisciplinary study, this chapter discusses how four young male adults with Autism Spectrum Condition (ASC) approach the camera to depict their sociality. There has been little scholarship concerning the everyday photography of people with ASC, who are among many other marginalized groups whose photography has not been researched. As a biologically based, lifelong neurological spectrum condition, autism affects how a person makes sense of the world, processes information and relates to other people. The chapter demonstrates that digital photography provides an image-making practice through which individuals with ASC can illustrate their ways of seeing and diverse social and personal realities.
Uploads
Essay in edited book by Uschi Klein
Selfies are ubiquitous and abundant in our contemporary popular and visual culture, raising important questions around the notion of photographic time, the visual performance of the self, the shifting boundaries of privacy and its wider impact on other social and cultural fields.
As this essay argues, sharing selfies enables individuals to visually perform their self and engage in a cultural form and everyday practice that facilitates a strong desire to connect with others in an online community. Moreover, individuals can share their present experiences and moments.
The essay ‘Sharing Selfies’ begins by briefly recalling and contextualising the history of photographic self-portraits before I focus on the notions of self-representation, online participation, and the boundaries of privacy and online relationships.
Book Reviews by Uschi Klein
Papers by Uschi Klein
Book chapter by Uschi Klein
Selfies are ubiquitous and abundant in our contemporary popular and visual culture, raising important questions around the notion of photographic time, the visual performance of the self, the shifting boundaries of privacy and its wider impact on other social and cultural fields.
As this essay argues, sharing selfies enables individuals to visually perform their self and engage in a cultural form and everyday practice that facilitates a strong desire to connect with others in an online community. Moreover, individuals can share their present experiences and moments.
The essay ‘Sharing Selfies’ begins by briefly recalling and contextualising the history of photographic self-portraits before I focus on the notions of self-representation, online participation, and the boundaries of privacy and online relationships.