Photographs and the Practice of History: A Short Primer

＂What is it to practice history in an age in which photographs exist? What is the impact of photographs on the core historiographical practices which define the discipline and shape its enquiry and methods? In Photographs and the Practice of History, Elizabeth Edwards proposes a new philosophy of history which explores these questions and redefines the practices at the heart of this discipline. Structured around key concepts in historical methodology which are recognisable to all undergraduates, the book shows that from the mid-19th century onward, photographs have influenced historical enquiry. Exposure to these mass-distributed cultural artefacts is enough to change our historical frameworks even when research is textually-based. Intended as a companion to ’how to’ guides on visual research, Photographs and the Practice of History builds on existing literature by leading scholars and gives readers a foundation on which to build their own historical practices＂--

Elizabeth Edwards is Research Professor of Photographic History and Director of the Photographic History Research Centre, UK. A visual and historical anthropologist, she has worked extensively on the relationships between photography, anthropology and history in cross-cultural environments and on the social practices of photography. Her monographs and edited works include Raw Histories (2001), Sensible Objects (2006) and most recently Photographs, Museums, Collections (2015). She has published over 70 essays in journals and exhibition catalogues over the years and was recently featured in 50 Key Writers on Photography (2013). She is on the board of major journals in the field including Visual Studies and History of Photography. She recently completed a major HERA/European-funded project on the role of the photographic legacy of the colonial past in contemporary Europe (http//: photoclec.dmu.ac.uk)