Course Syllabus

This page will provide the basic syllabus information for the course. Please refer to the menu for additional pages about assignments and quizzes.

Instructor: Eric Roman
Office: Room 3, Borland Lab
Email: ear180@psu.edu *
Office Hours: By Appointment

* Email: Please use Canvas email for all course related communications. This will ensure your important course related messages reach your instructor.

Course Description:

PHOTO 101 is a General Education Course (GA) that expands students’ depth of appreciation, knowledge, and understanding of the medium by providing them with a creative and intellectual background to realize its broad cultural scope. The course accomplishes this through photographic and written explorations of social, political and ethical issues relevant to photography.

Photography wields unprecedented influence as a primary visual medium and students constantly use photography in their personal lives as both a communications tool and as a creative outlet. The ubiquitous smart phones with built in cameras are responsible for much of this explosive popularity with social media providing appealing venues for publicly displaying photography. Over the first decade of the new millennium, social media sites saw the volume of photo uploads increase dramatically, eventually exceeding 10 billion per month. In light of photography being a key medium students use to share and communicate information about themselves to the world at large, the course is designed to help them to think critically and ethically about the photographs they take, share, view and use.

The major course teaching topics will address a broad range of contemporary issues relevant to how photography and culture affect one another. Students will become aware of photography as a constantly evolving medium, whose relatively short historical trajectory has culminated in the development of an easily accessible egalitarian art form that bridged the digital divide to interact intimately with personal computing, cell phone communications, the Internet, and social media.

In the course, students will take photographs to fulfill photographic assignments, share them with peer audiences, and then engage in critical conversations regarding the aesthetic and communicative meaning and effectiveness of the photos. They will also engage in written assignments where the course presents them with case studies regarding current issues in photography such as, the impact of technological developments in the medium, ethical uses of photography, photography as free speech, and photography as social media. Students will conduct research on the topics and develop informed written position statements, which they will share with their classmates for peer evaluation and feedback. In addition, students will engage with selected readings regarding aspects of photography addressed in the major teaching topics.

Required Materials:

Students are required to have access to digital camera and computer. For this course, any good quality camera will suffice, including many SLR, mirrorless, or cell phone cameras. At University Park campus, Penn State will loan good quality cameras to students at Media Technology Services (MTSS) located in the Wagner Annex (814-865-5400 https://libraries.psu.edu/about/departments/media-and-technology-support-services-wagner-annex)

If you choose to use your cell phone camera for the course, we suggest that you read the literature for your equipment and enable any professional or advanced modes, which will allow custom settings for f/stop, shutter speed, ISO and focus control. Several cell phone cameras have even more advanced features such as the ability to photograph using RAW or HDR that can make your picture taking more interesting and enjoyable. Some of these techniques will be addressed in the course tutorials.

Required Readings and Tutorials:

The course tutorials and additional readings will be available through Canvas and Linkedin Learning.

Course Format and Objectives:

PHOTO 101 may be offered in various delivery methods depending on the course section. It may be entirely online, in a classroom, or in a hybrid online/classroom environment. Although the mode of delivery may differ, the course objectives remain the same.

Identify and explain the historic and contemporary cultural significance of photography as an art form and a means of visual communication.
Develop visual communication abilities and personal creative capabilities related to photography.
Develop critical thinking abilities in relation to photography by knowledgeably formulating and responding to opinions or positions regarding key issues in photography such as aesthetics, technology, free speech, and ethics.

Identify the social responsibilities of photographers and the ethical dimensions of photography within their own process of forming judgments, maintaining personal integrity, and making principled decisions when making or using photographs.

Course Objectives, which correspond to three General Education Learning Objectives:

CREATIVE THINKING – the capacity to synthesize existing ideas, images, or expertise in original ways and the experience of performing, making, thinking, or acting in an imaginative way that may be characterized by innovation, divergent thinking, and intellectual risk taking.
EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION – the ability to exchange information and ideas in oral, written, and visual form in ways that allow for informed and persuasive discourse that builds trust and respect among those engaged in that exchange, and helps create environments where creative ideas and problem-solving flourish.
SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY AND ETHICAL REASONING – the ability to assess one’s own values within the social context of problems, recognize ethical issues in a variety of settings, describe how different perspectives might be applied to ethical dilemmas, and consider the ramifications of alternative actions. Individuals should acquire the self-knowledge and leadership skills needed to play a role in creating and maintaining healthy, civil, safe, and thriving communities.

Evaluation and Examination Method:

The course is grounded in active learning pedagogy, which includes interactive and collaborative learning with guided peer assessment. Rubrics are adapted as a protocol for assessing students emerging capabilities addressed in the course learning objectives. Student responses to creative and critical problems are assessed in relation to the appropriateness of the solution to each project goal or problem and are subject to peer review mediated by faculty oversight to monitor the rigor of the criteria applied. Low stakes quizzes are used as formative assessment activities to identify areas of confusion regarding the course material.

Assignments and Grade Weighting:

The PHOTO 101 assignments and final tutorial quiz have a potential value of 900 points.

The course has four major scored components.

Photographic Assignments: Take photographs and participate in peer reviews
Position Statement Assignments: Write research papers and participate in peer reviews
Video Tutorial Assignments: Watch tutorials and upload Video Tutorial Certificates to Canvas
Syllabus Review Quiz and Final Tutorial Quiz: Take quizzes on Canvas

33% (approximately) of the Final Grade – Photographic Assignments: Students will take photographs to fulfill three photographic assignments. They will share the photographs with peer audiences, and then engage in Peer Reviews, which are critical conversations regarding the aesthetic qualities, communicative meanings, and overall effectiveness of their work.
33% (approximately) of the Final Grade – Position Statement Assignments: Students will engage in three position statement assignments regarding current key cultural issues in photography such as, ethical uses of photography, photography as free speech, photography as social media, and the impact of technological developments in the medium. Students will share the research assignments with peer audiences, and then engage in Peer Reviews, which are critical discussions regarding the dilemmas posed by the issues.
16% (approximately) of the Final Grade – Tutorial Assignments: Students will participate in tutorial assignments associated with their photography and position statement assignments that expand their aesthetic capacities and technical capabilities.
16% (approximately) of the Final Grade – Syllabus Review Quiz and Final Tutorial Quiz: Students will engage an evaluation to reinforce their understanding of the course information and topics addressed in the tutorial assignments.

For simplicity and uniformity, we use the LionPath standard PSU grading scale:

A	100%	to	94%
A-	less than 94%	to	90%
B+	less than 90%	to	87%
B	less than 87%	to	84%
B-	less than 84%	to	80%
C+	less than 80%	to	77%
C	less than 77%	to	74%
D	less than 74%	to	64%
F	less than 64%	to	0%

Assessment

“Assessment” is simply the practice of evaluating and discussing the effectiveness of the work produced to meet the assignments. This activity takes place as a discussion during our class critiques. The assignment score is the outcome of the assessment as decided by your instructor and with creative work it is a subjective evaluation.

By taking an arts course like this, you agree to receive an experienced instructor’s subjective evaluation of your creative work. Merely doing the assignment will not qualify you for an automatic “A”. To accomplish that evaluative level, you must unmistakably demonstrate and be able to defend through practical evidence exceptional effort and execution.

If you disagree with the assignment score as evaluated by your instructor, you may request a reevaluation of the assignment by writing to the instructor and including your images, technical information about the photos such as f/stop and placement of lights, your justification for your image making decisions, all of your planning and research materials for your assignment, your time commitment, and a clear explanation about why you believe your work should be scored higher. Please do not reference other peoples’ scores in your request since assignment scores are not intended to serve as an equitable payment for work performed but rather as an instructor’s subjective evaluation of your personal progress.

Re-dos

If you wish to improve your assignment quality and score, ask for specific feedback, then based on that information and that of the peer critiques, re-photograph the assignment to create photos that are more effective, and then request a reevaluation.

Alternatively, you can write to your instructor and clearly explain how you accomplished each of the above criteria to a level beyond the instructor’s evaluation. However, it will be your responsibility to support the effort and execution of your photography. Be aware, the instructor may or may not agree with your reasoning.

We expect students’ emphasis to focus on how they can improve their work. Angry or argumentative messages regarding assignment scores are unprofessional and do not follow Penn State’s academic integrity policy of maintaining a respectful and dignified learning environment.

Academic Integrity:

In order to ensure all students have a fair and equal opportunity to succeed in this course, the School of Visual Arts is committed to enforcing the University’s academic integrity policy. Below is a description of academic misconduct, and the school’s responsibilities when misconduct is suspected.

Academic Misconduct:

Academic misconduct includes, but is not limited to:

Copying the work of any other person on an exam, quiz, or assignment (with the exception of using proper citations and footnotes where appropriate)
Passing off the work of any other individual as your own – such as using photos from the internet or friends that you did not take
Using old photographs for an assignment instead of taking new photographs specifically for the assignment
Submitting work made for another class
Having unauthorized possession of exams or quizzes
Engaging in deception in order to extend or reschedule an exam, quiz, or assignment
Facilitating acts of academic misconduct by others

When Academic Misconduct is Suspected  If a student is suspected of academic misconduct, the instructor’s duties are to:

Confidentially inform the student of the allegation;
Enter the charge and recommended sanctions on an Academic Integrity form;
Ask the student to meet in order to review the form and discuss the charges and sanctions. The student can choose to accept  or contest the allegation at this point.
 Note that a student’s refusal to meet with the instructor or respond to the charges within a reasonable period of time is construed as acceptance of the allegation and proposed sanctions.
Once the Academic Integrity form has been accepted or contested by the student, it is sent to the College’s Academic Integrity Committee for adjudication. A student cannot drop or withdraw from the course during the adjudication process.

If a student accepts an academic misconduct allegation, or if he is found guilty during adjudication, possible sanctions include:

A warning;
Reduction of the assignment grade (including reduction to zero);
Reduction in the final course grade;
An F in the course.
In addition, the student will be unable to drop or withdraw from the course.

You must produce all the photographs and written statements that you submit for your assignments. You must produce the photographs for assignments after the assignment has been given. It is a violation of academic integrity to use images that you took prior as submission for an assignment.
You may not use photographs or parts of photographs taken by other people. This includes photographs that you find on the Internet. We will consider your use of other people’s photographs to fulfill assignments to be plagiarism. Do not plagiarize.

Late-Drop:

Students may add/drop a course without academic penalty during the drop/add period. A student may late drop a course within the first twelve weeks of the semester but can only take a course a maximum of three times.

Deferred Grades:

Students who are passing a course but are unable to complete it due to illness or emergency may be granted a deferred grade, which will allow the student to complete the course within ten weeks after the last day of classes. Note that deferred grades are limited to those students who can verify and document a valid reason for not being able to engage in the course work sufficient for a D (passing grade) or better. For more information see DF grade in the advising handbook.

Students with Disabilities:

Penn State welcomes students with disabilities into the University’s educational programs. If you have a disability-related need for reasonable academic adjustments in this course, contact Student Disability Resources at 814-863- 1807 (V/TTY). For further information, please visit Student Disability Resources web site: http://equity.psu.edu/student-disability- resources/

In order to receive consideration for accommodations, you must contact SDR and provide documentation (see the documentation guidelines at http://equity.psu.edu/student-disability-resources/). If the documentation supports your request for reasonable accommodations, SDR will provide you with an accommodation letter identifying appropriate academic adjustments. Please share this letter with your instructors and discuss the accommodations with them as early in your courses as possible. You must follow this process for every semester that you request accommodations.

Educational Equity:

The Office of the Vice Provost for Educational Equity serves as a catalyst and advocate for Penn State’s diversity and inclusion initiatives. Educational Equity’s vision is a Penn State community that is an inclusive and welcoming environment for all. If you wish to learn more or if you wish to report bias, please visit the Educational Equity website.

CAPS – Counseling and Psychological Services – Crisis Information:

Emergencies: 911
CAPS (Mon-Fri, 8am-5pm):
(814) 863-0395
Penn State Crisis Line (24/7):
(877) 229-6400
Crisis Text Line (24/7):
txt “LIONS” to 741741

CAPS Locations- Student Health Center (SHC), Bank of America (BoA), Allenway Building (Downtown)