COURSE REFLECTION / MEDIA & MEMORY
A question,
reframed.
A reflection on how my research focus and approach to reading photographs changed during the course.
COURSE REFLECTION
Final
presentation.
HARRIS ZHANG
02Finding the right frame
I first approached the assignment as a broad war narrative. The course requirement pushed me to look for a personal or familial connection.
My final focus turned toward China’s resistance to Japanese invasion during the Second World War, and toward the images through which that history is remembered.
From impact to traces
My early analysis emphasized the emotional impact of tragic images. In the final presentation, I reflected on compassion fatigue and the limits of repeated exposure.
The next step was to look at material traces — and at less tangible elements such as light and time — as ways to think about memory.
What I would do differently
I would compare oral testimony with official images, investigate photographic propaganda more carefully, and work toward more precise historical context.
The course left me wanting to sustain historical memory through further visual analysis, with greater attention to how a story is framed.
FROM THE SUPPLIED COURSE MATERIAL
The source
presentation.
Read the original 4 slides alongside these adapted reading notes.