Photography as Archaeology: Visual Excavation of Cultural Memory (Online)

What if your camera could excavate what official history has erased?

Traditional archives preserve dominant narratives, but alternative histories live in plain sight—buried in the ground, etched into crumbling walls, hidden in rust, or traced along the bend of a forgotten street. Photography as Archaeology introduces a groundbreaking methodological framework that treats the camera not as a simple illustrative tool, but as a scientific trowel.

Created by Dr. Fabio Esteban Amador, this 8-week International Center of Photography (ICP) course merges rigorous archaeological methodologies—such as provenience, context, stratigraphy, and material culture analysis—with advanced photographic practice. Rather than chasing the "decisive moment," students learn to hunt for the "decisive context." Where was an object found? What surrounds it? What lies above and below it? And what does its physical placement reveal about power, identity, ritual, economy, and erasure?

Through intensive fieldwork in local neighborhoods—often the most overlooked archaeological sites—students conduct systematic visual investigations. You will move fluidly across scales, from macro artifact portraits to meso architectural features and macro landscapes.

Ultimately, this course moves beyond photographing beautiful ruins to reconstruct who made them, how they were used, why they were left behind, and what they tell us about contemporary society. The semester culminates in a research-driven visual archive: a professional photo essay and counter-history narrative ready for exhibition, publication, or community return.

Course Level / Prerequisite: Open to all skill levels. Students ranging from beginner to experienced will be successful in classes that are Open to All Skill Levels.

Courses are subject to minimum enrollment. Please register early, within five days of the start-date, to reduce the likelihood of course cancellation and to ensure you receive all course-related materials in time to prepare for class.

Fee Breakdown