About this Course
68,423 recent viewsTaking, sharing, and viewing photographs has become second nature for many of us. Given our near-constant engagement with images this course will help you dig into the meaning of pictures and reconsider photography’s role in our visual culture. This course aims to address the gap between seeing and truly understanding photographs by introducing a diversity of ideas, approaches, and technologies that inform their making.
Learner Career Outcomes
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got a tangible career benefit from this courseFlexible deadlines
Reset deadlines in accordance to your schedule.
Shareable Certificate
Earn a Certificate upon completion
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Start instantly and learn at your own schedule.
Course 2 of 4 in the
Modern and Contemporary Art and Design Specialization
Beginner LevelApprox. 17 hours to completeEnglish
Subtitles: Arabic, French, Portuguese (European), Serbian, Italian, Vietnamese, German, Russian, English, Spanish
What you will learn
Understand artists’ processes and the choices that inform a photograph’s making, including experimentation and responses to technological innovation.
Learn how context influences the production, circulation, and reception of photographic images.
Understand the relationship between a photograph’s subject and meaning, and the differences between photographs as objects and photographic images.
Gain confidence in looking at and talking about photography, and find inspiration from photographs all around you.
Skills you will gain
- Photography
- Art
- History
- Museums
- Art History
Learner Career Outcomes
11%
got a tangible career benefit from this courseFlexible deadlines
Reset deadlines in accordance to your schedule.
Shareable Certificate
Earn a Certificate upon completion
100% online
Start instantly and learn at your own schedule.
Course 2 of 4 in the
Modern and Contemporary Art and Design Specialization
Beginner LevelApprox. 17 hours to completeEnglish
Subtitles: Arabic, French, Portuguese (European), Serbian, Italian, Vietnamese, German, Russian, English, Spanish
Instructor
Sarah Meister
CuratorDepartment of Photography 394,631 Learners 2 CoursesOffered by

The Museum of Modern Art
The Museum of Modern Art is a place that fuels creativity, ignites minds, and provides inspiration. Join us in exploring the art, ideas, and issues of our time through the Modern and Contemporary Art and Design Specialization or through individual courses: Modern Art & Ideas, Seeing Through Photographs, What Is Contemporary Art?, Fashion as Design, and In the Studio: Postwar Abstract Painting. Learn about teaching with art in our three courses designed for K-12 educators: Art & Inquiry, Art & Activity, and Art & Ideas.
Week 1
1 hour to complete
Introduction to Seeing Through Photographs
1 hour to complete
3 videos (Total 8 min), 5 readings
3 videosSeeing Through Photographs1m
Sarah Meister Introduces the Course2m
Marvin Heiferman on “Photography Changes Everything”3m
5 readingsWelcome to Seeing Through Photographs!10m
Getting Started: How Does This Course Work?10m
Optional Discussion Forum Prompts10m
Optional Readings and Resources30m
Pre-Course Survey10m
Week 2
3 hours to complete
One Subject, Many Perspectives
3 hours to complete
8 videos (Total 24 min), 8 readings, 1 quiz
8 videosVik Muniz on Photographing the Familiar3m
Early Photographs of the Moon: Surface, Scale, and Technology2m
Eugène Atget. Pendant l'éclipse. 19123m
Liz Deschenes on Tilt/Swing (360º field of vision, version 1), 20091m
New Perspectives: Man on the Moon2m
U.S.G.S. and NASA, Surveyor III. Surface of the Moon, Day 319, W-F. 19671m
Vernacular and Fine Art Photographs of the Moon3m
Ansel Adams. Moonrise, Hernandez, New Mexico. 19413m
8 readingsIntroduction to This Week10m
Artistic Equivalents10m
Moons and Moonlight10m
Photographs by NASA10m
Who Does the Moon Belong To?10m
Moon Phases10m
Optional Discussion Prompts and Creative Challenges10m
Optional Readings and Resources30m
1 practice exercisePractice Memory Check30m
Week 3
3 hours to complete
Documents and the Documentary
3 hours to complete
7 videos (Total 25 min), 8 readings, 1 quiz
7 videosSarah Meister on Documents and the Documentary3m
Zora J Murff on At No Point in Between, 2018–198m
Mike Mandel on Evidence, 19774m
Thomas Demand on Room (Zimmer), 19961m
Dorothea Lange. Migrant Mother. 19361m
Dorothea Lange. On the Road to Los Angeles, California. March 19371m
Sarah Meister on Documentary Photography3m
8 readingsIntroduction to This Week10m
Facts and Fictions10m
Fictions and Facts10m
Artist Spotlight: Dorothea Lange10m
Artist Spotlight: Gordon Parks10m
Arbus, Friedlander, and Winogrand10m
Optional Discussion Prompts and Creative Challenges10m
Optional Readings and Resources30m
1 practice exercisePractice Memory Check30m
Week 4
3 hours to complete
One and Another
3 hours to complete
6 videos (Total 27 min), 8 readings, 1 quiz
6 videosSarah Meister on Photography and Multiplicity2m
Frances Benjamin Johnston. The Hampton Album. 1899-19001m
Nicholas Nixon on The Brown Sisters, 1975–Present1m
Sohrab Hura on Snow, 2015–ongoing5m
Irina Rozovsky on Miracle Center, 2019–ongoing5m
Iñaki Bonillas on Marginalia, 2019–ongoing9m
8 readingsIntroduction to This Week10m
Artwork Spotlight: Frances Benjamin Johnston's The Hampton Album, 1899-190010m
Photo Books10m
Photo Series10m
One from Many10m
Optional Discussion Prompts and Creative Challenges10m
Optional Readings and Resources30m
Mid-Course Survey5m
1 practice exercisePractice Memory Check30m
Week 5
3 hours to complete
Constructing Narratives, Challenging Histories
3 hours to complete
8 videos (Total 33 min), 7 readings, 1 quiz
8 videosHank Willis Thomas on the Role of Advertising Images3m
Carrie Mae Weems on From Here I Saw What Happened and I Cried, 1995–962m
Walid Raad on My neck is thinner than a hair: Engines, 1996–20011m
Harrell Fletcher on The American War, 20054m
Iñaki Bonillas on Constructing Identities5m
Cindy Sherman. Untitled Film Stills. 1977–801m
Dionne Lee on True North and AA O KK, 20197m
David Alekhuogie on To Live and Die in LA, 20194m
7 readingsIntroduction to This Week10m
Artwork Spotlight: Hank Willis Thomas's UNBRANDED series10m
Constructing History10m
Challenging History10m
Constructing Personal Narratives10m
Optional Discussion Prompts and Creative Challenges10m
Optional Readings and Resources30m
1 practice exercisePractice Memory Check30m
Week 6
3 hours to complete
Pictures of People
3 hours to complete
7 videos (Total 25 min), 8 readings, 1 quiz
7 videosKaty Grannan on Taking Portraits3m
Susan Meiselas on Carnival Strippers, 1973–755m
Akram Zaatari on After They Got the Right to Arms. Fourteen young men posing with guns, early 1970s/20066m
Stephanie Syjuco on Cargo Cults, 2013–162m
Tina Barney on Sunday New York Times, 19821m
Deana Lawson on Roxie and Raquel, 20101m
Maria Antelman on Hall of Mirrors, Self Stranger, and Puzzlers I and II, 20204m
8 readingsIntroduction to This Week10m
Artwork Spotlight: Katy Grannan's Portraits10m
Exploring Agency10m
Self-Possession10m
Performing Identity10m
Loved Ones10m
Optional Discussion Prompts and Creative Challenges10m
Optional Readings and Resources30m
1 practice exercisePractice Memory Check30m
Week 7
3 hours to complete
Ocean of Images
3 hours to complete
10 videos (Total 37 min), 7 readings, 2 quizzes
10 videosSarah Meister on the Ocean of Images2m
Gertrudes Altschul. Lines and Tones. c. 19521m
Robert Heinecken. Are You Rea. 1964–681m
Martha Rosler on House Beautiful: Bringing the War Home, 1967–727m
Carmen Winant on My Birth, 20182m
Thomas Ruff on jpeg msh01, 20044m
Anouk Kruithof on Subconscious Travelling, 20134m
Lucas Blalock on Strawberries, 2014–153m
David Horvitz on Mood Disorder, 20153m
Özlem Altın on Topography (of time, of body), 20195m
7 readingsIntroduction to This Week10m
Before the Digital Wave10m
Appropriating Mass Media10m
Born Digital10m
Optional Creative Challenge10m
Optional Readings and Resources30m
End of Course Survey5m
2 practice exercisesPractice Memory Check30m
Final Assignment (Required for Certificate)30m