Understanding a Photograph By John Berger Aperture Foundation, 2013 176 pp./$24.95 (hb) Words Not Spent Today Buy Smaller Images Tomorrow: Essays on the Present and Future of Photography By David Levi Strauss Aperture Foundation, 2014 192 pp./$29.95 (sb) [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The flow of contemporary criticism feels as ephemeral as the melting snow--measured thoughts that flutter into our vision momentarily, get buried under timelines, and are swept to the back "pages" of a digital "paper." In light of this, there remains a place for physical books, whose innards represent the earnest and sincere efforts of a thinker tackling tough questions and attempting to slow things down in search of deeper understanding. Two recent publications, the re-release in November 2013 of John Berger's Understanding a Photograph and the release in May 2014 of David Levi Strauss s Words Not Spent Today Buy Smaller Images Tomorrow: Essays on the Present and Future of Photography represent just that. Both texts, published in the series Aperture Ideas: Writers and Artists on Photography, provide nearly half a century of writing on photography and the social and political spheres in which images are disseminated and used. Berger's collection of essays is arranged in chronological order and includes an introduction by Geoff Dyer, who also edited this edition. Throughout the book, Berger examines the images of artists as well as images, both famous and not, by anonymous photographers, while exploring themes such as agony, ambiguity, politics, ideology, ecology, reality, and photography as art. Strauss's collection of essays is broken into five parts, each containing five essays. Strauss, like Berger before him, examines the work of artists and writers. He also extends his focus to themes such as memory and magic; events such as 9/11, Tahrir Square, and Occupy Wall Street; and image-based controversies such as those surrounding the cellphone images from Abu Ghraib. What is central to these two texts, threaded throughout, is a concern with the effects of images, their meanings, and how they are ultimately used in various contexts throughout the social sphere. To publish these two books in direct succession is to honor the connection between the texts and the influence of Berger on Strauss (Berger also wrote the introduction to Strauss's 2003 book Between the Eyes: Essays on Photography and Politics). It is clear from the first essay, "Image of Imperialism," originally published in 1968, that the re-release of Berger's collection is as potent and meaningful today as it must have been after its first publication. This essay takes as its starting point one of the photographs taken of a deceased Ernesto "Che" Guevara as his body was displayed by the Bolivian government for the world press in Vallegrande, Bolivia, on October 10, 1967. Berger's assessment, written before the circumstances of Che's death were more widely distributed and known, takes aim at the intent of the image's making which, as Berger states, "was to put an end to a legend" (15). By allowing the world press to photograph Guevara's corpse, the whole world would know of the revolution's end. However, as Berger states, "its effect may have been very different" (15) in that it provided a reverential springboard for his mythification, his martyrdom. Berger then works through the production of the image, examining how Guevara is displayed, how the men peer over him, and the angle of the shot. Drawing comparisons to Rembrandt van Rijn's painting The Anatomy of Dr. Nicolaes Tulp from 1632 and Andrea Mantegna's Lamentation over the Dead Christ (c. 1480), he reveals how the photograph's visual relationship to these earlier iconic works contributes to its power. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] In his essay "Over Bin Laden's Dead Body," Strauss explores the conscious decision by the American government not to release a 2011 image of the dead bin Laden. …

Understanding a Photograph

Esta tesis doctoral se encuentra en la confluencia entre la corriente de la manualistica y la historiografia de las ideas gramaticales y linguisticas en Espana. Dentro de los libros de texto, es facil aislar subconjuntos para analizarlos; se puede seleccionar una disciplina, un autor, un nivel, un periodo o una editorial concreta, e incluso una combinacion de estos criterios, como hemos hecho en el presente trabajo, al centrarnos en la disciplina gramatical, en el nivel de ensenanza primaria, y en los epitomes elaborados por la Real Academia Espanola entre 1857 y 1938. Los motivos son varios: (I) En primer lugar, durante la mayor parte del tiempo estos textos son de uso obligatorio en la ensenanza publica, y ademas de forma exclusiva. (II) El estudio de los Epitomes de la Real Academia nos permite adquirir una perspectiva global, puesto que se publican por primera vez en 1857 (el mismo ano en que se sanciona la ley mas importante hasta el dia de hoy para la educacion en nuestro pais, la conocida popularmente como Ley Moyano) y la ultima edicion corresponde a 1938, coincidiendo aproximadamente con uno de los periodos establecidos por los investigadores del proyecto Manes para el estudio de los manuales. (III) Por otra parte, las demas obras escolares de gramatica de la epoca tuvieron que tener en cuenta la doctrina academica en su elaboracion, ya fuera para seguirla, ya para intentar mejorarla, por lo que su conocimiento sera necesario para abordar el analisis de otros manuales escolares, y apreciar la posible influencia de la Institucion, las divergencias, etc., en un contexto adecuado. Nuestra aportacion aqui se centra en dos bloques, uno que trata de establecer los aspectos externos que afectan a la publicacion de las obras estudiadas y otro que estudia dichas obras en si, atendiendo a sus caracteristicas internas. En cuanto al primer bloque, se trata de establecer las circunstancias en que se publicaron los manuales estudiados desde distintos puntos de vista: legislativo, editorial, de sus autores y de sus receptores. En cuanto al segundo bloque, se han analizado las distintas ediciones del Epitome siguiendo un criterio tematico, practico para la comparacion con otras obras y para observar una evolucion interna en aspectos concretos. Se ha tratado de profundizar en si los cambios presentados suponian modificaciones superficiales, si afectaban a la doctrina teorica o a la metodologia, etc. Ademas, se ha tenido en cuenta que, en principio, son epitomes o resumenes de obras mas extensas y complejas, las Gramaticas academicas, y resulta necesario establecer una comparacion sistematica para buscar los origenes de los cambios en las obras de referencia. Por ultimo, una vez realizado el analisis, se ha establecido una jerarquia entre las diferentes ediciones, tratando de establecer cuales son ediciones nuevas, con abundantes modificaciones y cuales representan realmente puntos de inflexion y deben considerarse jalones en la obra escolar. Por lo tanto, esta tesis trata de cubrir todos esos aspectos para presentar un analisis lo mas completo posible de las obras escolares que la Real Academia Espanola redacto para la primera ensenanza y que fueron de uso obligatorio en todas las escuelas de nuestro pais entre 1857 y 1938, del contexto en que fueron producidas, del efecto que supuso para la Institucion que las firmaba, de su evolucion y de la influencia que la Gramatica academica ejercio sobre ellas.

La contribución de la Real Academia Española a la enseñanza de la gramática en las escuelas entre 1857 y 1938

This article discusses the ‘Indianisation’, ‘nationalisation’, and ‘ruralisation’ of the Montessori method in India at the eve, and in the aftermath of the country’s political independence (1947). ...

Montessori for all? Indian experiments in ‘child education’, 1920s–1970s

En los regimenes de escolarizacion de la infancia de principios del siglo XX, la educacion fisica fue afin a medios y modos disciplinares de adoctrinamiento militar. La prensa grafica de la epoca recogio imagenes que hoy nos testimonian la impronta de una militarizacion escolar susceptible de ser analizada desde la dialectica-critica y el “giro visual”. A partir de dos imagenes, publicadas en el semanario La Hormiga de Oro de Barcelona, visualizamos las formas (re)productoras de violencia que subyacen en la educacion fisica y desvelamos los dispositivos disciplinares (tecnicas de saber/poder) que actuan en el inconsciente colectivo de la epoca para construir elementos de cohesion nacional.  In infant schooling at the beginning of the twentieth century, physical education was similar to the disciplinary means and methods of military indoctrination. The picture press at the time printed images which show us today the mark of school militarisation which is open to analysis from a dialectical critical view and the “visual turn”. From these two images, published in the weekly La Hormiga de Oro of Barcelona, the (re)productive forms of violence that underlie physical education become evident and the disciplinary devices (knowledge/power techniques) acting in the collective subconscious of the time for the construction of elements of national cohesion are revealed.

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La militarización de la educación física escolar. Análisis de dos imágenes publicadas en la prensa de Barcelona de principios del siglo XX.

espanolObjetivos: identificar los intereses y orientaciones de los estudios sobre las representaciones visuales y la produccion de imagenes de infancia a traves de objetos culturales, con especial acentoen la fotografia, que se han constituido en fuentes de informacion en los campos de la historia, los estudios culturales y la educacion. Metodologia: revision documental de corte cualitativo, cuyo foco de observacion se encuentra en los estudios de la sociedad y la cultura de America Latina y Espana durante los siglos XIX y XXI, con algunas alusiones a trabajos situados en el mundo prehispanico. Resultados: se encontro que la infancia es un asunto de interes interdisciplinar, por ejemplo, para las ciencias de la salud, especialmente la neurologia, pediatria, epidemiologia. Tambien se hallaron trabajos sobre la infancia desde las ciencias humanas, ciencias sociales, la educacion y las artes; en las ultimas cuatro areas de conocimiento, ademas de un marcado interesde los estudios en la percepcion de imagenes de los ninos y las ninas, predomina la inquietud por las representaciones de la infancia en la educacion a traves de imagenes. Conclusiones: a partir de un balance de los resultados de los estudios abordados se identifican oportunidades para investigaciones sobre la construccion social de la infancia en educacion con fuentes visuales. portuguesObjetivo: identificar os interesses e orientacoes dos estudos sobre representacoes visuais e producao de imagens da infância por meio de objetos culturais, com enfase especial na fotografia, os quais se tornaram fontes de informacao nos campos da historia, estudos culturais e educacao. Metodologia: revisao documental qualitativa, cujo foco esta nos estudos da sociedade e cultura da America Latina e da Espanha durante os seculos XIX e XXI, com algumas alusoes a obras localizadas no mundo pre-hispânico. Resultados: a infância foi considerada uma questao de interesse interdisciplinar, por exemplo, para as ciencias da saude, especialmente neurologia, pediatria, epidemiologia. Tambem houve trabalhos sobre a infância nas ciencias humanas, ciencias sociais, educacao e artes; Nas quatro ultimas areas do conhecimento, alem de um interesse acentuado dos estudos na percepcao de imagens de meninos e meninas, ha uma preocupacao com as representacoes das criancas na educacao por meio das imagens. Conclusoes: a partir do balanco dos resultados dos estudos abordados, sao identificadas oportunidades de pesquisa sobre a construcao social da infância na educacao com fontes visuais. EnglishObjective: to identify the interests and orientations of studies on visual representations and the production of childhood images through cultural objects, with special emphasis on photography, which have become sources of information in the fields of history, cultural studies and education. Methodology: a qualitative documentary review, that focusses on the studies of society and culture of Latin America and Spain during the nineteenth and twenty-first centuries, with some allusions to works located in the pre-Hispanic world. Results: childhood was found to be a matter of interdisciplinary interest, for example, for health sciences, especially neurology, pediatrics, epidemiology. There were also found works on childhood from the human sciences, social sciences, education and the arts; In the last four areas of knowledge, in addition to a marked interest of studies in the perception of images of boys and girls, there is a preoccupation with children's representations in education through images. Conclusions: from a balance of the results of the studies addressed, opportunities for research on the social construction of children in education with visual sources are identified.

https://dialnet.unirioja.es/descarga/articulo/7314124.pdf

Construcción social de la infancia a través de imágenes y fotografías: una entrada a la educación

This article analyses photography as a tool for reinforcing textual discourses in the written press and supporting the popularisation of certain methods and practices in the illustrated press and magazines. The photographs will not be analysed as educational documents or testimony to educational activities but rather in an effort to explore the attempts to illustrate a message graphically so as to influence public opinion and change society’s perception of schools’ role and the functions of education. The way in which the Maria Montessori method was graphically disseminated in Spanish illustrated magazines between 1911 and 1931 is the focus of this paper.

The photography and propaganda of the Maria Montessori method in Spain (1911–1931)

espanolLa historia de la escuela en los ultimos tiempos ha ampliado su ambito de estudio gracias al uso de nuevas fuentes. A las fuentes tradicionales se han unido los testimonios orales, las imagenes, los objetos, los egodocumentos, las descripciones etnograficas y todo tipo de fuentes que nos permiten asomarnos a espacios menos explorados del pasado escolar. Estos nuevos testimonios son los que posibilitan conocer lo que algunos autores han llamado la caja negra de la escuela (the Black Box of Schooling), lo que sucedia a diario en las aulas. En este articulo, con el objetivo de abrir esta caja negra y conocer mejor la escuela publica en la Espana de postguerra, nos centramos en el analisis, mediante el metodo historico, de una de estas nuevas fuentes: las memorias de practicas de los estudiantes de Magisterio. Se utiliza como muestra una coleccion inedita de casi un centenar de memorias de practicas de la Normal de Baleares, elaboradas entre 1939 y 1948, para conocer la practica escolar de aquellas escuelas. Este analisis nos permite evidenciar que, mas alla de la vision estereotipada que tenemos de la escuela franquista y de su cultura escolar, determinada por sus imposiciones ideologicas y sus normas legales, existen aspectos que solo podemos conocer si nos asomamos a la cotidianidad del aula. Este articulo muestra que, tal y como tambien sucede en la actualidad, existieron historicamente determinadas continuidades que se resistieron a la voluntad politica de imponer cambios, lo que evidencia la distancia que separa lo prescrito por la legislacion y lo que realmente acontece dentro de la escuela. Esta constatacion aconseja escapar de interpretaciones historico-educativas basadas exclusivamente en fuentes administrativas, para anadir a la historia de la escuela todos aquellos testimonios que nos acercan a las realidades del aula. Seria aconsejable tener en cuenta estas observaciones antes de emprender cualquier reforma del sistema escolar. EnglishThe history of schools in recent times has extended its field of study owing to the use of new sources. Traditional sources have been joined by oral testimonies, images, objects, ego-documents, ethnographic descriptions, and all sorts of sources that enable us to look into the lesser explored areas of schools in the past. These new testimonies are what make it possible to find out about what some authors have called the Black Box of Schooling, what happened in classrooms on a daily basis. In this article, with the aim of opening this black box and learning more about state schools in post-war Spain, we focus on the analysis, through the historical method, of one of these new sources: teaching practice reports of Primary School student teachers. The sample is made up of an unpublished collection of nearly a hundred teaching practice reports from the Primary Teacher training college in Balearic Islands, drawn up between 1939 and 1948, in order to learn about school practices in these schools. This analysis enables us to evidence that, beyond the stereotyped view that we have of Francoist schools and of their school culture, determined by their ideological impositions and legal regulations, there exist aspects that we can only learn about if we take a look at the everyday workings of the classroom. In this sense, this article provides historical knowledge regarding Francoist schools and the configuration of their school culture. This article shows, as also happens today, the fact that some continuities have historically resisted the political will to introduce changes. It shows the distance between what has been prescribed by law and what actually happens in schools. This finding suggests getting away from historical interpretations that have only been based on administrative sources, to add to the History of the School all those testimonies that bring us to the realities of the classroom. These observations should be take into account before considering any reform of the school system.

Abriendo la caja negra : la escuela pública española de postguerra

During the Franco dictatorship, the Catholic Boy and Girl Scout movement in
Mallorca represented an educational and cultural alternative to the regime�s official
youth movements The educational model that the scouts advocated aimed to train
young and girls with critical skills, responsibility and the capacity to develop for
themselves values contrary to the submission the dictatorship aimed to instil Based
on a compilation of more than 5000 photographs of Catholic guides and scoutsin Mallorca from their reintroduction in 1956 after the Spanish Civil War until
now, this article reviews the information these graphic sources contribute towards
knowledge of this youth movement�s activities and culture The article also aims
to contribute to the debate on the use of photographs as historical documents, in
this case by analysing the images of an extra-curricular educational movement The
analysis of the photographic corpus that has been located demonstrates that, despite
the many amateur photographers who took part and the diverse situations, periods
and circumstances to which these photographs attest, they tend to share an iconic
code and symbolic function that reinforces aspects considered basic to the scouting
culture and method throughout this period This photographic corpus demonstrates
the importance to the Mallorcan scouts of those days of activities in nature and the
discovery of a social and cultural reality that was overlooked in the schools of those
years Furthermore, it proves that photographs are additional source of historical
documentation that needs the hands of historians or the other similar interpretative
techniques all historical documents require, yet photographs can complement other
sources and provide information that is difficult to obtain from other documents This
article particularly focuses on the photographic depiction of the post-war Mallorcan
Catholic scout movement from its inception until the late 1960s

Les Pràctiques educatives de l'escoltisme de Mallorca durant la dictadura franquista a través de les fotografies

RESUMEN Nuestra investigacion se centra en las descripciones relacionadas con el mobiliario escolar, mas concretamente con el pupitre –instrumento utilizado para el acomodo del alumno–, que se describen en la narrativa de las memorias de practicas que redactaron, entre 1939 y 1948, los estudiantes de las Escuelas Normales de las Islas Baleares (Espana). A la hora de acotar nuestro estudio, realizado en base al metodo historico aplicado al campo de la Historia de la Educacion, hemos optado por analizar las 97 memorias pedagogicas que describen practicas de ensenanza realizadas en escuelas publicas de las Islas Baleares, ubicadas en zonas rurales y urbanas. La documentacion nos ha permitido acercarnos a algunas de las principales caracteristicas y tipologias de pupitres que formaron parte de la escenografia del aula. Gracias a estas fuentes hemos podido detectar algunas de las caracteristicas del mobiliario del momento, asi como la superposicion de distintas concepciones en torno a como debia ser el pupitre escolar, principal artefacto encargado de evitar la fatiga del alumno durante la jornada escolar. Este hecho lo podemos ligar a la superposicion de distintas culturas escolares que, tal y como han demostrado algunas investigaciones recientes, coexistieron en Espana durante los primeros anos de la dictadura franquista. Este articulo pone en evidencia que, tal y como sucede en la actualidad, los cambios en el dia a dia de la escuela tienen un ritmo propio, el cual no siempre va ligado a las transformaciones que acontecen en el ambito politico.  Palabras clave: Memorias de practicas. Mobiliario escolar. Islas Baleares. O mobiliario escolar na Espanha durante os primeiros anos do franquismo: testemunhos para seu estudo RESUMO Nossa investigacao se centra nas descricoes relacionadas com o mobiliario escolar, mais especificamente a carteira escolar – instrumento utilizado para acomodar o aluno – descritas em narrativas de memorias de praticas redigidas entre 1939 e 1948, por estudantes das Escolas Normais das Ilhas Baleares (Espanha). Quanto a delimitacao do estudo, pautado no metodo historiografico aplicado ao campo da Historia da Educacao, optamos por analisar 97 memorias pedagogicas que descrevem praticas de ensino realizadas em escolas publicas localizadas nas zonas rural e urbana das Ilhas Baleares. A documentacao permitiu aproximar-mo-nos de algumas das principais caracteristicas e tipologias de carteiras escolares que fizeram parte da cenografia das salas de aula. Gracas a estas fontes foi possivel detectar algumas das caracteristicas do mobiliario daquele periodo, bem como, a sobreposicao de distintas concepcoes sobre como deve ser a carteira escolar, principal artefato destinado a evitar a fadiga do aluno durante a jornada escolar. Este fato pode estar ligado a sobreposicao de distintas culturas escolares que, como demonstram algumas pesquisas recentes, coexistiram na Espanha durante os primeiros anos da ditadura franquista. Este artigo coloca em evidencia que, tal como acontece na atualidade, as mudancas do dia a dia da escola tem um ritmo proprio, o qual nem sempre esta ligado as transformacoes que acontecem no âmbito politico. Palavras-chave: Memorias de praticas. Mobiliario escolar. Ilhas Baleares. School furniture in Spain during the early years of the Francoism: Sources for his study ABSTRACT Our research focuses on the descriptions related to school furniture, more specifically with the school desk –an instrument used to accommodate the student– which are described in the narrative of the teacher’s training practice reports written between 1939 and 1948 by the students of the Teacher’s Training Centres of the Balearic Islands (Spain). In order to limit our study, which was carried out using the historical method applied to the field of the History of Education, we have chosen to analyze the 97 practice reports that describe teaching practices carried out in state schools in the Balearic Islands, located in rural and urban areas. The documentation has allowed us to approach some of the main characteristics and typologies of school desks that formed part of the classroom setting. Thanks to these sources we have been able to detect some of the characteristics of the furniture of the time, as well as the superimposition of different conceptions of what the school desk should look like, the main device responsible for preventing student fatigue during the school day. This fact can be linked to the overlapping of different school cultures which, as some recent research has shown, coexisted in Spain during the first years of the Franco’s dictatorship. This article shows that, as it happens today, the changes in the daily life of schools have their own rhythm, which is not always linked to the transformations that took place in the political sphere. Keywords: Teacher’s training practice reports. School furniture. The Balearic Islands.

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El mobiliario escolar en España durante los primeros años del franquismo: testimonios para su estudio

Soldier newspapers on the Republican side in the Spanish Civil War constitute a source of around 500 publications, 228 of which are illustrated. This article is the result of a visual and textual a...

Bernat Sureda Garcia

Papers

The photography and propaganda of the Maria Montessori method in Spain (1911–1931)

Abriendo la caja negra : la escuela pública española de postguerra

Les Pràctiques educatives de l'escoltisme de Mallorca durant la dictadura franquista a través de les fotografies

El mobiliario escolar en España durante los primeros años del franquismo: testimonios para su estudio

Photography and education in Republican soldier newspapers in Spain (1936–1939)