Arnold, Bruce Makoto, Roland W. Mitchell, and Noelle W. Arnold. "Massified Illusions of Difference: Photography and the Mystique of the American HBCU." Journal of American Studies of Turkey 40 (Spring 2015).
Keywords: African American History; Educational History; HBCU; Photographic History; Photographic Philosophy; Hampton University; American Studies
The focus of this research centers on the public persona presented by American Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) through photographs. HBCUs chose to present themselves in a manner likely to advance their stature to benefactors, donors, philanthropists, government officials, and potential faculty and students. The types of photographs employed by the HBCU promoted them as an institution that offered hope and promise to African Americans as depicted through the dominant visual tropes employed by white society. As such, the use of photography was an attempt to join the dominant white social and political structure through the medium’s democratizing characteristics. However, what has been consistently left out of these images is HBCU’s mission to promote and accentuate its specific alignment toward African American students.
Link: https://www.academia.edu/12369261/Massified_Illusions_of_Difference_Photography_and_the_Mystique_of_the_American_Historically_Black_Colleges_and_Universities_HBCUs_
Keywords: African American History; Educational History; HBCU; Photographic History; Photographic Philosophy; Hampton University; American Studies
The focus of this research centers on the public persona presented by American Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) through photographs. HBCUs chose to present themselves in a manner likely to advance their stature to benefactors, donors, philanthropists, government officials, and potential faculty and students. The types of photographs employed by the HBCU promoted them as an institution that offered hope and promise to African Americans as depicted through the dominant visual tropes employed by white society. As such, the use of photography was an attempt to join the dominant white social and political structure through the medium’s democratizing characteristics. However, what has been consistently left out of these images is HBCU’s mission to promote and accentuate its specific alignment toward African American students.
Link: https://www.academia.edu/12369261/Massified_Illusions_of_Difference_Photography_and_the_Mystique_of_the_American_Historically_Black_Colleges_and_Universities_HBCUs_