儘管攝影已經是當代藝術裡頭的一個十分成熟的次領域，然而攝影究竟是一種什麼樣的藝術，一直都是爭執不休的問題。社會學家Pierre Bourdieu曾指出，攝影是一種中等藝術(a middle-brow art, un art moyen)，是一種既非上流，也非平庸的藝術：根據Bourdieu的調查，上流階級認為攝影是一種較次級的藝術；大眾階級則認為攝影的主要功能並非藝術，而是在於記錄；中產階級則積極擁抱並實踐攝影藝術。本課程將從社會學的角度出發，探討攝影活動的技術史、藝術史以及與此相關的社會脈絡和變遷。並透過實作與詮釋，來理解攝影活動所可能創造之社會意義。

Although photography is already a very mature sub-field in contemporary art, what kind of art photography is has always been a matter of endless debate. Sociologist Pierre Bourdieu once pointed out that photography is a middle-brow art, un art moyen, an art that is neither upper-class nor mediocre. According to Bourdieu's survey, the upper-class consider photography to be a lesser art; the popular class believes that the main function of photography is not art, but to record; the middle-class actively embraces and practices the art of photography. This course will start from a sociological perspective and explore the technical history and art history of photography as well as the related social context and changes. And through practice and interpretation, we can understand the social significance that photography activities can create.

Barthes, Roland，1995，許綺玲譯，《明室：攝影札記》，台北：台灣攝影工作室。
Benjamin, Walter，1998，許綺玲譯，〈攝影小史〉〈機械複製時代的藝術作品〉，《迎向靈光消逝的年代》，台北：台灣攝影工作室。
Bourdieu, Pierre, 1996, Photography: A Middle-Brow Art, Stanford University Press.
Freund, Gisele，1990，攝影與社會，攝影家出版社。
Struken, Marita and Cartwright, Lisa，2009，陳品秀譯，《觀看的實踐：給所有
影像世代的視覺文化導論》，台北：臉譜。
Susan Sontag，2004，黃翰荻譯，《旁觀他人之痛苦》，台北：麥田。
林志明，《複多與張力》，台北：田園城市。

Barthes, Roland, 1995, translated by Hsu Chi-ling, "Camera Lucida: Photographic Notes", Taipei: Taiwan Photography Studio.
Benjamin, Walter, 1998, translated by Hsu Chi-ling, "A Brief History of Photography" and "Art Works in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction", "Toward the Era of the Fading Aura", Taipei: Taiwan Photography Studio.
Bourdieu, Pierre, 1996, Photography: A Middle-Brow Art, Stanford University Press.
Freund, Gisele, 1990, Photography and Society, Photographer Press.
Struken, Marita and Cartwright, Lisa, 2009, translated by Chen Pinxiu, "The Practice of Seeing: For All
An Introduction to Visual Culture in the Image Generation, Taipei: Facebook.
Susan Sontag, 2004, translated by Huang Handi, "Watching the Pain of Others", Taipei: Wheatfield.
Lin Zhiming, "Duplexity and Tension", Taipei: Garden City.