In this seminar we will investigate the changes that photography has undergone in recent years, following the dramatic technological shifts of the last few decades.

We will explore the significance of photography's transformation from picture to data in the digital age, inspect the regulative force of the overflow of images and see how, on the other hand, the pensive spectator can use new media to linger once again on past images. We will explore the impact of the introduction of smartphone cameras and the expansion of social media on political participation and on the presentation of the self. We will chart photography's iconographical shift from art to design and follow some transmutations of the poor photographic image. We will portray the varying facets of the photographic gesture and dwell on the performative aspect of photography.

This theoretical investigation, combining meticulous and rigorous analysis with pensive philosophical contemplation, will be based on texts by thinkers and scholars such as Vilem Flusser, Thomas Keenan, Jonathan Crary, Laura Mulvey, Raymond Bellour, Lev Manovich, Daniel Rubinstein, Paul Frosh, Meir Wigoder, Hito Steyerl, Tiqqun collective and other.