Hello CLASS MATTERS conference fans. If, like me, you are a fan of Maureen Greenwald at Pitt (one of the best historians out there) then you would know when you walked in that this would be a good session. Presenters:
1) Erin Shannon, a photography instructor who worked through the Bread & Roses collective under Union #1199, SEIU (Cultural Workers) in Western New York. The project brings working class adults to centers to take a photography class and assemble their own show about their own lives. It is called “Unseen America” and I bet you could google it. TRY!
2) a session that confused me because the professor had a legitimate gripe: most inde photo/journalists are middle class or well-to-do and some who are professors are getting big grants by saying that they are “grassroots;” whereas she felt that photo-journalists are trained workers. But the point was lost as the politics of major capitalist presses has subverted the work of what she called the professionals. Only at the end did I get her point, and one of the questioners referred to “Z Magazine,” something that sounded so worthwhile.
3) Janet Zandy, who with Nick Coles co-authored the book AMERICAN WORKING CLASS LITERATURE, referred to in many other session…. (long intgro) presented a video about the work of Milton Rogovin. Rogovin and his wife Annie traveled around to take photographs of ordinary poor people, people who Rogovin felt needed an audience. He thought of the people as abandoned people: miners, Italian immigrants in New York City, W. Va jobless people, etc etc and wanted to find his fellow citizens a sympathetic audience. Again, you could and PROBABLY want to google him. Lots of classroom useful stuff here… (Now there is an all-inclusive noun, “stuff.” An honor for me to meet Janet Zandy after the session! If you want pix, including Nick’s as he asked a question, this session was thought provoking. My email is cwolfe@pitt.edu Please be specific about the session(s) you request. Thanks.