Wilfrid Laurier University

Waterloo, Ontario
CS 335 B Ethics of Representation
Winter 2013
Mondays 8:30 a.m. 11:20 a.m. DAWB 2-101
Instructors: Adam Mawer, Charles Wong, Chris Drinkwater, Megan Budway
Office Hours: Mondays & Wednesdays 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Email(s): amawer@wlu.ca, cwong@wlu.ca, cdrinkwater@wlu.ca, mbudway@wlu.ca

Photographs state the innocence, the vulnerability of lives leading

toward their own destruction, and this link between photography
and death haunts all photographs of people.
- Susan Sontag
What the photograph reproduces to infinity has only
occurred once: the Photograph mechanically reproduces
what could never be repeated existentially.
- Roland Barthes
"As time passes by and you look at portraits, the people come back
to you like a silent echo. A photograph is a vestige of a face, a face
in transit. Photography has something to do with death. It's a trace."
- Henri Cartier Bresson
Course Description:
We live in a time at which the visual representation of suffering is becoming ever more pervasive. Whether it is live
footage of warzones or photographs of prisoners being tortured and humiliated by soldiers, we see images and
footage of people suffering daily. Rarely, though, do we question the ethics of showing such visual representations.
As such, the purpose of this course is to examine the visual rhetoric and ethics of the representation of suffering. We
will examine the ethical dilemma behind the representation of suffering in the media and popular culture,
particularly in relation to war and terrorism. We will also consider the use of such imagery as political persuasion
and manipulation through their use in journalism.Through readings and assignments, this course seeks to encourage
students to engage in critical discussion of the ethics of the representation of suffering in the media and popular
culture.
Course Objectives:
The course has four main objectives:
1. Introduce students to the ethics of representation as an area of academic inquiry.
2. Develop an understanding of key ethical concepts and issues.
3. Build a working vocabulary for critically addressing ethics of representation.
4. Practice and develop fundamental analytical skills.
Required Texts:
CS 335 B Course Pack available for purchase at the Laurier Bookstore. A copy of the course pack will be put on
reserve at the library.

Course Requirements:
1)

Online Discussion 15% -- Ongoing beginning Week 2

In the first class we will divide the class into groups. Each group will be responsible
for moderating an online discussion around a weeks assigned reading. Your total online discussion mark will be
based 1) upon your groups success in presenting and encouraging discussion about that topic, as well as, 2) each
individual students on-line participation in all of the discussions throughout the length of the course. We encourage
all students to use the CS335 MLS discussion board to discuss the course and its concepts and to answer each others
course related questions. The discussion boards are restricted to students taking the course and will be moderated by
the course instructors. It is expected that all discussion will be civil, thoughtful and constructive. Online discussion
should display the same etiquette and respect that governs classroom discussion.

2)

Midterm 25% -- Week 7

The midterm will include material from Weeks 1-6. It will consist of multiple choice, fill-in-the- blanks and short
answers. Details to follow in lecture.
3)

Image Analysis Essay 30% -- Due in-class Week 11

Students will be required to select an ethically questionable image and conduct an analysis using key course
concepts, theories and authors. Students are encouraged to consult outside academic sources to construct their
analysis. However, a minimum of two (2) sources are required to be from the CS 335 course pack. Students may
consult the final article in the course pack entitled War Photos that Changed History for suggestions on
appropriate ethically questionable images. A detailed overview of the assignment will be posted on MLS after the
midterm.
4)

Final Exam 30% -- TBA

The final exam will be in two parts. The first section will include materials from Weeks 8-12. It will consist of
multiple choice, fill-in-the-blanks and short answers. The second section will consist of an essay requiring students
to demonstrate their knowledge of course concepts, theories and authors. Students may use any material covered in
lecture or the readings to formulate their response.

Course Overview and Reading Schedule

Week 1 (February 4, 2013) : Introduction to Course
CS 335 Course Outline (if youre reading this, youre off to a good start!)
Quay, S., Damico, A. (2012). Case: Ten Years of Watching Falling Man. Media Ethics Magazine
24(1), pp. 67-71. (cp)
Week 2 (February 11, 2013): What is ethics? Overview of Ethical Concepts
Andre, C., Velasquez, M. (1987). What is Ethics? Issues in Ethics, 1(1), pp. 6-7. (cp)
Witbeck, Caroline. (1995) Introduction to Ethical Concepts. Retrieved from
http://web.mit.edu/course/2/2.95j/readings/introethics.html. (online)

Week 3: (February 18, 2013): Mediating Torture

Apel, D. (2005). Torture Culture: Lynching Photographs and the Images of Abu Ghraib. Art Journal,
88-100. (cp)
Benson-Allott, C. (2009). Standard Operating Procedure: Mediating Torture. Film Quarterly, 39-44. (cp)
Film: Standard Operating Procedure
Week 4: (February 25, 2013): Representation of Torture in Popular Culture
OMathunda, D. P. (2010). What Would Jack Do? The Ethics of Torture in 24.Global Dialogue,
12(1), 1-14. (cp)
Paul, I. A. (2013, January 27). On efficacy and ideology: Zero Dark Thirty and the ethical justification of torture.Art
Threat. Retrieved from http://artthreat.net/2013/01/zero-dark-thirty
-ethical-justification-torture/ (cp)
Wente, M. (2013, January 31). Can you ever argue about torture? - The Globe and Mail. The Globe and Mail.
Retrieved January 31, 2013, from http://www.theglobeandmail.com/commentar
y/can-you-ever-argue-about-torture/article8024417/ (cp)
Week 5: (March 4, 2013): Images as Weapons
Marvin Kalb and Carol Saivetz. (2007). The Israeli-Hezbollah War of 2006: The Media as a Weapon in
Asymmetrical Conflict. Press/Politics, 12 (3), 43-66. (cp)
O'Loughlin, B. (2011). Images as weapons of war: representation, mediation and interpretation. Review
of International Studies, 71-91. (cp)
Week 6: (March 11, 2013): Images of War in Journalism
Robertson, L. (2004, October). Images of War. American Journalism Review, 1, 1-8. Retrieved January 28, 2013,
from http://www.ajr.org/Article.asp?id=3759
O'Hagan, S. (n.d.). Viewer or voyeur? The morality of reportage photography | Art and design | guardian.co.uk . The
Guardian . Retrieved February 1, 2013, from http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/2010/mar/08/worldpress-photo-sean-ohagan (Available on MLS)
Optional Readings:
Skow, L. M., & Dionisopoulos, G. N. (1997). A struggle to contextualize photographic images: American print
media and the "Burning Monk". Communication Quaterly, 45(4), 393-409.
Veeren, E. V. (2010). Captured by the cameras eye: Guantanamo and the shifting frame of the Global War on
Terror. Review of International Studies, 43(7), 1721-1749. (cp)

Week 7: (March 18, 2013): Manipulation and Misrepresentation of War

Carlson, M. (2009). The Reality of a Fake Image: New norms, photojournalistic craft, and Brian
Walskis fabricated photograph. Journalism Practice, 3 (2), 125-139. (cp)
Libin, K. (2006, August 28). The untruth hurts: When reporters play politics with peoples' lives. The Western
Standard, pp.6. (cp)
Week 8: (March 25, 2013): Midterm
Week 9: (April 1, 2013): Representation of Suffering in the Information Age
Campbell, D. (2003). Representing Contemporary War. Ethics and International Affairs, 17, 99-108. (cp)
Poniewozik, J. (2011, November 7). Shooting to Kill. Time Magazine. Retrieved from
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,2097980-2,00.html (cp)
Week 10: (April 8, 2013): Facing Death
Herron, Jerry. (1994). Facing Death: Mordernity, Morality, Postcards. Qui Parie, 7.2 ,110-138. (cp)
Konally, Kirstan, et. al. (2012, December 4). Suspect confesses in pushing death of Queens dad in
Times Square subway station. The New York Post. Retrieved from
http://tinyurl.com/bgp5xqo (cp)
The Associated Press. (2012, December 5). Photographer defends actions in NYC subway death
photo. Retrieved from http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/story/2012/12/05/
new-york-subway-push-arrest.html (cp)
Film: Part 1 of War Photographer
Week 11: (April 15, 2013): Behind the Lens
Image Analysis Essay Due
McCauley, Adam. (2012, December 20). Overexposed: A Photographers War with PTSD. The
Atlantic. Retrieved from http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2012/12/
overexposed-a-photographers-war-with-ptsd/266468/ (cp)
Browning, Michael. (2004, May 12). War photos that changed history. The Palm Beach Post.
Retrieved from http://scoaladejurnalism.md/img/Reading_01.pdf (cp)
Film: Part 2 of War Photographer
Week 12: (April 22, 2013): Wrap-up & Review
No Readings

Notes
1. Students with disabilities or special needs are advised to contact Laurier's Accessible Learning Office for information regarding its

services and resources. Students are encouraged to review the Calendar for information regarding all services available on campus.
2. Students are expected to be aware of and abide by University regulations and policies, as outlined in the current Undergraduate and
Graduate Calendar.
3. Students must reserve the examination period as stated in the Undergraduate Calendar under Academic Dates. If you are
considering registering for a special examination or event, you should select a time outside the examination period. Consult with the
Undergraduate Calendar for special circumstances for examination deferral. (Applicable to Undergraduate students only.)
4. The penalties for plagiarism or any form of academic misconduct are severe and enforced at all times. The Student Code of Conduct
and Discipline, and the procedures for investigating and determining appropriate disciplinary measures for breaches of the Code are
given in the current Undergraduate and Graduate Calendar. Please note: submitting the same work to two different courses, or to
different sections of the same course, is academic misconduct and will be addressed according to the procedures outlined in the
Undergraduate and Graduate Calendar. Students who are repeating a course are not permitted to re-use essays or assignments from the
previous course. Wilfrid Laurier University uses software that can check for plagiarism. Students may be required to submit their
written work in electronic form and have it checked for plagiarism.
5. Students are to adhere to the Principles in the Use of Information Technology. and the Policy on the Classroom Use of Electronic
Devices. These Principles and Policy, and resulting actions for breaches are stated in the current Undergraduate and Graduate
Calendar. Please see the Policy on the Classroom Use of Electronic Devices.
6. Students' names may be divulged in the classroom, both orally and in written form, to other members of the class. Students who are
concerned about such disclosures should contact the course instructor to identify whether there are any possible alternatives to such
disclosures. Additional information on the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act at Laurier is available at the Privacy
Coordinator Office.