COURSE MANUAL

Law, Art and the Camera

Hamsini Marada

Spring 2024
(AY2023-24)

Elective

The Omnipresent, Hamsini Marada

This document is prepared by the course instructor and contains basic information relevant to the
execution of the course. It is the official record for all intends and purposes as far the elective
course, Law, Art and the Camera, is concerned.

This course manual can be used as a general guide to the subject. However, the instructor can
modify, extend or supplement the course (without tampering its basic framework and objectives)
for the effective and efficient delivery of the course. The instructor will provide students with
reasons for such changes.

Part I

Course Title: Law, Art and the Camera

Course Code: L-EL-0693
Course Duration: One Semester (15 Weeks)
No. of Credit Units: 4 Credits
Level: Undergraduate and Postgraduate
Medium of Instruction: English
Pre-requisites: None
Equivalent Courses: None

Part II: Course Description

Background:

Camera, as a device for capturing photographs and shooting motion pictures, has both historically
and contemporarily exhibited its importance in understanding art, politics and society. Ever since
the creation of the first camera, still and motion photography has perpetually struggled with
establishing a serious place for itself in the realm of fine arts. This gatekeeping stems from the
argument that camera merely replicates the reality rather than creating reality, albeit subjectively,
which is what ‘real’ art seems to be doing. However, despite this ongoing debate, camera has not
only been seen as a mode for artistic expression but also as a journalistic device chronicling
personal and socio-political memories, and as a medium through which evidence is adduced in
courts. With the increasing access to a camera due to the advancement of digital technology and
emergence of mobile photography, the potential for a photographer to become more egalitarian in
nature and the visual image more democratized has increased.
In this backdrop, it is interesting to note how law interacts with the visuals captured by the camera
in a plethora of unique ways. The state, through the law, not only operates to prohibit and restrict
the visuals (and its dissemination) created by the camera, but also employs it as a means to use the
camera to regulate the society for security and other reasons. This is not to say that the law is
omnipresent, as it is also absent (and sometimes conspicuously silent) in emerging technological
developments, where keeping pace with the widespread use of dynamic visuals is often
challenging.
The Scope and Themes of the Course:
While this course situates itself in the larger intersection of the law and aesthetics, it solely focuses
on the niche area of photography and filmmaking as an art form and investigates how the usage of
camera as a tool for artistic expression produces unique legal challenges, both in theory and
practice.
The students will be guided through a broad range of debates and themes in photography and
videography in the realm of politics and law such as the role of aesthetics and ethics in determining
the usage of a camera, freedom of expression and censorship of the visuals in journalistic
endeavors and protest movements, camera within the criminal justice system in adducing of
evidence and reinforcing the identity of the delinquent, state sponsored surveillance and its chilling
effects on the photographer, privacy and intellectual property rights of the artist-photographer, etc.
These themes in the course will be viewed through the underlying lens of:
a) The photographer as the artist, activist and journalist.
b) The viewer of the camera visuals.
c) The law regulating the visuals as well as the creator and viewer of these visuals.

2. Course Aims

The course is interdisciplinary. The socio-legal themes it will be covering are purposefully kept
broad to give students an overall understanding of the myriad intersections between the camera
and the law. The intended outcome of the course is to help students:
a) analyze photographs and films that have drawn legal, ethical and socio-political debates.
b) create thought-provoking photographs or photo-essays and deliberate on the legal implications
of the same.
c) engage with as well as challenge the existing theories on photography and camera within the
socio-political arena propounded by theorists like Berger, Sontag, and Barthes and review the
same through the ever-evolving legal lens.

3. Teaching Methodology

This is a learner-centered syllabus with the aim of helping the students the relationship of law with
art as well as its neglect of art. Students are expected to read for each class, participate actively by
asking questions after class lectures and during group discussions. Teaching will primarily be
organised around weekly topics through introductory lectures, outlining core ideas, followed by
student presentations and discussions. While following the curriculum, the students will be
encouraged to apply what they read to their everyday life and to research the topics they engage
with. In other words, this combination of lectures, class presentations, and class discussions aims
to inculcate close reading of foundational texts and analytical habits as well as cooperative
learning.
4. Intended Learning Outcomes

Course Intended Learning Weightage Teaching and Assessment Tasks/

Outcomes in % Learning Activities
Activities
Comprehend the shifting 25% Lectures, Class
relationship and intersection of Participation, Internal assessment, class
art, law and the camera. Group participation
Discussions,
Presentations
Comprehend and critique the 25% Lectures, Class Internal assessment, class
regulation of art primarily Participation, participation
photography and filmography. Group
Discussions,
Presentations
Capability to seek knowledge 50% Internal assessment of
and integrate learning from Writing skills written research
various sources of information and critical paper/assignment/project.
from lectures, library, films or analysis of texts
online sources (databases) or and visual End of term (open book
social medium or newspapers. sources examination)
Integrate feedback received in
the lectures into all the
assessment tasks. Writing and
research skills. Ability to read
texts critically.

5. Grading of Student Achievement

To pass this course, students must obtain a minimum of 40% in the cumulative aspects of
coursework, e.g. internal assessments and final examination. End of semester examination will
carry 50 marks or 30 marks, as the case may be, out of which students have to obtain a
minimum of 30% to fulfil the requirement of passing the course.

Grade Sheet

Percentage Grade Grade Grade Description

of Marks Value

80 and above O 8 Outstanding – Exceptional knowledge of the subject

matter, thorough understanding of issues; ability to
synthesize ideas, rules and principles and extraordinary
critical and analytical ability
 Percentage Grade Grade Grade Description
of Marks Value

75 – 79 A+ 7.5 Excellent - Sound knowledge of the subject matter,

thorough understanding of issues; ability to synthesize
ideas, rules and principles and critical and analytical
ability

70 – 74 A 7 Very Good - Sound knowledge of the subject matter,

excellent organizational capacity, ability to synthesize
ideas, rules and principles, critically analyse existing
materials and originality in thinking and presentation

65 – 69 A- 6 Good - Good understanding of the subject matter,

ability to identify issues and provide balanced solutions
to problems and good critical and analytical skills

60 – 64 B+ 5 Fair – Average understanding of the subject matter,

limited ability to identify issues and provide solutions to
problems and reasonable critical and analytical skills

55 – 59 B 4 Acceptable- Adequate knowledge of the subject matter

to go to the next level of study and reasonable critical
and analytical skills.

50 – 54 B- 3 Marginal- Limited knowledge of the subject matter and

irrelevant use of materials and, poor critical and
analytical skills

NEW COURSE LETTER GRADES AND THEIR INTERPRETATION

Letter Percentage Grade
Interpretation
Grade of Marks Points
Pass 1: Pass with Basic understanding of the subject
P1 45 - 49 2
matter.
Pass 2: Pass with Rudimentary understanding of the
P2 40 - 44 1
subject matter.
Fail: Poor comprehension of the subject matter; poor
F Below 40 0 critical and analytical skills and marginal use of the
relevant materials. Will require repeating the course.
“Extenuating circumstances” preventing the student
from taking the examination; the Vice Dean
I Absent
(Examinations) at their discretion assign the “Ab”
grade.
6. Criteria for Student Assessments

Internal assessment of the participants will be based on the following criteria. In case any of the
participants miss the IA tests, alternative internal assessments will be conducted (

Assessment Weightage Remarks

Internal Marks:
Assessment I: 40 Photo essay of 10-16 photos with a strong narrative or a short
Photo Essay/ film of 3-5 minutes.
Short Film
Internal Marks: 30
Assessment 2: The legal write-up will substantiate the photo essay and the
short film with theoretical and doctrinal arguments and
Legal write-up research.

End Semester 30 marks They will be an open book end-semester

Examination examination/component for all participants of the course who
have successfully completed the course work.

Part IV

Course/Class Policies

Academic Integrity and Plagiarism

Learning and knowledge production of any kind is a collaborative process. Collaboration demands
an ethical responsibility to acknowledge who we have learnt from, what we have learned, and how
reading and learning from others have helped us shape our own ideas. Even our own ideas demand
an acknowledgement of the sources and processes through which those ideas have emerged. Thus,
all ideas must be supported by citations. All ideas borrowed from articles, books, journals,
magazines, case laws, statutes, photographs, films, paintings, etc., in print or online, must be
credited with the original source. If the source or inspiration of your idea is a friend, a casual chat,
something that you overheard, or heard being discussed at a conference or in class, even they must
be duly credited. If you paraphrase or directly quote from a web source in the examination,
presentation or essays, the source must be acknowledged. The university has a framework to deal
with cases of plagiarism. All form of plagiarism will be taken seriously by the University and
prescribed sanctions will be imposed on those who commit plagiarism.

Disability Support and Accommodation Requirements

JGU endeavours to make all its courses accessible to students. In accordance with the Rights of
Persons with Disabilities Act (2016), the JGU Disability Support Committee (DSC) has identified
conditions that could hinder a student’s overall well-being. These include physical and mobility
related difficulties, visual and hearing impairment, mental health conditions and
intellectual/learning difficulties e.g., dyslexia, dyscalculia. Students with any known disability
needing academic and other support are required to register with the Disability Support Committee
(DSC) by following the procedure specified at https://jgu.edu.in/disability-support-committee/
Students who need support may register any time during the semester up until a month before the
end semester examination begins. Those students who wish to continue receiving support from the
previous semester, must re-register within the first month of a semester. Last minute registrations
and support might not be possible as sufficient time is required to make the arrangements for
support.

The DSC maintains strict confidentiality about the identity of the student and the nature of their
disability and the same is requested from faculty members and staff as well. The DSC takes a
strong stance against in-class and out-of-class references made about a student’s disability without
their consent and disrespectful comments referring to a student’s disability.

All general queries are to be addressed to [email protected]

Safe Space Pledge

This course may discuss a range of issues and events that might result in distress for some students.
Discussions in the course might also provoke strong emotional responses. To make sure that all
students collectively benefit from the course, and do not feel disturbed due to either the content of
the course or the conduct of the discussions. Therefore, it is incumbent upon all within the
classroom to pledge to maintain respect towards our peers. This does not mean that you need to
feel restrained about what you feel and what you want to say. Conversely, this is about creating a
safe space where everyone can speak and learn without inhibitions and fear. This responsibility
lies not only with students, but also with the instructor.
Part V

Keywords Syllabus

Camera, Cinema, Art, Aesthetics, Ethics, Critical Legal Theory

Course Overview (Weekly Plan)

Week Topic and Description

1 -2
Camera Lucida et Camera Obscura
Introduction: Aesthetics, Ethics, Law and the Camera

3-4 Memory Keepers

On Recording and Remembering

5-6
Camera in Criminal Justice System

7
‘Paps and Snaps’
The Paparazzi Culture and the Celebrity Phenomenon

8-9 War and Conflict Photography

Ethical Considerations

10-11 Prigs and Prudes

Representation, Sensuality and Sexuality

12-13 Camera in the Digital Age

Protests, Social Media and Surveillance

14 Revision and End-term Examination

 COURSE DESIGN AND COURSE MATERIAL

MODULE 1
CAMERA LUCIDA ET CAMERA OBSCURA
Introduction: Aesthetics, Ethics, Law and the Camera
This module opens by introducing the renowned writers and art critics Roland Barthes, John
Berger and Susan Sontag, who have given some thought-provoking insights on photography. The
idea behind this module is to acquaint ourselves with the complex yet apparent relationship
between aesthetics, ethics, law and the camera. We will delve into questions such as whether
photography and cinematography are art, what is the role of the camera in the ‘age of mechanical
reproduction1’, how does law see the camera and how the camera sees the law and end the module
with some notes on ethics.

Mandatory Course Material:

1. Understanding a Photograph, John Berger
2. Plato’s Cave, Susan Sontag [ On Photography by Sontag, pp. 3-24, Penguin Books 1977]
3. Artists in Courts: Law and the Production of Violence, Malvika Maheshwari [Chapter 2,
pp. 58-87, Art Attacks: Violence and Offence Taking in India, OUP 2019]

Suggested Readings:
1. Ways of Seeing, John Berger
2. Camera Lucida, Roland Barthes

Figure 1: This cartoon suggests Nadar, famous for photographing Paris from a hot air balloon, would go to any lengths to
"elevate photography to high art".

1
See Walter Benjamin’s essay ‘The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction’. This essay is available in
English in a collection called Illuminations (Cape, London 1970)
 MODULE 2
MEMORY KEEPERS
On Recording and Remembering
Mandatory Course Material:

1. Connal Parsley, The Exceptional Image: Torture Photographs from Guantánamo Bay and
Abu Ghraib as Foucault’s Spectacle of Punishment (p.229 ) in Law and the Visual by
Desmond Manderson (2018)
2. Maria Elander, Images of Victims: The ECCC and the Cambodian Genocide Museum
(p.210), in Law and the Visual by Desmond Manderson (2018)
3. The Memory of Photography, David Bate [Photographies Vol. 3, No. 2, September 2010,
pp. 243–257]

Suggested Readings:
1. Ways of Remembering: Law, Cinema and Collective Memory in the New India, Oishik
Sircar (CUP, 2022)
2. Annette Kuhn, An Everyday Magic: Cinema and Cultural Memory
3. Annette Kuhn, “Photography and Cultural Memory: A Methodological Exploration,” 22:
3 Visual Studies (2007), pp. 283-292
4. Photography, Cinema, Memory: The Crystal Image of Time, Damian Sutton

Figure 2: Alberto Korda: Che Guevara, Guerrillero Heroico, 5 March 19602.

2
Korda’s portrait of Che is one of the most reproduced images. Read here to see how the photograph has been re-
used in multiple contexts etching itself in public and collective memory.
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/iconic-photography-che-guevara-alberto-korda-cultural-travel-180960615/
 MODULE 3
CAMERA IN CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEMS
Description:
1. The use of cameras in criminal justice systems
2. Mugshots as photographs and the emotions they evoke in the defendant and the viewer
3. Evidentiary value of a photograph
4. In-camera proceedings

Mandatory Course Material:

1. Movie: Close-up, Abbas Kiarostami

2. The Bulger case and the Trauma of the Visible, Alison Young [Chapter 5, pp 111-145,
Imagining Crime, 1996]
 MODULE 4
‘PAPS’ AND SNAPS
The Paparazzi Culture and the Celebrity Phenomenon

Figure 3: Princess Diana; Getty images

Mandatory Course Material:

1. Case Study: Diana
2. Emily Ratajkowski, Buying Myself Back: When does a Model Own her Own Image?,
The Cut (September 15 2020)
 MODULE 5
WAR AND CONFLICT PHOTOGRAPHY
Ethical Considerations

Figure 4: Valley of the Shadow of Death, Roger Fenton3

Description:
1. A tribute to Danish Siddiqui
2. Analysing photographs and documentaries from recent conflicts, wars and genocide:
Ukraine, Palestine.

Mandatory Course Material:

1. Photographs of Agony, John Berger

2. Ahlam Shibli: Trackers, John Berger
3. Butler, J. (2005). Photography, War, Outrage. PMLA, 120(3), 822–827.
http://www.jstor.org/stable/25486216

3
Valley of the Shadow of Death is a photograph by Roger Fenton, taken on April 23, 1855, during the Crimean
War. It is one of the most well-known images of war.
 MODULE 6
PRIGS AND PRUDES
Representation, Sensuality and Sexuality

Mandatory Course Material:

1. Latika Vashist, Law and the Obscene Image: Reading Aveek Sarkar v. State of West Bengal,
5 (Monsoon) JILS (2014)
2. Alec McHoul and Tracey Summerfield, Drawing Attention: Art, Pornography, Ethnosemiotics
and Law in Law, Culture and Visual Studies (2014)
3. Laura Mulvey, Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema
4. Movie : Rear Window, Alfred Hitchcock [To address concepts of different forms of gaze
spanning from Voyeurism, stalking, looking and admiring]

Figure 5: Leg Show II, Ellen von Unwerth, 20224

4
Ellen von Unwerth is a fashion photographer whose experience as a model informs her practice. Influenced by the
glamorous eroticism of Helmut Newton and Guy Bourdin, von Unwerth’s grainy, pinup-style photographs convey a
subversive feminine gaze that empowers rather than objectifies. She is known for her ability to capture the
personalities of her subjects. (https://www.artsy.net/artwork/ellen-von-unwerth-leg-show-ii)
 MODULE 7
CAMERA IN THE DIGITAL AGE
Protests, Social Media and Surveillance

Mandatory Course Material:

1. David Rolph, Looking Again at Photographs and Privacy: Theoretical Perspectives on

Law’s Treatment of Photographs as Invasions of Privacy in Law, Culture and Visual
Studies (2014)
2. Lucas Melgaco & Jeffery Monaghan, Protests in the Information Age: Social Movements,
Digital Practices and Surveillance (Routledge Studies in Crime, Security and Justice: 2021)

Power is in tearing human minds to pieces and putting them together again in new shapes of
your own choosing – George Orwell, 1984