Photographic Theory

Hershberger is the winner of a 2015 Insight Award from the Society for Photographic Education for his work on this book and for his overall contributions to the field!

Photographic Theory: An Historical Anthology presents a compendium of readings spanning ancient times to the digital age that are related to the history, nature, and current status of debates in photographic theory.

• Offers an authoritative and academically up-to-date compendium of the history of photographic theory
• Represents the only collection to include ancient, Renaissance, and 19th-, 20th-, and 21st-century writings related to the subject
• Stresses the drama of historical and contemporary debates within theoretical circles
• Features comprehensive coverage of recent trends in digital photography
• Fills a much-needed gap in the existing literature

This book presents a compendium of readings spanning ancient times to the digital age that are related to the history, nature, and current status of debates in photographic theory. The book offers an authoritative and academically up-to-date compendium of the history of photographic theory, and represents the only collection to include ancient, Renaissance, and 19th-, 20th-, and 21st-century writings on the subject.

There can be no question that those of us who teach the history of photography - and our students - have been put most deeply in Hershberger's debt. (History of Photography Online, 1 June 2015)

This chronologically (and, to a lesser extent, thematically) organized selection of key contributions to photographic theory display both the highly exciting diversity of theoretical questions raised by the emergence, development, triumph, and eventual metamorphosis of photography and the amazing possibility to organize the sometimes savage heterogenity of this material along unobtrusive and simple art-historical lines. - Leonardo Online (1 February 2014)

"...our students need more reference books such as this one with a clear theoretical focus and a special attention to clarity. ...this important book will undoubtedly be instructive and rewarding for a variety of readers; it would seem to be essential for libraries in Anglophone universities. In a world of infinite commentary about images, theoretical reflections are much needed and this comprehensive book provides many useful answers. In sum, Hershberger's Photographic Theory aptly reconfirms Wiley-Blackwell's excellent reputation for companions and readers in the visual arts and cultural theory." - British Journal of Aesthetics, (June 2016)

"Judging from this selection and the intuitive organization of the texts, it is clear that Hershberger knows his field very well. ...In his abundant selection, the editor achieves an appreciable balance between the famous essays by the indispensable authors (like Erwin Panofsky or Rudolph Arnheim) and, by contrast, some interesting discoveries of essays by lesser-known theoreticians." - British Journal of Aesthetics, (June 2016)