Sociology treats photography as more than a means of recording the world. Photographs emerge from social relations, institutions, class structures, shared norms, power, and forms of identity. They also help construct the social world by shaping what becomes visible, credible, normal, or worthy of attention. 1. Marxism and ideology Main originators: Karl Marx and Friedrich…

Anthropology offers no single theory of photography. Instead, several schools of thought help us examine photographs as cultural signs, social acts, material objects, records of encounters, and tools of power. The following theories have proved most useful. 1. Cultural relativism Main originator: Franz Boas Cultural relativism holds that beliefs and practices should be understood within…