America finds itself in pictures: American photography 1850-1960

London Met held the first in a series of American Studies and Media Lectures on 29 October. The lecture coincided with the launch of a new BA Honours American Studies degree, at the Faculty of Humanities, Arts, Languages and Education, alongside the expansion of media programmes at London Met. 

Professor Stephen Arkin from San Francisco State University presented a guest lecture on the remarkable development of photography and of photographic processes from 1850-1960. The presentation included a rich gathering of photographic images drawn from American archives covering the period.

Professor Arkin used his wide selection of extraordinary images to chronicle changes in American society through the exploration of the West, the discovery of gold in California, the American Civil War, and into the twentieth century. Speaking at the event he said: ‘Photography has served an important means of helping America face the most pressing challenges during the century under consideration.’

Spending most of his childhood in New York, Professor Arkin went on to be educated at Amherst College and Yale University.  He has been teaching and working at San Francisco State University (SFSU) for many years and was first Vice-Chair then Chair of Literature from 1982-2004.

Professor Arkin has a long standing fascination with how America has represented itself to itself. His initial interest in American photography grew out of having worked closely at SFSU with the award-winning American novelist, photographer and essayist Wright Morris, and with internationally known photographer and educator Jack Welpott. 

Professor Arkin is the Executor of the Photographic and Literary Estate of Wright Morris. He has assisted in the setting up of the Wright Morris Photographic Archive at the University of Arizona and the Literary Archive at the University of Nebraska. 

The presentation was followed by a question and answer session that showed a lively responsiveness to the talk and to the speaker.

12 November 2009