Zelizer will present 'Trauma Through the Camera's Eye' in lectures at Grand Valley State University campuses on April 9 and 10. Both are open to the public free of charge. Event details are:
Wed., April 9 at 7:30 p.m., followed by reception
Loosemore Auditorium, DeVos Center
Pew Grand Rapids Campus, 401 W. Fulton St.
Thurs., April 10 at 2:30 p.m.
102 Loutit Hall, Padnos Hall of Science, Allendale Campus
Zelizer, the Raymond Williams Professor of communication at the Annenberg School for Communication, University of Pennsylvania, is a noted authority on journalism, popular culture, and media criticism. Her studies of Holocaust photography, collective memory, and journalism came together in her 1998 book, 'Remembering to Forget: Holocaust Memory Through the Camera's Eye,' which won the 2000 Best Book Award from the International Communication Association. In the book, Zelizer shows how powerful photographs of people in concentration camps not only became the basis for the public's perception of the Holocaust, but also helped legitimize the camera as a tool of journalism.
In 'Journalism After September 11,' published in 2002, Zelizer co-edited writings by scholars and media commentators examining how the attacks transformed the nature of journalism. Zelizer's talk at Grand Valley on April 10 focuses on issues related to modern news photography and coverage of trauma.
For instance, a striking element of many September 11 photographs is that photojournalists trained their cameras not only on the destruction caused by the attacks, but on bystanders' faces and reactions, noted Rob Franciosi, associate professor of English at Grand Valley. 'Some of the most powerful images are of people looking at things we can't see in the photo,' he said. 'In our collective memory, these visual responses to the event have become a significant part of the event itself.'
Zelizer's visit is sponsored in part by Grand Valley's Joseph Stevens Freedom Endowment and the School of Communications.
