Now in its sixth edition, this seminal textbook examines key debates in photographic theory and places them in their social and political contexts. Written especially for students in further and higher education and for introductory college courses, it provides a coherent introduction to the nature of photographic seeing.

Individual chapters cover:

- Key debates in photographic theory and history

- Documentary photography and photojournalism

- Personal and popular photography

- Photography and the human body

- Photography and commodity culture

- Photography as art.

This revised and updated edition includes new case studies on topics such as: Black Lives Matter and the racialised body; the #MeToo movement; materialism and embodiment; nation branding; and an extended critical discussion of landscape as genre.

Illustrated with over 100 colour and black and white photographs, it features work from Bill Brandt, Susan Derges, Rineke Dijkstra, Fran Herbello, Hannah Höch, Mari Katayama, Sant Khalsa, Karen Knorr, Dorothea Lange, Susan Meiselas, Lee Miller, Ingrid Pollard, Jacob Riis, Alexander Rodchenko, Andres Serrano, Cindy Sherman and Jeff Wall.

A Fully updated resource information, including guides to public archives and useful websites, full glossary of terms and a comprehensive bibliography, plus additional resources at routledgetextbooks.com/textbooks/9780367222758/ make this an ideal introduction to the field.