Arts and Culture series presents "Looking justly: Photography, Race, and Gender"
“Dr. Weichbrodt's contribution is incredibly important as she teaches us to be attentive to things that we often ignore,” said Dr. Mary McCampbell, associate professor of humanities at Lee. “In doing this, we are learning yet another way to love our neighbors as ourselves.”
Photo courtesy of Dr. Elissa Weichbrodt
Lee University welcomed Covenant College Professor of Art and Art History Dr. Elissa Yukiko Weichbrodt, who gave a lecture titled “Looking justly: Photography, Race, and Gender” on Feb. 16.
Weichbrodt is an expert on the subject, having done extensive research on the representations of race and gender within visual culture from the 19th century to the present.
Weichbrodt's wrote her dissertation, “Through the Body: Corporeality, Subjectivity, and Empathy in Contemporary Art,” which focused on work created by marginalized artists in the 1990s.
“The talk explores how both historical and contemporary photographs shape our understanding of race and gender,” said Weichbrodt. “Images can silently create narrow categories or stereotypes that limit our understanding of fellow image bearers. How can we look—and thus love and live—justly?”
The event was a continuation of the “Arts and Culture” series at Lee, which examines the daily experiences of Christians and how that relates to spiritual formation. Currently, the series seeks to highlight the interdisciplinary nature of the humanities.
Professor of Humanities Dr. Mary McCampbell has been a part of the “Arts and Culture” series at Lee since 2012 and has approved of the interdisciplinary nature of the event, as it relates to the topics of sociology, art, advertising, history and theology.
McCampbell noted how the event could encourage Christians to love their neighbor by dispelling preconceived notions about others based on how they are portrayed in the media.
“This is about knowing how to deconstruct stereotypes and teaching us how to be attentive to the way individuals are represented in the media and photographs and the narrative around that,” McCampbell said. “I think that helps us to love them better.”
The event came in the midst of Lee’s implementation of a variety of events on campus focused on diversity and recognizing the struggle of minorities.
“Some of these topics are uncomfortable, and part of having conversations like this is maybe even unlearning some of these categories that we’ve inherited and some ways of thinking,” McCampbell said. “It can be a scary and hard thing but as Christians I think we’re not always supposed to feel comfortable. We are supposed to be challenged to speak truth and learn truth—in love.”
Junior humanities major Matthew Atchley feels that these conversations on campus are essential to expose students to perspectives they may not encounter in their day-to-day life.
“There are a lot of events that really educate students on diversity,” said Atchley. “I think this really helps to increase empathy among students.”
The “Arts and Culture” series will continue on March 18 with a presentation by Professor of History Dr. Drew Bledsoe and Lee graduate Indyasia Johnson on Confederate symbols in America.
To keep up with Dr. Weichbrodt’s research, visit her Instagram page.
For more information concerning the Arts and Culture series, contact McCampbell by phone at (423) 614-8353 or by email at mmccampbell@leeuniversity.edu.
