Using photography in history of science and technology:

Abstract

Photography has been used to record different features of human societies since its invention in the first half of the nineteenth century. After years of being used as an illustrative tool in history, photography conquered its place as a primary source since the mid-1980s. In this article I add to this debate with a methodological approach to use photography in history of science and technology (including medicine and engineering). I argue that photography offers an exclusive view to understanding how science and technology were implemented, used, represented, and presented to the public. I offer both practical guidelines and a theoretical framework, based on Barthesian semiotics, which can be used by younger as well as by more experienced academics. I claim that this proposal has the potential to be used as a common denominator between assorted photographic collections and therefore to allow broader comparisons across different historical and geographic contexts. Moreover, it promotes the critical view of photography that should not be taken by its face value, but it should be understood within its sociotechnical and technoscientific context. This reflection certainly has its flaws and shortcomings, and it is naturally open to improvements, through its practical application to photographic collections.