1st Edition
Conflicting Images Histories of War Photography in the News
In contrast with historical examinations centring the evolving role of the war correspondent, Conflicting Images focuses on the contribution of photographers and photojournalists, providing an evaluative appraisal of war photography in the news and its development from the nineteenth century to the twenty-first century.
Stuart Allan and Tom Allbeson critically explore diverse genres of war photography across a broad historical sweep, encompassing events from the Crimean War (1853–56) and the Civil War in the United States (1861–65) up to and including conflicts unfolding in Syria and Ukraine. This book reflects on the relevance of different types of warfare to visual reporting, from colonial conquest via trench warfare and aerial bombardment, to the ideological dimensions of the Cold War, and ‘embedding’ and ‘winning hearts and minds’ during the ‘War on Terror’ and its aftermath. In pinpointing illustrative examples, the authors examine changing dynamics of production, dissemination, and public engagement. Readers will come to understand how current efforts to rethink the future of war photography in a digital age can benefit from a close and careful consideration of war photography’s origins, early development, and gradual, uneven transformation over the years. Conflicting Images aims to invigorate ongoing enquires and inspire new, alternative trajectories for future research and practice.
This book is recommended reading for researchers and advanced students of visual journalism and conflict reporting.
List of Figures
Introduction: The In/visibilities of War Photography
Part I: The Emergence of War Photography in the Nineteenth Century
1. Photographic Dispatches from the Frontline
2. Configurations of the ‘War Photographer’
Part II: Twentieth-Century Conflicts and the Age of Photojournalism
3. Imperialism, Officialdom, and Human Interest in the First World War
4. The Emergence of Photojournalism in a Revolutionary Era
5. Photojournalism Mobilised: The Allied War Effort in the Second World War
6. Concerned Photographers between Decolonial Violence and Cold War Conflict
7. Re-Assertive Militaries and Self-Reflective Media at Century’s End
Part III: Digital Conflict Imagery in the Twenty-First Century
8. Digital Visions of the September 11 Attacks and the ‘War on Terror’
9. The ‘Visual Doctrine’ of War Photography in Iraq
10. Citizen Imagery of Asymmetric Warfare
11. Visual Evidence and the Precarities of War Photography
References
Index
Biography
Stuart Allan is Professor in the School of Journalism, Media and Culture at Cardiff University, UK. He has published widely, including his editorship of The Routledge Companion to News and Journalism (second edition, 2023). His research interests in war, conflict, and crisis reporting often prioritise visual dimensions, inclusive of contributions from professionals and citizens alike.
Tom Allbeson is a Senior Lecturer in Media History at the School of Journalism, Media and Culture at Cardiff University, UK. He is also co-editor of the Journal of War and Culture Studies. His research concerns photojournalism and conflict, visual culture and postwar reconstruction, and collective memory in post-conflict societies.
