#seminarslectures

seminars/lectures (s/l) is an ongoing project of Rainer Ganahl’s – a series of photographs depicting education as a utopia, “a network of interconnecting tunnels with people gathering…for the sake of exchanging ideas.” In this series, Ganahl captures the side of education where classrooms are used to gather academic interest as a driving force for productivity in our society.

Without a doubt, education is essential for progress. This can be seen in political movements across history, where academic institutions are broken down for a tyrannical regime to gain control and undermine the power of individuals. Bessa gives the example of the military junta in Brazil in 1964, where their first deliberation was to close the Philosophy Department in all universities across the country. In Cambodia, during the genocide in the 20th century, educated people were the first to be killed, making it that much harder for the society to rebuild once the Khmer Rouge regime ended.

The images in seminars/lectures capture people in moments of preoccupation and intensity, focusing on whatever material is being presented to them. This content isn’t clear to us as viewers, suggested only by the title of the photographs. In Homi Bhabha, Whose Modernity Is It Anyway?, Museum of Modern Art, New York, 11/18/1997, two students are seen grappling with the lecture, both faced the same direction, focusing on the same thing. In the foreground, there is a pen in someone’s hand, another indication of a student actively listening. As viewers of these photographs, however, we aren’t forced to think about the specific content being taught. What we are being prompted to reflect on is people engaging, thinking critically – ultimately to be productive members of society, which is what the purpose of education is supposed to be.

  In a different way than the students, the lecturers are highlighted in the title of these pieces. Noam Chomsky, Edward Said, Middle East Politics, Miller Theater, Columbia University, New York, 4/9/1999 singles out Noam Chomsky and Edward Said. They are placed on a platform, marked as people of importance who have something of value to teach, and the photos in the series reflect the significance of this type of individual. As such, seminars/lectures portrays this structure (often created by institutions), of an individual with somehow supreme knowledge which they are spreading to the masses. The important response from the students, which we are seeing in this series, is engagement which then leads to critical thinking. This is what results in “truly democratic” spaces, where ideas are exchanged in a utopian way.

But is education still functioning in this democratic way? Are people still gathering in classrooms as Ganahl depicts and fighting for “the ideals of humanism” (1)? I wonder if this exchange of ideas for the sake of academic interest is still the point – for both academic institutions as well the students attending them. Are these institutions more concerned with class and reputation than developing curiosity in their students? And are the students attending actively choosing to learn, or has school just become a means to an end?

How do we, as a society, fuel this passion so that it will culminate in ways similar to these moments captured in seminars/lectures? Ganahl shows the crucial aspect of education – how interest and passion act as a driving force for us as a society, but we must make sure students and people in general are learning to question as they learn, to debate and think critically. This craving for knowledge still exists and can be seen in socially and politically engaged people around the world, so we must find a way to make sure it’s given the appropriate outlets.