Your essay will describe and analyze a photograph of your choice (or a series of closely-related photographs) related to immigrants/refugees from one of the three slideshows below.

Barthes begins this chapter by describing the present moment, the context when he found the photograph. For your essay, explain the personal context in which you encountered this photograph (or photographs) and what drew your attention toward it. What was the process of choosing to write about it? Please use specific details in your introduction. This might be the place to discuss the punctum (or “piercing detail”) within the photograph.

In the next section, Barthes describes the distance that he feels from the photograph. He outlines how historys—specifically the passage of time—has changed how he thinks about the photography. In this space, describe whatever separates you (time, place, perspective, etc.) from the photograph. While we may feel empathy or other emotions related to the photograph subjects, we likely have not experienced the exact same situation. Use this section to describe the context (or studium) that the photograph presents. This maybe be a place to include quotations from our course readings.

Finally, according to Barthes, there is a moment of recognition. What about this photograph (about the people in it, the place, the details, etc.) has a connection to the present moment? Connect the photograph to specific examples, quotations, facts, etc. that propose possible solutions to the refugee crisis.

In this section, Barthes details the effects that he gets in the present moment from looking at the photograph. What, based on your photograph, do you think should be done regarding immigration or the refugee crisis? How does this photograph contribute to the ongoing conversation on this issue? Be sure to continue to use specific details in the conclusion of your essay.

This meant to provide a rough outline for your essay, and you are welcome to alter the structure as you see fit.

Note: you should not necessarily simply write one paragraph for each number above. Different sections may require different numbers of paragraphs, depending on the subject of your essay.

Be sure to use statistics, evidence, and quotations from our course materials in your essay. All sources should be cited in proper MLA format.