Stories of Humanitarian Aid Image Analysis Assignment

Purpose: How do humanitarian aid organizations construct their subjects? How do we come to visualize the recipients of aid? How do we come to understand who is (or is not) a ‘worthy’ recipient of aid? This exercise is to get you thinking about the techniques and strategies of representation employed by humanitarian aid agencies, and how these strategies form our imaginaries of poverty and aid.

Instructions: Browse web sites of different humanitarian aid projects, such as CARE, OXFAM, Save the Children, UNICEF, World Vision, etc. Select an image featured on one of these sites and write up a brief (~500 world) image analysis. Begin by describing the contents of the image (who/what/when/where/why/how). After describing the content of the image, describe what you think the image denotes. What message(s) is/are being conveyed about the subjects of the image? What message(s) is/are being conveyed about the aid agency or project displaying the image?

Submit: Your image (screenshot or downloaded) with accompanying analysis paper (~500 words) to the Humanitarian Aid Image Analysis Discussion Board space by 11:59 pm  Tuesday, September 22