Photography in Contemporary French and Francophone Cultures

This is a broad and inclusive account of the multiple manifestations of photography in contemporary French and francophone societies and cultures. This book brings together literary, socio-cultural, art historical and postcolonial perspectives on the medium, spanning trends, methodologies and developments from the 1970s to the present day. It considers broad topics such as the cultural institutionalisation of photography, its connections to postconceptual art, the tradition of tableau, city photography and photobiography. It includes essays that address individual photographers and writers (including Bruno Boujelal, Stephane Couturier, Raymond Depardon, Valerie Jouve and Roland Barthes, Sophie Calle, J.M.G. Le Clezio, Annie Ernaux, Herve Guibert, Denis Roche). Illustrations in colour and in black and white. An original interview with Jean-Luc Monterosso, Director of the Maison Europeene de la Photographie, Paris.