A photographic "reorientation" : Tim Hetherington and visual records of contemporary global conflict

This interdisciplinary study examines the work of Tim Hetherington, a British-American photojournalist who was killed in Libya in April of 2011 while photographing the local uprising. With a focus on the post-9/11 period, this study engages with current issues and contemporary global tensions, including American nationalism, imperialism, and the military. It looks at Hetherington’s photographic archive from West Africa and Afghanistan, as well as his film from Afghanistan, Restrepo, co-produced with Sebastian Junger. Touching first on the origins of photography in the 19th century, this study critiques Hetherington’s projects as pieces of visual culture that utilize race, gender, and sexuality to produce an alternative, counter-hegemonic discourse surrounding the U.S. Empire and its role in the world today.