Short course
The Psychology of Photography – Meaning, Self, and Society
Course status:
Applications being accepted
Dates and time:
29/09/2026 - 01/12/202619:00 - 21:00
Study format:
In-person weekly
Fees:
£315.00
This course examines how photographs construct meaning across the domains of self, culture, and society, and how these processes can be applied in a more deliberate photographic practice. It is designed for those who already take photographs and wish to extend their work beyond description towards the articulation of ideas, values, and perspectives. The emphasis falls on conceptual development rather than technical instruction, and participants may work with any image-making device, including a smartphone.
Across ten weeks, the course engages with key themes drawn from psychology and photographic theory, including perception, representation, memory, identity, emotion, place, and power. These themes are introduced through selected texts and images, and are then examined in relation to participants’ own developing work. You will be expected to consider how images function within wider systems of meaning, and how photographic choices shape interpretation in both intended and unintended ways.
Teaching follows a structured and participatory model. Preparatory materials are made available via Canvas to support a flipped approach, enabling more focused discussion during sessions. Classroom time is used for tutor-led input, small and large group discussion, and the regular comparison of images as a form of critical enquiry. This process supports the development of an informed and reflective approach to both making and reading photographs.
By the end of the course, you will have produced a short, coherent body of work that demonstrates a more intentional use of photographic form and content. You will also have developed the conceptual vocabulary required to analyse images and to situate your own practice within broader psychological and cultural frameworks.
Book this course
Book your place online using the button below.
Course starts Tuesday 29 September 2026
This is an in-person course which requires your attendance at the weekly meetings in Oxford on Tuesdays, 7.00-9.00pm.
Week 1: Seeing and Perception / Framing and Attention
Week 2: Representation and Reality / Construction and Interpretation
Week 3: Memory and Time / Nostalgia and Absence
Week 4: Identity and the Self / Performance and Persona
Week 5: Emotion and Affect / Mood and Atmosphere
Week 6: Space and Place / Psychogeography and Movement
Week 7: Objects and Meaning / Material Culture and Attachment
Week 8: Power and the Gaze / Ethics and Representation
Week 9: Culture and Ideology / Media and Influence
Week 10: Meaning and Synthesis / Narrative and Sequencing
Course aims
To appreciate how photographs carry meaning across self and society, and to apply this in the making of images, series, and small projects.
Course objectives
- Students will examine key ideas from the psychology and theory of photography and relate these ideas to their own image-making. This will support a shift from simple capture to deliberate construction of meaning.
- Students will analyse how images shape and reflect identity, memory, emotion, and social context. They will test these links through short practical tasks carried out between sessions.
- Students will plan and produce a small body of work that shows intent, coherence, and control of meaning. They will present and discuss this work using clear and informed language.
Learning outcomes
- Students will explain core ideas in the psychology and theory of photography, including perception, meaning, identity, and social context, and will relate these ideas to selected images and their own work.
- Students will apply a range of photographic methods to shape meaning in images and short series, including framing, sequencing, and control of light, viewpoint, and edit, using either a camera or a smartphone.
- Students will reflect on their own image-making with clarity and critical awareness, showing growth in confidence, intent, and ethical judgement in how they represent self and others.
Level and demands
The Department’s Weekly Classes are taught at FHEQ Level 4, ie first year undergraduate level, and you will be expected to engage in a significant amount of private study in preparation for the classes. This may take the form, for instance, of reading and analysing set texts, responding to questions or tasks, or preparing work to present in class.
Teaching methods
Teaching will combine short tutor input with active methods such as group discussion, structured exercises, and guided reflection, supported by a flipped learning model in which preparatory materials are shared in Canvas before each session. Regular comparison of images in class will form a core practice, enabling students to analyse, discuss, and refine meaning through a structured and supportive form of critique.
Assessment methods
Only those students who have registered for assessment and accreditation, in advance of the course start date, can submit coursework/assignments for assessment.
Assessment
You will be set various pieces of work for the course. The first, a 500-word portfolio proposal, is due halfway through your course. This does not count towards your final outcome, but preparing for it, and the feedback you are given, will help you prepare for your assessed work at the end of the course. The final assessed submission will consist of a small photographic portfolio and a 1,500-word critical commentary. The assessed work is marked pass or fail.
Dr Graham Wilson
After a PhD in behavioural science, I worked in leadership, organisational development, consultancy, and coaching. Around the turn of the millennium, I qualified firstly as a psychodynamic psychotherapist and then as a spiritual counsellor, becoming a Registered Member of the BACP.
From 2013, I’ve taught psychology, counselling, coaching, and photography at Oxford and elsewhere. Through teaching, writing many textbooks, professional and public dialogue, I aim to make these subjects accessible and relevant to everyone.
A Research Fellow of the Ronin Institute (RIIS2.0), I also serve on the executive of the APHE, am active in the BACP Research Teaching Network, a Fellow of the RAI, and member of the IVSA.
Academic credit
Credit Accumulation Transfer Scheme (CATS Points)
Please note, students who do not register for assessment and accreditation during the enrolment process will not be able to do so after the course has begun. If you wish to gain credit from completing this course you must register to do so before the course starts.
Only those who have registered for assessment and accreditation will be awarded CATS points for completing work to the required standard. Please note that assignments are not graded but are marked either pass or fail.
Learn more about the Credit Accumulation Transfer Scheme.
If you are enrolled on the Certificate of Higher Education at the Department you need to indicate this on the enrolment form but there is no additional registration fee for assessment and accreditation.
Digital certificate of completion
Students who are registered for assessment and accreditation and pass their final assignment will also be eligible for a digital Certificate of Completion. Information on how to access the digital certificate will be emailed to you after the end of the course. The certificate will show your name, the course title and the dates of the course attended. You will be able to download the certificate and share it on social media if you choose to do so.
Fees
| Description | Costs |
|---|---|
| Course fee (with no assessment) | £315.00 |
| Assessment and Accreditation fee | £60.00 |
Funding
If you are in receipt of a UK state benefit, or are a care-leaver in the UK, you may be eligible for a reduction of 50% of tuition fees. Please see the below link for full details:
Concessionary fees for short courses
Recommended reading
Recommended reading is optional and you are not required to purchase these books to study this course.
Library facilities
All weekly class students may become borrowing members of the Rewley House Library, part of the Bodleian Libraries, for the duration of their course. Prospective students whose courses have not yet started are also welcome to use the Library for reference.
- More information about the Library can be found on the Bodleian Libraries website.
- This guide for Weekly Class students also provides further information.
Preparatory reading
- Photography: The Key Concepts / Bate, David
Module code: O26P532PCW
How to enrol
Please use the ‘Book now’ button on this page.
How to register for accreditation and assessment
To be able to submit coursework and to earn credit (CATS points) for this course, if you wish to do so, you will need to register and pay an additional £60 fee. You can do this by ticking the relevant box at the bottom of the enrolment form or when enrolling online.
Students who do not register for CATS points during the enrolment process will not be able to do so after the course has begun.
If you are enrolled on the Certificate of Higher Education at the Department you need to indicate this on the enrolment form but there is no additional registration fee.