New Books Network Nathanial Gardner, "A Companion to Latin American Photography" (Tamesis, 2025)
Apr 26, 2026
Nathaniel Gardner, Professor of Spanish and Latin American Studies and author of A Companion to Latin American Photography, maps how photography frames histories and identities in Latin America. He discusses the book’s thematic structure, the rise of photo books as stable archives, photography as translation and testimony, visual power dynamics, portrayals of women and children, and projects that amplify marginalized voices.
AI Snips
Chapters
Books
Transcript
Episode notes
Choose Photography Themes That Reveal Unique Lessons
- Nathaniel Gardner chose themes that show what photography uniquely teaches about Latin America rather than listing key photographers.
- He selected topics like marginality, women, and children because these appear more abundantly and differently in photographic records than in literary or official archives.
Prefer Photo Books For Reliable Research Sources
- Use photo books as 'stable archives' for research because they fix a selection and narrative that readers can access later.
- Gardner notes books remain consistent across decades, unlike living archives that grow, shrink, or reorganize.
Photography As Intersemiotic Translation
- Gardner frames photography as intersemiotic translation that moves slices of the past into present two-dimensional images.
- This view highlights photography's role as a trusted vehicle for transmitting historical experience across media.
