A History of Photography in USC Libraries Collections

Edythe Carr dancing with a man at the Club Alabam Social Club, 1950

Edythe Carr dancing with a man at the Club Alabam Social Club represents social photography as it is created with the purpose of documenting a specific social practice. Many people can relate to having their photograph taken at a school dance; thus, the social activity expressed in this image is a familiar one to most audiences. This image captures social norms and culture, dancing being a prominent social practice across cultures. This image is also significant in that the photographer was part of a large group called the Dunbar Economic Development Corporation that took photographs for the purpose of documenting the local neighborhood in Los Angeles. One of its main goals was documenting the largely African American population in the area. The image is significant in its ability to be reproduced and also in capturing movement. This age of photography was known for its ability to be mass reproduced in newspapers and magazines. Due to this new purpose for the medium, the career of photojournalism was created. Publishing companies also began to realize the prospects for newspapers to include social stories. Thus, these images can be viewed in the context of photos taken for documentation and for the viewing of the masses.

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