Former professors of language before 1882

Editor: Here we have William H. Tipton's "Former Professors of Language," a photograph taken before 1882 and created with albumen print. What strikes me is the format, how it resembles a scrapbook or a journal entry... What do you see when you look at this work? Curator: Well, it's fascinating to consider this work as an early form of institutional self-representation. Notice how the placement of the photographs within the book creates a narrative, almost a genealogy, of knowledge and power. The individuals depicted, presumably all white men, embody a specific type of academic authority rooted in linguistic tradition. How does the composition speak to you in terms of who is included, and potentially, who is excluded? Editor: That's an interesting point. It feels very... curated. Like a deliberate attempt to create a certain image of the institution. There’s no women shown, right? Curator: Exactly. And thinking critically, we must ask what stories aren't being told. This selection reinforces a specific, historically dominant, narrative of academia that centers particular voices while marginalizing others. Do you think that this visual representation could play a role in maintaining power structures within these academic environments? Editor: It definitely seems like it. The very act of documenting and preserving these figures while omitting others... it creates a certain legacy, doesn't it? A historical power imbalance literally printed on the page. Curator: Precisely. Considering the time it was created, this albumen print presents a visual argument for a very specific definition of intellectual authority and begs us to investigate whose perspectives were, and continue to be, sidelined. Editor: That’s a really important reminder. Thanks. Looking at it through that lens has definitely changed my perspective. Curator: And likewise for me; it is by questioning seemingly immutable, that true progress is possible.