John Edwin Mason teaches African history and the history of photography at the University of Virginia. He published many books and articles on South African social and cultural history, before turning his attention to photography. He is now at work on a book about the acclaimed photographer, writer, and filmmaker Gordon Parks. Mason is also a documentary photographer, and he is the author of the photo-book, One Love, Ghoema Beat: Inside the Cape Town Carnival. He is on the boards of The Everyday Projects, Women Photograph, and The Aftermath Project.
Join us for a conversation looking back at the origins of photography–how it has been used as a tool of colonialism, and how this legacy still appears today, both culturally and institutionally.
Learn MoreThis website was made possible thanks to the generous support and partnership of 