Introduction

Linda Gordon examines the photographer Dorothea Lange as both a paid propagandist for federal agricultural programs and a knowledgeable critic of the business of U.S. agriculture. Lange’s photographs called attention to the horrendous working and living conditions of farm workers, denounced the practices of large-scale agribusiness, and revealed the inadequacy of New Deal attempts to help farm workers. This installment of “Teaching the JAH” gives students the opportunity to explore the functions of the Farm Security Administration and its photography project. Using photographs, maps, letters, reports, and other documents, the exercises help students understand the conditions in which migrant farm workers lived and how Lange, through her photographic work, tried to improve those conditions. The exercises also ask students to examine Lange’s photographic methods and why she cared so much about her photograph’s textual captions.

Sections Guide

You may use the “Sections” menu on the upper right side of each page to navigate through this installment. Provided below is a summary of each section in this installment.