"The Photography Cultures Reader: Representation, Agency, and Identity engages the contemporary debates surrounding photographic cultures and practices from a variety of perspectives, providing insight and analysis for students and practitioners.

With over 100 images included, the diverse essays in this collection explore key topics, such as: conflict and reportage; politics of race and gender; the family album; fashion, tourism, and surveillance; art and archives; social media and the networked image. The collection brings together essays by leading experts, scholars, and photographers, including Geoffrey Batchen, Elizabeth Edwards, Stuart Hall, bell hooks, Martha Langford, Lucy R. Lippard, Fred Ritchin, Allan Sekula, and Val Williams. The depth and scope of this collection is a testament to the cultural significance of photography and photographic study, with each themed section featuring an editor's introduction that sets the ideas and debates in context.

Along with its companion volume - The Photography Reader: History and Theory - this is the most comprehensive introduction to photography and photographic criticism." - Text from back of book