In the fall 2015 semester, the First-Year Seminar “Selfie Genre: Self-Portraiture in the Digital Age” taught by Laura Baldwin, chief marketing officer at Arcadia, turned the camera around on our global society. From da Vinci to the Kardashians, the selfie course explored the power self-portraits have on aspects of our society, including ethics, privacy, sexuality, politics, culture, celebrity, and technology.

The class provided an inspirational foundation for students to realize their own sense of self, and it culminated in the “Xpress Yourself” ‘selfie’-portrait exhibition on display in the Thrall Gallery, Spruance Art Center through Saturday, Jan. 30. The work shown reflects inspiration from artists like Cezanne and van Gogh, as well as Man Ray, Frida Kahlo, Lucas Samaras, Shen Wei, Chuck Close, Richard Avedon, Lee Friedlander, and Alan Cumming.