Harvard grad pictures history through a personal lens
This is one in a series of profiles showcasing some of Harvard’s stellar graduates. Wonik Son ’19 reads a photograph the way others read a textbook. He is interested in stories and histories of all kinds, but he is especially drawn to images from the past and what they represent. He looks at a photo or a clip from a documentary and begins to read, piecing together a narrative informed by the image itself and the historical context around it. It’s a way of learning about the past that fascinates him. “Many historians don’t look at visual material as much, or in as nuanced a light, as they do textual material,” Son said, “but images have a story. They have a narrative, hidden in their staticity, that you need to delve into.” A history concentrator and 2019 graduate, Son has spent his time at Harvard College studying primarily visual material. He wrote his senior thesis...