*VISUAL_RHETORICAL_ANALYSIS

== = Unit 1 Analysis: = = = = Visual Rhetorical Analysis = The first unit of this course consists of inquiry into theories of disability studies: 1) reimagining disability from that of a physical, medical condition to that which is social, cultural, and historical (Linton). 2) changing how we stare to include the idea of beholding or seeing beauty where it typically might not be seen (Garland-Thomson).

Now, we will move into looking at how visual images appeal to the emotions, sensitivities, cultural values, and beliefs of viewers, and thus communicate meaning and construct our sense of the world and ourselves. The term commonly used to describe the way images communicate specific messages to specific types of viewers is //visual rhetoric//. In their textbook, //Rhetorical Visions:// //Reading and Writing in a Visual Culture//, Wendy Hesford and Brenda Brueggemann define visual rhetoric as follows: "use the term visual rhetoric to describe how images persuade and argue. Just as we would analyze a speech--its language, structure, tone, etc.--in order to...understand how it attempts to persuade, we analyze images in order to understand their effect on viewers" (4).

It is possible to analyze the visual rhetoric of any kind of image, including signs, posters, cartoons, photographs, paintings, web pages, and advertisements. But what do viewers stand to gain by analyzing images? Why would we want to take this approach to seeing? According to Rosenwasser and Stephen, authors of //Writing Analytically// (our textbook for this course), “To analyze the rhetoric of something is to determine how that something persuades and positions its readers or viewers or listeners. Rhetorical analysis is an essential skill because it reveals how particular pieces of communication seek to enlist our support and shape our behavior” (93).

Before you claim that you aren’t easily persuaded by visual rhetoric and that you make your decisions without external i nfluence, take a look at what you’re wearing: the bag you’re carrying; the hat on your head; your shoes. Even if your apparel i sn’t outwardly promoting a popular brand, your decision not to conform is still a reaction against fashion trends and fads. In that sense, your sense of personal style has still been influenced by various types of visual rhetoric.

For your first paper assignment, you will select an image that strikes you as particularly interesting, strange, surprising, or provocative in some way. **Your task is to analyze the visual rhetoric of this image, using the skills and strategies we’ll read about and discuss throughout this unit, and to come up with a well-composed reading of the image.** **You will use either Linton or Garland-Thomson's theories (one or both is fine) as the lens through which to analyze the image.** **This means the theory/theories will inform your essay. You will have to decide yourself how the theory relates to your image.** Your analysis essay should be __3-5 pg. in length (this does not include the space the image takes up).__ **The first draft is on the wiki by** **Tues, Sept. 28 by 9AM** (you will not get feedback if you are late). **The final version is due in class __in__** __**hard copy**__ **on Wed., Oct. 6.** Your paper must reference at least two textual sources from our class readings.

You will begin this assignment by locating a few potential images, spending time analyzing each one, and then choosing the one that seems to yield the smartest, most surprising and original discoveries and the one which speaks most to either or both of the theories. In drafting your paper, you’ll need to describe the image succinctly and provide any necessary context, as well as consider the cultural role or purpose of the image, its target audience, and the various cultural ideologies at play in its design. I will be looking for interpretive claims about the power and cultural significance of the ad’s visual rhetoric, how it works to influence or construct the identity of its viewers, and why the ad is more complicated than it may at first seem.

Be sure to include the citation, website, or location in which you found the image. The image might be found in multiple locations. You might find yourself explaining the different rhetorical situations of each location. Also, if you find "parodies" or that the image itself is a re-mix of another image, pay attention to that.Leading up to this assignment, we’ll practice images and we’ll consider such questions as: How do the makers of advertisements target selective audiences? What kinds of imagery and iconography do they use in an effort to appeal to viewers? How do images position and persuade us as viewers and listeners? How do they generate our ideas about what is “normal” and desirable? How do they maintain medical meanings of disability or do they persuade us to think of new meanings of disability as social and political? Does the image promote "beholding" or does it promote unethical "gawking?"

I want you to complicate the images you view and draw them out in your writing. Think about the ideological assumptions the image makes about the world and the values it expects you bring to the image.

Here are some of the specific attributes I’ll be looking for as I grade your papers: -Does the introduction capture the reader's interest? Is it compelling and does it make you want to read on? If a question is asked, does it make sense and accurately offer a "promise" to the reader? Is the title interesting and appropriate to the paper? -Does the writer provide a clear and accurate description of the image? - Does the writer provide a clear and accurate description of the audience, context (historical, cultural, political, or social), designer/creator, location it was found (genre or type of image is part of this)? - Does the writer provide insightful analysis and plausible interpretations of the visual rhetoric in the image? - Are the writer’s claims bold, original, and well supported by the evidence provided in the paper? - Are the ideas in the paper well organized? Does the paper flow logically and gracefully from one idea to the next with clear transitional phrases? - Does the paper properly cite and use two textual sources? - Does the writer use one or more theories from Linton or Garland-Thomson to analyze the image? And does the use of the theory/theories make sense? - Does the writer use summary, paraphrase, and quotation appropriately to represent the important ideas of his/her sources? Is there a works cited page or bibliography that is done correctly? - Does the writer establish critical and analytical relationships with sources? - Is the thesis statement (or gist) clear and focused? - Is the image embedded into the paper in such a way that its details can be seen and without taking up too much space? Is it cited? - Does the writer pay attention to issues of style (diction, syntax, elegance, and passion)? - Has the paper been proofread for grammar, spelling, and any points of repetition? - Does the conclusion summarize the essay in new way, offer new insight (but not too new), ask larger questions, answer "so what?"


 * QUESTION TO GUIDE YOUR ANALYSIS (from the classwork we did on Alison Lapper Pregnant):**


 * 1)What are your first impressions of this image? Reactions? Feelings? **
 * 2)Describe the image/scultpure in detail (//inside the frame,70- 71//): the artistic technique, materials, colors, shapes, spatial relationships, contrast, placement, etc. What is explicit (directly stated) in the image? **
 * 3) What is the immediate context of this image above (//inside the frame//)? **
 * 4) What is the original context of the image (//beyond the frame, 71//)? Where can this be found? And, what is the historical, social, or political context? **
 * 5) Who is the author(s)/creator(s)? What do you know about them? What is important about who they are and how does who they are affect the piece? **
 * 6) Can you identify the creator's purpose purpose? What is it? Is there more than one? **
 * 7) Who are the intended audience(s)? What knowledge or experiences do viewers bring to the image/text? Are their secondary audiences? **
 * 8) Using a theory of Linton, Garland-Thomson, hooks, Sontag, Scarry, or Millett-Gallant, write out an arguable, evaluative judgement that shows how the image works or what is important about it. **
 * 9)What from your answers above supports this interpretation (the interpretation being your arguable, evaluative judegment from no. 8). **


 * Other important questions: **
 * 1) Are there any binaries that you can complicate? How do they work in the image? (pg. 53 in Rosenwasser). Does the image collapse the binary or keep it separate? **
 * 2) What is suggested but not directly stated (implicit)? **