LIT 6934

Ways of Seeing: Visual Rhetoric/Visual Culture

Sidney I. Dobrin 4414 Turlington Hall

M Periods 6-8 (12:50-3:50) Office hours: MW 5 or by Appt.

sdobrin@ufl.edu

www.clas.ufl.edu/users/sdobrin

“… because a way of seeing is also a way of not seeing.”

—Kenneth Burke

Description This course will engage six primary inquires:

1. As we shift from print culture to screen culture, how must we rethink the very idea of

writing and what it means “to write”?

2. Does the idea of “rhetoric” as we have come to understand it still function in an image-

driven information exchange, or what happens when we force image into rhetoric? How

do we make a new rhetoric of image? Conterminously, we will also consider how

theories of image might inform a visual rhetoric (or non-rhetoric).

3. How do we define a “visual culture,” and what is at stake in claiming that we live in a

visual culture?

4. How do we actively participate in visual culture as producers and consumers of visual

texts?

5. How do the technologies that are used to produce visuals contribute to/participate in

the act of visual meaning making, particularly when those technologies convert non-

visual information into visual text (i.e. ultrasound, Doppler, or radio telescope)?

6. How might we address visual impairment in a visual culture?

In order to consider these questions, this course will engage three primary activities: 1. We will

read and discuss theories pertaining to visual rhetorics, visual cultures, digital literacies, and

image theories. 2. We will read, analyze and discuss visual artifacts/texts. 3. We will examine

and use new media technologies designed to assist in the invention and production of visual

texts.

Required Texts Barry, Ann Marie Seward. Visual Intelligence: Perception, Image, and Manipulation in Visual

Communication. Albany, NY: State U of New York P, 1997.

ISBN: 0-7914-3436-2 →

Note: this is available as ebook form the UF library.

Barthes, Roland. Image Music Text. Trans. Stephen Heath. New York: Hill and Wang, 1977.

ISBN: 0-374-52136-0

Burnett, Ron. How Images Think. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press, 2004.

ISBN: 0-262-52441-4 →

Note: this is available as ebook form the UF library.

Hariman, Robert and John Louis Lucaites. No Caption Needed: Iconic Photographs, Public

Culture, and Liberal Democracy. Chicago: U of Chicago P, 2007.

ISBN: 978-0-226-31606-2

Hill, Charles A. and Marguerite Helmers, eds. Defining Visual Rhetorics. Mahwah, NJ:

Lawrence Earlbaum Associates, 2004.

ISBN: 978-0-8058-4403-0 →

Note: this is available as ebook form the UF library.

Mitchell, W.J.T. Picture Theory. Chicago: U of Chicago p, 1994

ISBN: 0-226-53232-1

Smith, Ken, Sandra Moriarty, Gretchen Barbatsis, Keith Kenny, eds. Handbook of Visual

Communication: Theory, Methods, and Media. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Earlbaum Associates,

2005.

ISBN: 0-8058-4179-2 →

Note: this is available as ebook form the UF library.

*All other readings will be made available by the instructor.

Recommended Readings Berger, John. Ways of Seeing. Penguin, 1977.

Berger, John. About Looking. Vintage, 1980.

Block, Ned, ed. Imagery. Cambridge, The MIT Press, 1981.

Chandler, Annmarie and Norie Neumark, eds. At a Distance: Precursors to Art and Activism on

the Internet. Cambridge: NIT UP, 2005.

Calvino, Italo. The Castle of Crossed Destinies. Harcourt Brace, 1973.

Crow, David. Visible Signs. 2nd

Edition. AVA Books, 2010.

Crow, David. Left to Right: The Cultural Shift from Words to Pictures. AVA Books, 2006.

Cubitt, Sean. EcoMedia. New York: Rodopi, 2005.

DeLuca, Kevin Michael. Image Politics: The New Rhetoric of Environmental Politics. Mahwah,

NJ: Lawrence Earlbaum Associates, 1999.

Dobrin, Sidney I. and Sean Morey, eds. Ecosee: Image, Rhetoric, Nature. SUNY P, 2009.

Eco, Umberto. The Open Work. Cambridge: Harvard UP, 1989.

Elkins, James. The Domain of Images. Ithaca: Cornell up, 1999.

Evans, Jessica and Stuart Hall, eds. Visual Culture: The Reader. Sage, 2005.

Gibson, James J. The Ecological Approach to Visual Perception. Lawrence Earlbaum

Associates, 1986.

Gordon, Ian E. Theories of Visual Perception. 3rd

ed. New York: Psychology Press, 2004.

Gombrich, E. H. Art and Illusion: A Study in the Psychology of Pictorial Representation.

Princeton UP, 1960.

Hansen, Mark B. N. New Philosophy for New Media. Cambridge: The MIT Press,2004.

Hoffman, Donald D. Visual Intelligence: How We Create What We See. New York: W.W.

Norton, 1998.

Lacey, Nick. Image and Representation. Palgrave, 1998.

Leeuwen, Theo van and Carey Jewitt. Handbook of Visual Analysis. London: Sage, 2001.

Merleau-Ponty, Maurice. The Primacy of Perception and Other Essays. Northwestern UP, 1964.

Mirzoeff, Nicholas. An Introduction to Visual Culture. New York: Routledge, 1999.

Mitchell, W. J. T. Iconology: Image, Text, Ideology. U of Chicago P, 1986.

Mitchell, W. J. T. What do Pictures Want? The lives and Loves of Images. U of Chicago P,

2006.

Rose, Gillian. Visual Methodologies. London: Sage, 2001.

Shlain, Leonard. The Alphabet versus The Goddess: The Conflict between Word and Image.

Penguin, 1998.

Sontag, Susan. On Photography. New York: Picador, 1973.

Sturken Marita and Lisa Cartwright. Practices of Looking: An Introduction to Visual Culture.

Oxford UP, 2002.

Virilio, Paul. War and Cinema: The Logistics of Perception. New York: Verso, 1984.

Assignments and Requirements

The Listserve You may post to the course listserve at spring-4829-L@lists.ufl.edu

The course listserve is intended to serve a twofold purpose: first, it provides a space for

continuing or extending conversations we have in class or addressing class readings in ways we

were not able to cover in the class. Second, and perhaps more important to the objectives of the

seminar, the listserve should be used as a point for sharing stuff we want each other to look at.

That is, we should each be posting links to videos, images, articles, and other stuff we want to

share with the class, but just don’t have time to view during class periods.

Please note, you can use the listserve to post links to anything you think is worth seeing or

reading, but keep in mind that posting for the sake of flaming will not be tolerated. Therefore,

with every link you post to the listserve, you are required to include in the post a short

explanation as to why you think we should see what you’re showing us. In most instances, the

explanation should be relevant to the class; however, showing us something cool for the sake of

showing something cool is perfectly legitimate. You can provide links to potentially

inappropriate material, so long as you provide an explanation warning us of its inappropriateness

and an explanation as to why you’re showing us. This gives us each the opportunity to decide

whether we want to view it or not. Please keep in mind that posting inappropriate material (yes, I

realize this is a fine line we will be discussing in class) may result in penalty and that posting

some visuals might be considered a violation of the University’s harassment policies. Think

before you post.

Throughout the semester, you are required to post (re-posts don’t count) ten links.

The Wiki For this seminar, you will contribute to an ongoing wiki project designed to develop a

bibliography of resources for studying visual rhetoric, visual culture, and visual literacy. You

will find the wiki at www.eng4953.wikispaces.com/ENG4953

You may add or comment on previously added inclusions; however, over the course of the

semester, you are required to post at least ten bibliographic citations to the wiki bibliography.

Each bibliographic citation should be followed with a short annotation, describing the content

and assessing the usefulness of the text.

The Blog Each student will create a blog site using any blog service desired (www.blogger.com

www.blogspot.com etc). The blog should serve the function of a synthesis journal, in which you

write about class readings, discussions, and other ideas relevant to the course. Blogs should all

feature links to other class participants’ blogs. Bogs should be about visual

rhetoric/literacy/culture. Blogs should regularly include images and links to relevant resources.

You are required to blog 500 words per week.

Show and Tell In addition to a lot of interesting things to view, analyze, and evaluate circulating throughout the

digital screen world, there are also a lot of useful tools we can all use toward our own

productions. Throughout the semester, each of you will show and tell us about three tools or

tricks (see below) that you have discovered that we might find useful. You will make a short

presentation to the class, demonstrating the tool, its uses, and its limits. In the first week of class,

we will determine when each of you will make show and tell presentations.

The Video Each student will write and produce a video to be shared with the class at the end of the

semester. Details regarding production, approach, and content will be addressed in class.

Paper Each student will submit by term’s end one article-length, publishable quality, original article.

Details regarding expectations and approaches will be addressed in class.

Readings All readings should be completed by the day of class indicated on the schedule below.

Grading Listserve 10%

Wiki 10%

Blog 10%

Show and Tell 10%

Video 30%

Paper 30%

The following numeric equivalents will be used in determining your final averages:

A 93-100 4.0

A- 90-92 3.67

B+ 87-89 3.33

B 83-86 3.0

B- 80-82 2.67

C+ 77-79 2.33

C 73-76 2.0

C- 70-72 1.67

D+ 67-69 1.33

D 63-66 1.0

E 0-63 0.00

UF has recently instituted minus grades. As a result, letter grades now have different grade point

equivalencies. For more information, see:

http://www.registrar.ufl.edu/catalog/policies/regulationgrades.html

Course Policies Statement on Student Disability Services The Disability Resource Center in the Dean of Students Office provides students and faculty

with information and support regarding classroom accommodations for students with disabilities

in the classroom. For more information, see:

http://www.dso.ufl.edu/drc/

Statement on Harassment UF provides an educational and working environment for its students, faculty, and staff that is

free from sex discrimination and sexual harassment. For more about UF policies regarding

harassment, see:

http://www.dso.ufl.edu/studentguide/studentconductcode.php#s4041

Statement on Academic Dishonesty All students are required to abide by the Student Honor Code. For more information about

academic honesty, including definitions of plagiarism and unauthorized collaboration, see:

http://www.dso.ufl.edu/sccr/honorcodes/honorcode.php

Attendance Policies Because it is difficult to track attendance in large lecture courses, roll will not be taken on a daily

basis. However, attendance will be necessary for your success in this course. In addition to the

fact that the exams will be based upon a combination of the reading materials and course

lectures, in order to acquire the information for this course for your own benefit, you should

attend.

Final Grade Appeals If you have concerns about your final grade in the course and have met with me to discuss your

final grade, you may pursue an appeal process by contacting Professor Robert Thomson,

Director of Undergraduate Studies in the Department of English. Grade appeals may result in a

higher, unchanged, or lower final grade. Grade appeals should only be pursued if you and I have

an irresolvable dispute regarding your final grade. The English Department will not intervene in

disputes over individual assignment grades.

(Tentative) Schedule Note: readings are to be completed the day listed in the schedule; we will discuss those readings

in class on that day.

Note: We will be viewing and discussing images, videos, and films each day in class. These

visuals are not identified in this schedule, but will serve as central to our discussions of histories,

theories, and methodologies.

1/10 Course Introduction

1/17 Reading: Hill

Reading: WJT Mitchell, “What is an Image?”

www.clas.ufl.edu/users/sdobrin/WJTMitchell_whatisanimage.pdf

1/24 Reading: Hill

1/31 Reading: Barthes

2/7 Reading: Barthes

Reading: http://spectrum.ieee.org/computing/software/seeing-is-not-believing/0

2/14 Reading: Mitchell

2/21 Reading: Mitchell

2/28 Reading: Burnett

3/7 Spring Break; no class

3/14 Reading: Hariman

3/21 Reading: Hariman

3/28 Reading: Barry

4/4 Reading: Barry

4/11 Reading: Smith

Video Presentations

4/18 Reading: Smith

Video Presentations