Presenters
Abstract
In The Visual Culture Reader introduction, “What is visual culture?”(Routledge, London, 1998), Nicholas Mirzoeff argues that there is a Post-modern reflex that is used to interpret visual culture. In discussions with an undergraduate writing class, my students insisted that Romanticism prevails, and their inspiration comes from that ethos. When I ask them how that view has been shaped, they argue that their use of technology, and the pervasive imagery of the digital age is a smoke-screen that they can see through, but which constantly makes them question what I call “visual rhetorics,” or prevailing messages and meanings we are all exposed to, and are clearly influenced by. In response to the cacophonic imagery, I am consciously teaching for “conceptual change”, which requires that instructors open up a discourse where students can reject norms around every aspect of learning and beliefs. I want to use visual culture in the composition classroom to initiate that conversation. My presentation focuses primarily on a course on Visual Culture and Perception, and sharing research in the use of visual content in composition courses as the primary, rather than adjunctive approach.