". . . because a way of seeing is also a way of not seeing."

--Kenneth Burke

English 593-001 (Fall `99)

Special Topics: "Visual Rhetoric"

Instructor: Professor Blakesley

Course Texts

Covino, William A. Magic, Rhetoric and Literacy: An Eccentric History of the Composing Imagination. 1994. State University of New York P.

Barry. Visual Intelligence: Perception, Image, and Manipulation in Visual Communication. State Univeristy of New York P.

Elkins, James. The Object Stares Back: On the Nature of Seeing. 1997. Harvest Book (Harcourt).

Mitchell, J. T. W. Picture Theory: Essays on Verbal and Visual Representation. 1995 U of Chicago P.

Modleski, Tania. The Women Who Knew Too Much. 1988. Routledge and Kegan Paul.

Robbe-Grillet, Alaine. The Voyeur. 1958. Trans. Richard Howard. Grove Press.

Course Description

This course will begin by introducing basic principles of perception and visual interpretation, moving from that scene to the dependent processes of visual communication and rhetoric in media and film studies, cultural studies, art, literature, electronic media, and the public spectacle. Some study will also be dedicated to the design of visual form and visual communication both in traditional and electronic formats. Films viewed include Hitchcock's Rear Window, Vertigo, and Psycho.

Coursework

Several short response papers or projects, electronic conferencing, a midterm collaborative presentation or project, and a final research paper or project.

When and Where

Fall 1999

MF 3:00-3:50 FANR 3412

W 3:00-3:50 FANR 2463

(Media Lab)