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English 387: Special Topics in Rhetoric & Composition
Visual Rhetoric . Fall 2008
Dr. Marguerite Helmers, instructor
Radford Hall . Room 226 . 424-0916, office
helmers@uwosh.edu, www.english.uwosh.edu/helmers
English Department, www.english.uwosh.edu
Office Hours Tuesday 1:10-2:50pm, Thursday 10:00-11:00
All other times by appointment. I am available after class to answer questions.
Class meets in Nursing Education Room 230, 3-6pm Tuesdays . Check D2L for daily updates!
“Migrant Mother”, Dorothea Lange (1936)
The Library of Congress caption reads: "Destitute pea pickers in California. Mother of seven children. Age
thirty-two. Nipomo, California." In the 1930s, the FSA employed several photographers to document the
effects of the Great Depression on the population of America. Many of the photographs can also be seen
as propaganda images to support the U.S. government's policy distributing support to the worst affected,
poorer areas of the country. Lange's image of a supposed migrant pea picker, Florence Owens
Thompson, and her family has become an icon of resilience in the face of adversity. However, it is not
universally accepted that Florence Thompson was a migrant pea picker. In the book Photographing
Farmworkers in California (Stanford University Press, 2004), author Richard Steven Street asserts that
some scholars believe Lange's description of the print was "either vague or demonstrably inaccurate" and
that Thompson was not a farmworker, but a Dust Bowl migrant. (Wikipedia image description)
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Course Description
Through readings in a variety of disciplines and through analyses of many different types of images,
we will explore some of the ways in which visual information and design are used to influence
viewers' opinions, beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors (the art of rhetoric). We will explore questions
such as the following: How are pictures perceived and interpreted? How do cultural and social
contexts influence viewers' responses to images? Why are images so persuasive? How do images and
written text work together to influence readers/viewers?
What is Visual Rhetoric?
Rhetoric is defined as the art of persuasion. It is an ancient art dating to 400BCE in Athens and Rome.
By 700CE, rhetoric was one of three arts of language studied as part of the trivium: grammar,
rhetoric, dialectic. Today, the study of rhetoric includes oral, written, and visual modes of
communication. Probably all humans practice rhetoric as they make demands and requests in love,
war, and daily life.
Aristotle defined two essential aspects of rhetoric: A) Modes of Proof (the special techniques that
persuade us: ethos, pathos, logos) and B) Understanding Audience. The study of rhetoric can also
involve poetics, the study of literary language. It can also focus on figures of speech, such as varieties
of metaphor.
Visual rhetoric is one of the newest areas of inquiry for rhetoricians. It is related to the study of visual
culture and the acquisition of visual literacy. As art historian James Elkins points out, visual culture
studies now appear in many departments of the university: political science, communications, film
studies, art, art history, and English. At UW Oshkosh, rhetoric (as public speaking) is taught in
Communications; rhetoric (as multimedia suasion) is taught in Radio, TV, Film; and rhetoric (as
literary practice and visual arts) is taught in English. English is interested in the relationship between
the written word and the visual image, between rhetoric and poetics.
LEARN MORE ABOU T RHETORIC
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Rhetoric (from Wikipedia)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhetor
Visual Rhetoric (from Wikipedia)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Visual_rhetoric
Silva Rhetoricae
http://humanities.byu.edu/rhetoric/silva.htm
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Relationship of English 387 to Goals for English Major
Taking this course should enable you to meet many of the Goals for the English Major. You may want
to keep a record of the ways that your work for English 387 fosters the development of these abilities,
knowledge, and attitudes, as it will be useful for your final portfolio.
Abilities
1. The ability to read a familiar or an unfamiliar text in any of several genres and from any of
several cultural or historical origins.
2. The ability to write interpretive essays about various kinds of texts in clear, accurate, and
effective prose.
3. The ability to use reading and writing to address a wide variety of topics, problems, and
issues.
4. The ability to articulate a critically informed, carefully reasoned position.
5. The ability to find (in a textbook, library, or elsewhere) the kinds of information that are
relevant to the problem or issue being addressed.
6. The ability to write and respond creatively.
7. The ability to compare and contrast and to find patterns in texts.
8. The ability to revise one's own work and edit the work of others.
Knowledge
1. Knowledge of the issues/debates central to English studies.
2. Knowledge of a range of literary, rhetorical, critical, and/or cultural approaches to textual
analysis.
3. Knowledge of changes in audience/text relationships.
Attitudes
1. Recognition of the personal and social importance of reading as a complex and culturally
significant act.
2. Recognition of the personal and social importance of writing well in a variety of situations.
3. Recognition of the importance of metaphorical thinking.
4. Recognition of the importance of analysis and critical reflection as activities both required
and enabled by language.
5. Recognition of the interdependence of all the dimensions of language activity--reading,
writing, listening, speaking, and thinking.
Book Purchases / Required Readings
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The Elements of Visual Analysis, Marguerite Helmers
Understanding Comics, Scott McCloud
Maus I and II, Art Spiegelman
Articles on E Reserve & D2L
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Writing Assignments
September 16
September 30
Ongoing: September 23-November 4
October 28
November 11
November 25
December 2
Visual Persuasion: Analysis of an Advertisement
Critical Viewing: The Living Room Candidate
Bag News Notes / American Signs blog responses
Annotated Bibliography for Final Essay
Critical Reading: Maus
Understanding Comics: Maus
Final Essay
 Visual Persuasion: Analysis of an Advertisement. 10%. Length: 1000 words. Use the rubric found
on D2L. Select a print advertisement to analyze. Due September 16.
 Critical Viewing: The Living Room Candidate. 10%. Using the website The Living Room Candidate
(linked on D2L), compose full answers to questions 1, 2, 3 and a short essay response (500 words) to
question 4. Complete assignment sheet on D2L. Due September 30.
 Bag News Notes. 10%. Michael Shaw, creator of the political analysis blog Bag News Notes
(http://bagnewsnotes.typepad.com/bagnews/), daily posts images from the press with short
commentaries. You may link to “The Bag” through D2L; you will respond to the images using the
Discussion area of D2L from September 23 and November 4 (the election). In addition, I will post
other images at American Signs (http://americansigns.blogspot.com/). We will also be discussing Bag
News Notes and other visual political blogs in class. You are responsible for posting thoughtful
commentary each week; as The Bag changes daily, you can always find something intriguing on it!
 Critical Reading: Maus. 10%. Prepare a summary and critique of a critical article on Maus from a
peer-reviewed, authoritative source. Length: 750 words. Attach a copy of the article. Head your paper
with a citation in MLA format. Due November 11.
 Understanding Comics: Maus. 10%. Apply one idea from Scott McCloud’s Understanding Comics
to the composition of Maus. Include a copy of the frame or page (scan or photocopy) with your
analysis. Length: 1000 words. Due November 25.
 Final Visual Research Project. 30%. The purpose of the research paper is to synthesize diverse
points of view into a coherent statement. Research asks you to manage, interpret, and validate
information; to connect ideas; and to formulate and defend your own views. Therefore, it is critical
that you work with databases of information to enhance your information literacy.
There are two components to this final Visual Research Project; some are graded separately:
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Written and Illustrated Analytical Text, based on an image or series of images of your
own choice. This must include research and must involve a critical position on the image.
The text should be approximately 2500 words. 30%. Due December 2.
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Annotated Bibliography of some of the resources you will use to complete your work.
The works on the Annotated Bibliography must be peer-reviewed. You will find that you
will have to “think laterally” to find sources. The Written and Illustrated Analytical Text
must substantially discuss the peer-reviewed works on the bibliography. 10%. Due
October 28.
Attendance
I expect you to attend all class sessions. If you are unable to attend, I ask that you explain to me why
you will not be in class. For medical absences, please supply a dated, signed excuse from a doctor.
After 3 missed hours of class (one full class period), your final grade will be lowered on a percentage
basis: number of class hours missed divided by 42 class hours per semester (and this will include all
absences).
 Participation in class includes contributing to discussions, bringing books and other materials, and
taking part in any online discussions. Calculated into final grade: 10%
Late Papers
All assignments are due to the D2L dropbox by midnight on the date specified. The box will close and
I will not take a paper through email attachment except for exceptional circumstances. Images may
be uploaded separately, embedded in the text, or handed in as paper or print photocopies. In
exceptional circumstances, such as documented illness, I will accept a late paper.
Late Persons
While there are no bells in college, class begins at the time listed in the timetable. You may be late
once due to weather; however, repeatedly walking into class late will affect your final grade: it is not
constructive, it is disrespectful, and it interferes with students' ability to learn in a conducive and
positive environment. Announcements, such as changes to the schedule, clarification of essay
assignments, and announcements of English Department and campus events, are made in the first-10
minutes of class. Missing these will impair your ability to succeed.
Plagiarism
Plagiarism is a punishable offence, covered by the university rules. I can tell when your writing is not
your own and the university now subscribes to Turnitin, which is an authentication tool for all
essays. In addition, all essays must be original, which means that, even if you work with someone in
class, you should ensure that you turn in individual writing and research. Even duplicated sentences
between essays is considered an infringement of the academic honesty codes. We will discuss writing
and plagiarism in this class. In the meantime, if you have any doubts about how to properly cite
research, talk to me before you write.
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Writing Center
The Writing Center will help you conceptualize your essays (for this class and others). The Writing
Center is not a proofreading or editing service. All Writing Center services are free, but you need to
schedule an appointment. The Writing Center is located in the basement of Radford Hall. The phone
number is 424-1152; you may also email them at wcenter@uwosh.edu.
“Afghan Girl,” Sharbat Gula, Peshawar, Pakistan, Steve McCurry (1984)
At the Nasir Bagh refugee camp in 1984, Gula's picture was taken by National Geographic photographer
Steve McCurry on Kodachrome color slide film. Gula was one of the students in an informal school within
the refugee camp; McCurry, rarely given the opportunity to photograph Afghan women, seized the
opportunity and captured her image. She was approximately 13 years old at the time.
Although her name was not known, her picture, titled "Afghan Girl", appeared on the June 1985 cover of
National Geographic. The image of her face, with a red scarf draped loosely over her head and with her
piercing sea-green eyes staring directly into the camera, became a symbol both of the 1980s Afghan
conflict and of the refugee situation worldwide. The image itself was named "the most recognized
photograph" in the history of the magazine. (Wikipedia)
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Daily Syllabus
September 9: Introduction, What is Visual Rhetoric?
September 16: Visual Persuasion
READ: Helmers, Chapters 1 & 2, The Elements of Visual Analysis
READ: Roland Barthes, "The Rhetoric of the Image" (E Reserve)
READ: Amelia Wolff, “Smoke Screens: The Rhetoric of Cigarette Advertisements in America During World
War II” (D2L)
 DUE: Written Analysis of Advertisement
September 23: The Marlboro Man
READ: Jerry Beegan, "Imperial Vagueness" (D2L)
READ: BagNews Notes on Army Marlboro Man: respond via American Signs
READ: “Advertising Strategy,” from Media Politics: A Citizen's Guide
(http://pcl.stanford.edu/common/docs/research/iyengar/2007/mp-excerpt.pdf)
September 30: Politics & Advertising
READ: Strachan and Kendall, "Political Candidates' Convention Films" (EReserve)
 DUE: The Living Room Candidate assignment
Ongoing: Respond to blog images via American Signs
October 7: American Icons I
READ: Excerpts from No Caption Needed: Introduction (1-24); Public Culture, Icons, and Iconoclasts (2548); Performing Civic Identity (93-136); Trauma and Public Memory (171-207) (EReserve)
Ongoing: Respond to blog images via American Signs
October 14: American Icons II--Celebrity
READ: David Samuels “Shooting Britney,” Altantic: www.theatlantic.com/doc/200804/britney-spears
READ: S. Paige Baty, “In Medias Res” and “Ecce Signum” from American Monroe (EReserve)
Ongoing: Respond to blog images via American Signs
October 21: Abu Ghraib
READ: Erroll Morris, Standard Operating Procedure, Chapters 8, 9, 12. (EReserve)
READ: Holly Edwards, “Cover to Cover: the Life Cycle of an Image in Contemporary Visual Culture”
(EReserve)
READ: Susan Sontag on Abu Ghraib images from Regarding the Pain of Others (EReserve)
Ongoing: Respond to blog images via American Signs
October 28: Standard Operating Procedure
Screen: Standard Operating Procedure
 DUE: Proposal & Annotated Bibliography for Final Essay
Ongoing: Respond to blog images via American Signs
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November 4: Presidential Election
Election Coverage
Ongoing: Respond to blog images via American Signs
November 11: Maus I
READ: Maus I
 DUE: Find one critical article on Maus, print, summarize
November 18: Understanding Comics
READ: Understanding Comics, Chapter 1-4
Bring in your own comics to analyze
November 25: Understanding Comics
READ: Understanding Comics, Chapter 5-9
 DUE: Application of McCloud's theories to Maus
December 2: Maus II
READ: Maus II
 DUE: Final Essays
December 9: Synthesis
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This syllabus produced August 11, 2008. Dates subject to change.