Channels, Fall 2016

Channels • 2016 • Volume 1 • Number 1 Page 61 infographics. In his study, Kimball observed that people responded positively to in- fographics that made social problems seem small and solvable rather than complex and dif- ficult. Visual Rhetoric and Social Change Without even mentioning the powerful changes brought about by the different historical instances of propaganda, visuals have often brought about social change, some after text failed to do the job. Broadly, Paradis (2004) quotes Barton and Barton (2004, 253) who say that visual representations as a whole are “social-control mechanisms linked to power and authority.” Propen (2007) follows this claim and says that many previous instances, specifi- cally of maps, have had significant persuasive power. As Brasseur (2005) notes, Florence Nightingale worked with statistics, but she did not view these statistics as mere numbers. She viewed them as pieces of information that, if presented in the right way, would lead to a very beneficial social change. Similarly, Kimball (2006) discusses how Charles Booth envi- sioned and then instigated social change with his colored maps showing the poverty of London. Propen (2007) shows how a map produced by the National Resources Defense Council (NRDC) promoted an environmental campaign to protect a population of marine mammals. In a situation apart from maps, Ponnivalavan (2015) looks to film, specifically two films that depict the problem of rape in Indian culture. The main point of these films, Ponnivalavan argues, is to promote social change in India. Driskell (2004) links the change-inflicting power of the visual to its importance in the workplace, saying that visual communication contributes to the overall survival and flour- ishing of organizational contexts in our society. Salinas (2002), without much ado, simply advocates for us to recognize how images affect our social and cultural worlds. Kimball (2006, 360) says powerfully, “We should not underestimate the power of this visual rheto- ric on its viewers.” Visual Rhetoric and Pedagogy While everyone agrees about the importance of education, some scholars have specific ideas of how to transfer learning from one generation to the next. Furthermore, individuals place value on different aspects of education when it comes to visual rhetoric. Brumberger (2010), for example, believes that students should be taught to be visually-literate citizens by giving them opportunities to interpret, criticize, evaluate, and produce images. Driskell (2004) enforces this idea with the assertion that students should analyze rhetorical situa- tions in order to better understand the relationship between them and the culture from which they originated. Brumberger (2010) further argues that we cannot confuse being technologically literate to being visually literate. In other words, students should be taught to use tools, but this should not be the end goal. Portewig (2004) agrees, stating that the emphasis on visual-lit- eracy should be a primary, not a secondary focus in education.