• Corpus ID: 55367366

Visual Semiotics in an Atlantic Canadian Textbook

@inproceedings{Malen2016VisualSI,
  title={Visual Semiotics in an Atlantic Canadian Textbook},
  author={Tracy Malen},
  year={2016}
}

• Tracy Malen
• Published 2016
• Art, Sociology

Drawing upon Gunther Kress' and Theo van Leeuwen's work on the meta functional grammar of visual design, this paper studies how visual selections in an Atlantic Canadian social studies textbook deflect attention from the political, particularly in sections narrating contentious events. Looking closely at one section from the book, '~ Focus On Fine Art," this discussion first examines visual realizations in the interpersonal metafunction (specifically modality choices) and how low-modality, artistic renderings of conflict effectively make it a site of speculation rather than engagement. It then analyses the ideational work of the visuals and suggests that conceptual (and not narrative) representations invite a generic rather than specific understanding of, in this case, forced relocation in Newfoundland. Finally, the paper studies the organizational choices of visuals in the book and, focussing on the before and after picture, proposes a new visual phenomenon-the visual ergative-for understanding how visual selections can sidestep important questions of agency and power. The paper ends by situating visual analysis within a larger project of critical literacy and everyday practice.