Review Cultures of Vision: Images, the Media, and the Imaginary
One issue facing writing instructors who have students browsing or composing in webbed environments is whether or not to incorporate discussion of the use of the image in webbed composition instruction, and if so, how? Questions instructors may ask themselves to clarify this issue include:
- what, after all, is an image? A photograph, painting, or work created in another medium that is scanned and digitized? The many small gifs (lines, balls, icons) that have been created and stored in various "image libraries?" Are background textures to be considered images? How does one categorize video and animation?
- how do student generated images v. those acquired from other sources fit into discussions of webbed composing? Are there differences to be considered?
- for instructional purposes, how can the relationship between image and text be defined?
- does this integration of images into webbed composition require that theories of the composing process be reconsidered?
These questions, among others, require us to think more carefully about the place of images in our courses and about the relationship we have with images.
Contact the reviewer: slang@siu.edu