Emm's Digital Library

The reading that I wanted to revisit was Outlines of a Theory of Visual Argument by David Birdsell and Leo Groarke. The first time I read this piece, I remember not reading it very thoroughly because I was fairly busy. There was also a fair amount of jargon that I was confused on what meant; like ‘pragma-dialectics’ and ‘visual propositions’. The first time around, I guess I wasn’t fully sure how this was seen in everyday life and communication. Reading it now and more in depth, I think it’s more clear just how relevant this is within our multimodal world. The second time reading has it made it much easier to see how visuals are making claims, even with little to no words being said. The authors argue that visuals that argue simply through design, placement, and cultural signals, which is something that can be seen in daily practices, especially now.

When I’m scrolling through my social media, Instagram or Tiktok, I notice how images and thumbnails are used as visual flags, drawing me in and grabbing my attention through only the first glance. When it comes to my major, I see this theory in practice constantly through book covers. I would even argue that sometimes the cover of the book argues better for the novel than it’s blurb on the backside. The imagery on the front is what initially draws the readers in and puts them in a certain intellectual or emotional headspace before they even read the book. This concept I think is especially relevant now with the amount of our lives that exists online. There are too many times to count of how many single photos I’ve seen through my life of photos that carry more meaning than words ever could. I think of protest photos from recent protests, or photos from Gaza and how powerfully these images portray resistance and survival.

Going back and revisiting this essay was helpful in reminding me how intrinsically arguments fall into art and our daily lives, impacting how we navigate our identities and belonging. Because of this reading, thinking of arguments as visual changes the ways that I consume media in my social life, making me pause and question the intentions behind what this media is trying to make me feel or believe.