Visual Literacy » (1st Edition)

What does it mean to be visually literate? Does it mean different things in the arts and the sciences? In the West, in Asia, or in developing nations? If we all need to become "visually literate," what does that mean in practical terms? The essays gathered here examine a host of issues surrounding "the visual," exploring national and regional ideas of visuality and charting out new territories of visual literacy that lie far beyond art history, such as law and chemistry. With an afterword by Christopher Crouch, this groundbreaking collection brings together the work of major art and visual studies scholars and critics to explore what impact the new concept of "visual literacy" will have on the traditional field of art history.

Contributors: Matthias Bruhn, Vera Dünkel, Jonathan Crary, Christopher Crouch, Peter Dallow, James Elkins, Henrik Enquist, W.J.T. Mitchell, Richard K. Sherwin, Susan Shifrin, Jon Simons, Barbara Maria Stafford, William Washabaugh

Preface vii

Introduction: The Concept of Visual Literacy, and Its Limitations James Elkins 1

1 Visual Literacy or Literary Visualcy? W. J. T. Mitchell 11

Four Fundamental Concepts of Image Science W. J. T. Mitchell 14

2 The Remaining 10 Percent: The Role of Sensory Knowledge in the Age of the Self-Organizing Brain Barbara Maria Stafford 31

3 Nineteenth-Century Visual Incapacities Jonathan Crary 59

4 From Visual Literacy to Image Competence Jon Simons 77

5 The Visual Complex: Mapping Some Interdisciplinary Dimensions of Visual Literacy Peter Dallow 91

6 Visual Literacy in North American Secondary Schools: Arts-Centered Learning, the Classroom, and Visual Literacy Susan Shifrin 105

7 Philosophical Bases for Visual Multiculturalism at the College Level William Washabaugh 129

8 Bridging the Gap between Clinical and Patient-Provided Images Henrik Enquist 145

9 The Image as Cultural Technology Matthias Bruhn Vera Dunkel 165

10 Visual Literacy in Action: "Law in the Age of Images" Richard K. Sherwin 179

Afterword Christopher Crouch 195

Photo Credits 205

Index 209