Welcome to the Course!!

Who am I? - Class/Colleague Intros

Eric Cody Smothers, Graduate assistant, PhD Candidate, Composition/Rhetoric, Harrodsburg, KY

• My Special Research Interests include visual rhetorics, iconography, and digital circulation online related to  icons, symbols, I’m interested in visuals and how they are used in marketing and advertising. I have skills with web building, infographics, and researching.

• I enjoy rock collecting, fishing, going to national parks, and reading fiction, poetry, and non-fiction.

Question for YOU: When I say "icons" what do the following images make you think of? What do they do? How do they function?

Thinking about Icons from Venngage, YouTube

There are many ways we use icons in computer-based settings, design, research and everyday use...

Areas we will cover...

Unit 1: Discourse Communities

- Understanding the skills, rhetoric, and situations that form groups of people and how they are researched and visually represented.

Unit 2: Genres Analysis: Infographics, Websites, Blogs, Social media - What is a writing genre? How can we analyze effective visual research strategies and content for studying visual content?

Unit 3: Expanding Research Investigations and Presentation

- Looking at a specific topic or area from past units, expanding the research angle and audience, building on and designing research for presentation.

Presenting an Effective Visual Research Argument

- By using primary research (e.g. posts, data visuals, images), and scholarship, you will think of the effective written and visual ways of communicating information.

Skills we will gather...

Building our understanding of Communities - what are discourse communities? How do they function? What are their goals?

Primary research skills - conducting observations, interviews, gathering and cataloguing posts, and artifacts.

Visual Design - creating and using infographic and data visual platform sites to enhance research process and reach more audiences.

Promoting research strategies for better awareness of visual content, such as icons, when something becomes "iconic" and how to utilize a better understanding of social media presence. 

Effective presentations that concentrate on marketing/advertising infographics, and data visuals to better promote a product/service or reach new audiences. 

Project 1: Discourse Communities

Part One: Discourse Community Observation Essay

Part Two: Infographic and Reflective Journal

Unit 2: Visual/Digital Genres

Part One: Genre Analysis Essay of a particular genre "artifact"

Part Two: Genre Infographic and Reflective Journal

Unit 3: Expanding/Presenting your Research

- Research Presentation and Report which BUILDS from either Project One (unit 1) or Project Two (unit 2)

-Visual Research Discussions and Importance

- Peer Response and Writing Workshops

The Personal Connections to Brands, Icons, and Public Reception...

Class Activity - Building a Network of Visual Research Colleagues

• Navigating our Canvas Course/Class Google
• In our Canvas, click on (Class Intro Slide Activity) - This will take you to our Google Slide Activity for today in our Class Google Folder so we can get to know our backgrounds, professional skills, visual/digital research skills, activities, and interests. We will share these with the class later on.

What is Rhetoric for Visual Communication?

• How can ethos, pathos, logos, kairos be applied to visual content? What does this tell us about a company, brand, icon, or the content creators? 
• How can we use rhetorical analysis (e.g. context of message, audience, design) to understand communities and their content, activities, and agendas?

From Alexander and Losh...