Defusing Controversial Topics: Visual Semiotics in an Atlantic Canadian Textbook

• Published in: Discourse and Writing/Rédactologie
• Main Author: Tracy Whalen
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English; French
• Published: Canadian Association for the Study of Discourse and Writing 2002
• Subjects: Discourse analysis; P302-302.87; Newfoundland
• Online Access: https://doaj.org/article/737641ca5ef64fcea8a74eb306a7a7bf

Drawing upon Gunther Kress' and Theo van Leeuwen's work on the meta functional grammar of visual design, this paper studies how visual se-lections 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 (specifi-cally modality choices) and how low-modality, artistic renderings of conflict effectively make it a site of speculation rather than engagement. It then analy-ses the ideational work of the visuals and suggests that conceptual (and not narrative) representations invite a generic rather than specific understand-ing 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.