Eng. 658 - Week 5 Blog 3

Kenney's article (a joy to read), concise and clear, with numerous visual examples, defines and clarifies not only visual rhetoric but verbal rhetoric as well...

Keith Kenney, in “Building Visual Communication Theory by Borrowing from Rhetoric" (2002), lays the groundwork for the somewhat new discipline of visual communication theory that can be used by critics and scholars to understand the impact of visual rhetoric. Kenny masterfully supports his position through numerous examples of images; for example, the Tienanmen Square tank photo, that have acted in rhetorical ways upon society. Kenney’s purpose is to argue and create a communication theory that combines elements of verbal and visual rhetoric so as we may have a foundation to study the effects of visual rhetoric upon all of us. Through his well-conceived and clear understanding of the topic, along with a personable style, Kenny establishes an informal relationship with his audience of critics, scholars, instructors, and students interested in understanding the impact of visual rhetoric.