Description
We are living in an increasingly visual age. As we find ourselves constantly exposed to information from a variety of sources, visuality is playing an important role in our lives and this is likely to accelerate in future as a result of technological developments especially. Visual cues in a variety of forms can have a huge impact on the persuasive power of communication. Whether they appear alone or, as is often the case, accompanied by text, they can inform whether or not we find a particular message convincing. Despite their increasing importance and relevance, visuals are often still treated as secondary to the persuasive power of text. This panel brings together a variety of papers that take visuality seriously and traces – in the broadest terms – the operation of power. The panel explores themes of place including urbanism and digital space, communications by political leadership and organisations such as militaries, experiences of violence in anti-colonial environments and how conflict is memorialised in the construction of nationalism. The panel showcases a wide variety of topics and approaches to engender dialogue about how we might understand and research the politics and power of visuality.
