Editorial

Abstract

Increasingly the conventional boundaries of academic disciplines are being crossed. No longer do we need to restrict ourselves to particular viewpoints or methodologies in order to analyse, interpret and understand the visual world around us. Rather, by exploring the potential that is found when disciplines cross over (or, sometimes, collide!), new ways of looking and seeing emerge. It was with this basic premise that Visual Communication was begun. As editors we came to the field from a range of different disciplinesfine art, design, media, sociology, semiotics and linguistics. Despite these different backgrounds we shared many of the same enthusiasms, interests and concerns. Where we had differences and disagreements we often found them productive in bringing about new ways of thinking about visual communication. It is this spirit we hope to make visible in our journal: shared interests and concerns, distinctly different voices and approaches.Interdisciplinary work is not unique to visual communication, but it is nevertheless particularly common in the field, perhaps in part because within many of the most relevant traditional academic disciplines (anthropology, sociology, education, linguistics, etc.) it has, at least until now, been a relatively marginal concern. All the more reason for those who work in visual communication against the background of these various disciplines to work together. In this editorial we want to highlight three areas in particular: the field of language and communication, the field of design theory and practice, and the field of visual anthropology and sociology.For many people working in the field of language and communication, visual communication has now become of central relevance. In this context, an interest in language as an autonomous object has moved to an interest in communication, in texts and communicative acts as social and cultural

Understanding social network sites: lessons from MySpace

“…Jewitt et al (2002) state that communication is essentially ‘multimodal’ and should therefore be studied in such a way. Multimodal analysis acknowledges different layers of communication without over-emphasising one dimension over another (see Bezemer and Jewitt, 2009; Jewitt, 2009).…”

“…However, this work has been criticised for the way it views the visual as a supplementary function of the spoken communication (see Bohnsack, 2008;Norris, 2002). Jewitt et al (2002) state that communication is essentially 'multimodal' and should therefore be studied in such a way. Multi-modal analysis accepts different layers of communication without overemphasising one dimension or another (see Bezemer and Jewitt, 2009;Jewitt, 2009).…”

Visual communication: mobilizing perspectives

“…Throughout we will adopt a broad view of the visual, including still and moving images, graphic designs, visual phenomena such as fashion, professional vision, posture and interaction, the built and landscaped environment, and last but not least, multimodality; that is, the interaction between visual communication and other modes of communication such as language, music, sound and action. (Jewitt et al, 2002: 7–8)…”

‘Zombies ahead!’ A study of how hacked digital road signs destabilize the physical space of roadways

“…In the editorial to the first issue of Visual Communication , Carey Jewitt et al (2002: 6) conclude that ‘visual communication research (indeed any form of communication research) needs to be set in the context of social and cultural theory to be practically and critically relevant, and therefore needs sociology and anthropology.’ Thus the interdisciplinary of visual communication research facilitates ‘the critical investigation of important aspects of social and cultural life’ (p. 7). As visual communication research involves the description of semiotic resources, i.e.…”

“…This article draws on the diverse field of visual communication research, which permeates a wide range of fields such as anthropology, sociology, education and linguistics. These fields share a common interest in visual communication and its role in society (Jewitt et al, 2002: 8). Of particular relevance to the purposes of this article is the focus on the relationship between sign and place, as discussed by, for example Ronald Scollon and Suzanne Scollon.…”