Seeing Difference: Teaching Intercultural Communication through Visual Rhetoric

Designing Interculturally: Adopting a Social Justice Research Framework for “Seeing Difference”

“…These broad objectives are difficult to cover in any given course. Kostelnick (2011) narrows this feat down by using visual rhetoric. "Seeing Difference" (2011) shows instructors how to guide students through an ICC exercise using visual rhetoric.…”

“…Second, I review the literature tracing the research trajectory of technical communication and visual rhetoric which in turn helps practitioners' and scholars' works become more inclusive for intercultural audiences. I then advocate for the inclusion of a sociopolitical question based on the social justice framework of Kostelnick's (2011) suggestions. Finally, I provide a sample assignment for technical communication instructors and students using a social justice framework for intercultural technical communication and visual rhetoric to help students and practitioners better study cultures outside of their own or address culturally diverse audiences.…”

The Cultural Context for Communicating Care

“…Individuals such as Kostelnick (2011) have reviewed how cultural factors can affect perceptions of and visual communication relating to safety and risk—an extension of health and wellness—in different contexts. Bennett, Eglash, and Krishnamoorthy (2011) have extended research in culture and visual communication to develop strategies for conveying care-related activities in different cultural contexts.…”

Rhetoric of warning labels: Human figures in cross-cultural design

“…"An Isotype character is similar to a scientific formula; it is a reduced and conventionalized scheme of direct experience" (Lupton, 1986, p. 50). Modernism was founded on the ideals of universality by producing designs with clear and concise forms that were void of cultural conventions (Kostelnick, 2011). Therefore, Neurath and Arntz's representation of human forms in simple, Isotypic images were extremely economical, consisting of lines that represented the essence of man.…”

“…For the most part, each silhouette is highly modernized. Human figures in an image are typically the largest indicators of cultural orientation.A plethora of characteristics apparent in figures such as "skin tone, hands, dress, gestures, and gender roles" allude to the cultural identification of a figure(Kostelnick, 2011).However, since warning labels are using silhouetted representations of human figures, they do not emit telling characteristics such as skin tone, dress, even gender. This cross-cultural analysis will rely on the style of human figure representation as it is reflected by its culture even though the warning sign is influenced by international standards.…”