Visual Culture
The Reader
- Jessica Evans - The Open University
- Stuart Hall
Visual Culture provides an invaluable resource of over 30 key statements from a wide range of disciplines, including four editorial essays which place the readings in their historical and theoretical context. Although underpinned by a focus on contemporary cultural theory, this Reader puts the study of visual culture and the rhetoric of the image at centre stage.
Divided into three parts: Cultures of the Visual; Regulating Photographic Meaning; and Looking and Subjectivity, the Reader enables students to make hitherto unmade connections between art, film and photography history and theory, history, semiotics and communications, media studies, and cultural theory.
Visual Culture sets the agenda for the study of Visual Culture and will be essential reading for researchers and students alike.
Essential seminal reading.
Used as supplementary reading to support sessions on visual culture and the imperial gaze.
This is a comprehensive and exciting collection of essays in the field of visual culture. However, the essays are too advanced for a textbook for a first year class, even though they would serve as a great resources. As such, I have put Visual Culture: A Reader on the recommended reading list, and have request a copy for the library.
Brings together many diverse writings relating to the subject and provides the student and teacher with an invaluable resource. Great foundation text in the subject of visual culture.
Visual Culture: The Reader is a comprehensive collection of essays by top scholars. It is well written and the structure of the book is clear and easy to use in course design work. To be used as obligatory reading in my course it is too broad, for visual culture is only one of the main topics in the class. However, I am going to recommend it as a source for students' course essays, and it may be the main source for those students who decide to write about visual culture. I will also recommend the book for their masters' theses. I consider the book as a valuable source for many kind of culture-related studies.
A basic text that I recommend to any student who seeks to gain an understanding of visual culture and its development. It is not easy to read for bachelor level students at our uni. But fitting for those who want to pursue the topic of convergence culture and esp visual culture. It is significant because it enables students to connect disciplinary fields and, hopefully, to reflect on what images do to us and just how they do it.
Excellent compendium of classic texts in one location.
This is a highly impressive edition of this reader which has become a classic in the field. The essays in this book range from the canonical to the contemporary. I do think that some of the chapters have been over anthologised, so perhaps future editions could consider removing works such as Benjamin's Laura Mulvey's as these appear in virtually every reader.
Excellent publication providing the key texts on visual culture. While many readers provide texts, this one seems to be able to focus on the most relevant ones, without being too narrow.