The Illustrated Page: Medieval Manuscripts to New Media

Content Objectives

This unit as whole has varied objectives. Part one sets out with three main objectives; part two continues those but also focuses more intently on improving visual, media and linguistic literacy. Part one sets the stage for the unit and the year with goals such as defining what reading and literacy are, establishing and identifying the interplay and synergy of text and image, assessing students’ current level of multiple literacies, and making a connection between how humans have read in the past and how they read now. Part two aims to improve students’ multiple literacies by analyzing the evolution of the text and image relationship throughout literary history, keeping the Statement of Inquiry and essential questions constantly in mind.

Part One: Introductory Portion of Unit

The introductory portion of this unit is going to set the framework for the whole year. However, this portion of the unit could most definitely be used in isolation as a visual or media literacy unit to address the Common Core State Standards or various state standards on reading and writing. It is very important that this portion of the unit (whether standing alone or together with the next portion) inform students on the importance of reading images and paying close attention to the interplay and synergy between image and text. Both the interplay and synergy of the image-text relationship are important; the ability to comprehend, synthesize and analyze an image-text is what builds the multiple literacies.

Both Establishing & Identifying Interplay & Synergy in the Text Image Relationship

In this first part of the unit, it will pay dividends to have some discussion with your students about how they define reading, writing and literacy. Traditional thoughts on what literacy is (the ability to read and write grouped alphabetic characters) need to be aired with your students. Primarily, this is so you can break down the walls of traditional literacy and introduce the concept of other literacies. Our students come to us with varied ability levels and distorted views on their literacy abilities. We have all heard them say “I am not a good reader” or “I am a math and science person” or variations of those statements. I think it is a worthwhile activity to discuss and define “literacy” with them. Then, identify what they think of the various types of literacies--media, visual, and linguistic. Furthermore, find out what their experience with image-text compilations consist of--comics, graphic novels, memes, various forms of art, etc.--and get those experiences out into the classroom. Image-texts come to us in various content areas. For example, it might be a worthy inclusion to discuss scientific charts and other ways information is visually displayed in the math, science, and history departments. Charts on standardized tests are often areas of difficulty for our students.

Once the air is full of their ideas about literacy and/or what it means to read, the dialogue on images and texts can really start. As I will explain further in the Classroom Activities section, starting the unit off with the picture of “The Treachery of Images” by René Magritte from 1929 projected on the board is a great jumping off point. It will force them to identify what they trust or are more inclined to read first--text or image? This will open up a dialogue on the interplay of text and image. What is the reciprocal relationship between the words and the image on the screen? As a side note, there is much written on this by WJT Mitchell and Michael Focault and more if you are interested. Most of these texts are above a high schooler’s level but could be helpful to deepen the teacher’s understanding.

Scott McCloud uses this painting in his book Understanding Comics when he discusses iconology. Is it a pipe? Or is it a picture of a pipe? Or, in this case, is it a projection of my computer which has a .jpeg of Magritte’s painting displayed? The discrepancy between what students see in the image and what they read in the text brings up practical questions about which they give more credit--what is the image telling them versus what the text is telling them? In addition, there are more philosophical questions about authorial/artistic intention--what is Magritte conveying to us with the title and contradictory messages? According to McCloud, the iconological stance would argue it simply is not a pipe.⁵ McCloud’s work includes many published articles and online resources at http://scottmccloud.com, which are a great teacher resource to read and reference when beginning to teach text and image. Beginning with this activity makes students think about the active influences, or interplay, between text and image. The words “Ceci n'est pas une pipe” are actively engaging with the image that at first glance many would identify as a pipe. Both the complementary and at times contradictory relationship between image and text can be helpful when analyzing. Further, I would argue that the complementary aspect of this relationship is highlighted well in the synergy between the two.

Consequently, it is important to discuss the synergy of text and image. If interplay is the reciprocal relationship between text and image, synergy is the idea that when text and image are combined they are richer than as separate entities. Their total is more than the sum of their parts. I would argue that struggling and accelerated readers alike can gain great amounts of knowledge from the image and text relationship. From images being more universal than language to the powerful effect the visual has on a person, the reasons to include the visual are endless. Our classes are full of students who learn differently--kinesthetically, audibly, visually, etc. Using images and text together to reach more learners just seems rational. This is not a new idea. By accessing students linguistic, visual, and media literacy, you are opening new avenues of analysis and hopefully critical thinking.

As long as literature has been studied, art and music have been combined with literary works to further investigate ideas, images, and concepts. Canonical works such as William Blake's Songs of Innocence and of Experience⁶ use images along with texts to intensify the effect on readers. Blake's inclusion of illustrations at times clarifies but even more I would argue it causes deeper inspection into the meaning of his poetry and the intention of the poet. For example, there is a change in the poetry from Songs of Innocence to Songs of Experience. That change is more perceptible by looking at the illustrations from the two sections. The illustrations in Innocence are brighter and more virtuous where the illustrations from Experience become somewhat darker to represent the fall from innocence. For the visual learner and/or those improving their visual literacy, these illustrations can aid immensely in analysis and enrich interpretation.

Blake's uses of illustrations with his poetry are an early example of Dawnene Hassett and Melissa Schieble's definition of text "as the cohesive whole of a document, including words, images, design and their relations".⁷ In their article "Finding Space and Time for the Visual in K-12 Literacy Instruction", they discuss the current paradigmatic and ontological shifts in literacy and education as a whole. The shifts they discuss include the influence of social or cultural practices on the text and the creations of meaning made to apply those particularly to the use of text and image together. The juxtaposition of text and image allows for "different ways of shaping knowledge, imagination and design",⁸ and if used correctly in the classroom the development and improvement of new literacies, such as visual literacy, would foster critical thinking.

Analyzing the Path Reading and Text Has Taken

Moreover, in this portion of the unit, some groundwork will be laid to explain how text and image have evolved over the years. This includes making connections between today and the past. To establish connections in the history of reading, you must connect the old works that students feel disconnected from to the image-text of social media platforms and memes they are currently so obsessed with. By using chapters of Gavin Lucas’s book The story of the emoji, an instructor can grab students’ attention by pointing out the history that links ancient hieroglyphics to the visual symbols of social media. It is important to look at the beginning of pictorial communications when discussing 21st Century emoji because of the glaring similarities. Humans began communicating in pictures thousands of years ago and now we are doing a more technologically advanced version of that same type of communication from scrolls and cave walls to iPhones and Android.

One of the main components of this content objective is to connect the past with the present. One of the most accessible entry points for that is the connection between hieroglyphics and emojis. In Lucas’s book, he explains how “40,000 years since the earliest known cave painting,” we are still “harnessing the potency of symbols” on a daily basis.⁹ As mentioned earlier, the interplay and synergy of text and image is a powerful thing. Emoji are an example of how image enriches text. When Lucas discusses the birth and history of the emoji, he points to the fact that the emoji at its earliest inception was helpful because of its universality but more for its ability to make up for the lack of person to person connection in new technologies.¹⁰ He argues that the emoji of today is what adds tone and emotion to an otherwise strictly textual message. An additional punctuation of sorts. Similarly, hieroglyphics, not hieratic the cursive language of the time, were found mostly on monuments and used more commonly in religious contexts. One could argue that these hieroglyphics, a more pictorial form, were utilized for them to communicate more effectively with their gods. Connecting with the Divine is something people throughout time have strived to do. It is an interesting element that the Egyptians used pictorial communication over textual when trying to communicate with their Gods--a coveted relationship. Why? They seemed to think it was the more connective route of communication. That theory connects with Lucas’ idea that emoji became so widely used to bridge the gap that technology left between people with these new technological advances--email, text, and the like. Making connections between the civilizations of the past and present like this is important and further cements the idea that the image-text not only has been around for a long time but is strong as ever.

There are multiple credible and free sites online to find hieroglyphic alphabets and images of the various forms of delivery that the hieroglyphics were written on--vases, cave walls, tombs, etc. By examining these with students and having them create words or sentences, you are having them work with ancient texts. Next, it would not be difficult to have the students create a story or carry on a conversation in strictly emoji.

Hieroglyphics are only the beginning of connecting the past and present of reading and text. There are various terms that we use in today’s society that are easily relatable to the past. For example, consider the media people have read on over time. From ancient scrolls to the Amazon Kindle, the act of reading has changed media but some basics remain the same. To be more specific, ancient scrolls were a very popular way to store manuscripts long ago. They were large rolls of papyrus used to write on that the reader could continuously move down or upward on to read. Today, we use the term scrolling when reading on various digital media--on a computer, a tablet, or an ebook. There are clear connections to make the students consider. How we read in the past and how we currently do have many similarities.

Additionally, I think there are comparisons between the invention of the Gutenberg printing press and the growth of social media. A very positive outgrowth of the printing press was the mass production of books. With mass production, literacy levels rose slowly as the masses had more accessibility to texts. This arguably began the democratization of knowledge for the masses as well. Although these are broad statements, students can relate to these when taken into the 21st century context of social media. Social media gives out information quickly in an unbiased manner and affords all a voice and platform for better or worse. The Gutenberg printing press mechanized and condensed printing while also creating a more common language; Twitter taught the public to express themselves in 140 characters or less. Both arguably have changed the way people communicate with one another. Moreover, Project Gutenberg is a website that gives access to free e-books and continues this democratization in the name of the influential printing press; it seems to be creating a true full technological circle. Additionally, below I will discuss the importance of visual and media literacy when teaching adolescents to be informed citizens.

When taking the time to look at the history of texts, there are many avenues to go down. I think it is important to know your audience to choose which route to take. I am teaching sophomores in high school, so I am going to try to directly tap into their lifestyles--use of emojis, social media, creative uses of different image-texts, etc. Showcasing these connections and the history is integral to the main objective of part two in the unit--creating a course thread through the whole school year in an effort to keep students engaged. At the end of this unit, the students will begin the year-long assessment explained below where they are asked to analyze how image has affected the way we analyze text throughout history.

Introduce Four Literary Criticism Lenses

At my school, we need to introduce literary criticism at the sophomore level. I will be using images to familiarize the students with feminist, Marxist, reader response, and archetypal literary criticisms. Images are much more familiar to students than the archaic language in The Canterbury Tales and some Romantic poetry. If the language immediately confuses the student, the task of discussing the text through a literary criticism lens is next to impossible. Again, I stress this is not because the image is easier; it appears easier to the adolescent. The student is still thinking critically and deeply about the image. Once the students have familiarized themselves with the basic pillars of each literary lens, we can move onto the media image-text of video--a clip from a movie, an advertisement, etc. Finally, throughout the year the students will use these modes of criticism to critique and analyze text and image together and text independently in class discussions and their writing.

This basic tenet of using a tool of analysis on an image or image-text first will open doors that previously were locked shut due to self-doubt on the students’ end. This path can be used to introduce close-reading, familiarizing literary devices, and much more.

Part Two: Thread Component throughout the Curriculum

After the introductory unit has been established, it will be possible to come back to these ideas throughout the school year at the beginning of each literary period unit. The objectives of part one continue into part two, but the focus shifts to improving students’ multiple literacies while continuing to analyze the Statement of Inquiry and the text and image relationship.

The goal is to use the first week to week and a half of each subsequent unit throughout the year as a mini image-text study. This not only introduces the literary time period in what the students see as a less threatening or daunting medium (text and image) but also continues the study of how image and text function throughout history. The latter part of that also provides a space for students to come back to their year long writing assessment. Below you will find a chart with the larger work and the introductory work for that unit.

Improving Student Multiple Literacies

To reiterate, for our purposes here we are focusing on how students need to develop multiple literacies in the literature (and across the curriculum) classroom. Earlier, we defined visual literacy as being able to “effectively find, interpret, evaluate, use and create images and visual media”¹¹ and media literacy as the ability to critically evaluate various forms of media which include both text and image. Similar to the Center for Media Literacy’s definition of media literacy, Nicole Beatty states in her article “Cognitive Visual Literacy: From Theories and Competencies to Pedagogy”, that developing and improving students’ visual literacy is becoming increasingly important in the 21st Century.¹² As I mentioned earlier, the students of today’s world are surrounded by the visual and inundated with various forms of media. They are digesting image and text in quick and sometimes careless manners.

W. J. T. Mitchell discusses the importance of the image-text in his article “Against Comparison: Teaching Literature and the Visual Art”. He takes time to discuss how we encounter media that ask us to navigate and question text and image on a daily basis. The simplest of these is the newspaper where the reader should be able to analyze the juxtaposition of photojournalism and journalism. He says that the public needs to know how to evaluate these “ordinary experiences before moving on to elaborate” and more complex text image relationships. Mitchell insists we need to ask why a picture of the president getting off his plane juxtaposed next to a news story about sending troops abroad. Mitchell asks, “Is the photograph there to be seen with any attention? Is it important how the president looked that particular day or how the picture was taken? Or is the picture scarcely seen at all, merely registered the way the presence of a signature or trademark might be noticed, as a sign that the president is alive and well?”¹³ A large part of this unit is preparing our students to answer questions such as these. How can we expect students to mature into informed, voting citizens without the ability to decode, investigate, and evaluate messages like these?

Earlier, I discussed how social media platforms have changed the way that people communicate with one another for the better I would argue. First, the widespread dissemination of news and information on social media is such an important and powerful force in our society. I compared it to the democratization of knowledge that the Gutenberg printing press created in the 15th century. With that said, students need to be able to digest all this information and sort through it for truth and falsehoods. Our students exist in a world where social media is everywhere in all facets of life--public, private, and political. Students need to be able to critically evaluate and analyze the text and images coming at them. If you take a moment to list the ways information is disseminated today, social media is at the top of the list. Many parts of those transmissions are in text and image or graphics. From Facebook to Twitter to Instagram, information is being rapidly fired off. Some are pictorially based and some equally image and text heavy. These social media platforms are very influential. The impact the image-text has on people is growing in society; yet, are we preparing our students to effectively comprehend, analyze, and make judgments about the information being disseminated?

The Center for Media Literacy published a YouTube video titled “What is Media Literacy?” in January of 2017 where they insisted that all young people should be able to answer five questions about any piece of media they digest. The questions explored authorship, audience profiles, intention and more.¹⁴ The video makes you consider how important it is to more deeply analyze the media messages society is exposed to. This is a part of why this unit is important; do our students critically analyze the media they digest or even create? It is not all that different than the analysis we do in the literature classroom.

Figure  Row 1: Hillary Clinton’s tweet Row 2: Jeb Bush’s response & Clinton’s counter. Row 3: Two tweets by followers.

Specifically, in “Did Social Media Ruin Election 2016,”¹⁵ Sam Sanders discusses the effects graphics had on constituents on both sides of the aisle. First, he mentions that even platforms that started as majority text based (i.e. Twitter) have changed their original programming to include graphics, images, websites, and the like. This requires the public to navigate the text and image relationship while absorbing information that could potentially sway their presidential vote. To be more specific, Sanders cites a specific “Twitter war” (Figure 1) between Hillary Clinton and Jeb Bush’s campaigns. They used a series of graphic images rich with text to attack the other’s campaign on their stance and/or record on student loans for college students. Underneath the tweets are responses from private citizens making similar graphic images. The public needs the tools to digest this information. Students need to have a strong visual and media literacy to navigate the world around them. This unit is going to improve students’ multiple literacies. By analyzing the image-text throughout history, the students will learn to more critically investigate images and text alike.