Technical Communication Quarterly Jan 1996

Ethics and Visual Rhetorics: Seeing's Not Believing Anymore

Nancy Allen

Abstract

When working with graphics and illustrations, technical communicators face ethical questions at almost every step. The visual rhetorics available offer help with evaluating visual components but little guidance on ethical issues. This article presents examples of ethical conflicts, describes some of the prominent visual rhetorics, and discusses ethical issues that need to be addressed. Some steps for improving ethical awareness related to graphics and illustrations are suggested.

Journal
Technical Communication Quarterly
Published
1996-01-01
DOI
10.1207/s15427625tcq0501_6
CompPile
Open Access
Closed
Topics
technical communication multimodality
Export
BibTeX RIS

Citation Context

Cited by in this index (13)

  1. Kong (2025)
    Visualizing Flint Lead Contamination Risks: Building a Critical Rhetorical Risk…
    Communication Design Quarterly
  2. Winkle (2024)
    Between the Lines: Visual Euphemism in Technical and Professional Communication…
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  3. Fanning (2023)
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  4. DeTora et al. (2023)
    Introduction to the Special Issue on Visual Communication and Visual Literacy (…
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  5. Fanning (2022)
    Communicating an Outbreak: The Visual Genres of Zika Virus Reports
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Show all 13 →
  1. Welhausen (2022)
    Precarious Data: Crack, Opioids, and Enacting a Social Justice Ethic in Data Vi…
    IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication
  2. Welhausen (2018)
    Toward a Topos of Visual Rhetoric: Teaching Aesthetics Through Color and Typography
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  3. Ross (2017)
    The Role of Ethics, Culture, and Artistry in Scientific Illustration
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  4. Rawlins et al. (2014)
    Agency and Interactive Data Displays: Internet Graphics as Co-Created Rhetorica…
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  5. Buehl (2014)
    Toward an Ethical Rhetoric of the Digital Scientific Image: Learning From the E…
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  6. Ross (2013)
    Common Topics and Commonplaces of Environmental Rhetoric
    Written Communication
  7. Ward (2010)
    The Ethic of Exigence: Information Design, Postmodern Ethics, and the Holocaust
    Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  8. Dombrowski (2000)
    Ethics and Technical Communication: The Past Quarter Century
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication

References (3)

  1. Andrews, Malcolm. The Search for the Picturesque: Landscqpe Aesthetics and Tourism in Britain, 1760-1800. Sta…
  2. Barton F. (1985)
    Technical Writing Teacher
  3. Berger, A. A. Seeing Is Believing: An Introduction to Visual Communicution. Mountain View, CA: Mayfield Pub. …
CrossRef global citation count: 23 View in citation network → Build reading path →

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