Journal of Technical Writing and Communication Jan 2000

Influence of Burke and Lessing on the Semiotic Theory of Document Design: Ideologies and Good Visual Images of Documents

Daniel D. Ding Ferris State University

Abstract

The syntactic aspect of semiotic theory, especially its “aesthetic principle,” is very influential in document design theories and practices. It has its roots in Burke's and Lessing's gender-related theories of images. Thus, it is laden with ideologies: it embodies our patriarchal attitudes and our iconophobia. Employing the semiotic theory in document design, we are making choices to reinforce the gender-related ideology in Burke's and Lessing's theories. It is time for us to re-conceive the “aesthetic principle” by de-emphasizing it and to adopt the reconciliation approach to design effective documents targeted at various rhetorical situations.

Journal
Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
Published
2000-01-01
DOI
10.2190/0bqk-q321-0v49-96gt
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Topics
modern rhetorical theory rhetorical criticism multimodality gender and writing
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Citation Context

Cited by in this index (3)

  1. Sánchez (2017)
    The Roles of Technical Communication Researchers in Design Scholarship
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  2. Zhang (2016)
    Illustrating Beauty and Utility: Visual Rhetoric in Two Medical Texts Written i…
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  3. Moran et al. (2012)
    A Bibliography of Works Published in the History of Professional Communication …
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication

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CrossRef global citation count: 5 View in citation network → Build reading path →

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