The Current Condition of Visual Communication in Colleges and Universities of the United States

Abstract

This paper is a discussion of the current condition of visual communication in American colleges and universities. In doing so, it analyzes the importance of visual communication and the unique epistemic power it possesses, and describes to what extent current academic practice has learned the lessons of the past so that it has become well equipped to deal with current needs in modem colleges and universities in the US. Particularly examined is the effectiveness of visual aids and computer-aided instruction. Besides, this paper also explains that visual communication is a dialogicalprocess where the way students perceive and understand their environment is influenced by their knowledge and experience of visual communication, and that visual intelligence has become a central part of academic culture. Finally, this paper provides some insights on the visual in American college classrooms for the decades to come.