Pedagogical Reduction and the Power of the Image: Propaganda and the post-truth era

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Robertson, Nicola; (2020) Pedagogical Reduction and the Power of the Image: Propaganda and the post-truth era. In: Proceedings of 2nd Doctoral School Multidisciplinary Symposium. University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, p. 57. ISBN 978-1-909522-53-4

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Abstract

Purpose - It is not unfair to suggest that we live in the apex of the photographic age, where the ubiquity of technology allows for the instantaneous capture and dissemination of images across the globe. The image can be powerfully exploited to show what the creator wishes the audience to see; that which has been captured remains eternally spotlighted, while that which lies outside of the frame remains obscured. This is not dissimilar to the concept of pedagogical reduction, where the educator shows the student what they deem to be important and, consequently, obscures what is unimportant. Given the similarity between pedagogical reduction and the power of the image (to show the necessary and obscure all else); and given the use of the image as a tool of propaganda (Berger,1980) and its prominence in our post-truth society, it is pertinent to now ask whether propaganda itself can be considered pedagogical.

ORCID iDs

Robertson, Nicola ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5356-1894;
CORE (COnnecting REpositories)