Visual Rhetoric in Election Posters A Multimodal Critical Discourse Analysis Approach

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Published: Nov 30, 2023
DOI: https://doi.org/10.14500/kujhss.v6n1y2023.pp136-159
Keywords:
Visual Rhetoric, Election Posters, Mutlimodal Critical Discourse Analysis, Visual Rhetorical Strategies

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Elham M. Qadir
Instructor, Department of English, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Koya University, Kurdistan Region, Iraq
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9677-4320

Abstract

This study upholds that the visual semiotic choices in election posters are bound to catalyze particular rhetorical repercussions; hence, it primarily purports to delve into the visual rhetorical strategies deployed in election posters to yield a favorable representation of candidates establishing their visual ethos, visual pathos and visual logos, drawing on the visual semiotic resources employed in election posters which are presumed to be a matter of strategic production and distribution. It is principally couched in the theoretical frameworks of visual rhetoric and multimodal critical discourse analysis. More precisely, the study attempts to illustrate how multimodal critical discourse analysis can be exploited to unbury the subtle ideological discourses which are disseminated, legitimated and naturalized visually in election posters and examine what rhetorical influence these discourses try to exert on the electorate. To this end, the study brings together concepts from Kress and Van Leeuwen's (1996, 2006) model of visual/multimodal semiotics and classical rhetoric, and draws on Van Leeuwen's (2008) social actor theory as well as Van Leeuwen and Wodak's (1999) recontextualization of the social practice. The study adopts an eclectic analytic interpretive qualitative approach. In particular, it explores four election posters for the Iraqi parliamentary election in Kurdistan Region in September, 2021. The results show that election posters are ideologically and programmatically designed visual atrefacts wherein various visual rhetorical strategies at the representational, interactive, and compositional levels of meaning are employed to construct a positive picture of the candidates, which in turn build up the candidates' visual ethos, pathos and logos.

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How to Cite
Qadir, E. M. . (2023) “Visual Rhetoric in Election Posters: A Multimodal Critical Discourse Analysis Approach ”, Koya University Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences, 6(1), pp. 136-159. doi: 10.14500/kujhss.v6n1y2023.pp136-159.
Issue
Vol. 6 No. 1 (2023): Issue Tenth
Section
Articles
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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Author Biography

Elham M. Qadir, Instructor, Department of English, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Koya University, Kurdistan Region, Iraq

Elham Majeed Qadir I am a lecturer and researcher at the Department of English, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Koya University. I hold PhD in English language and Linguistics/ Discourse Analysis. I have taught various subjects in my department including Phonology, Grammar, Syntax, Morphology, Linguistics, Translation, Text and Discourse Analysis, Methods of Research, Introduction to Discourse. My research interests are Discourse Analysis, Critical and Multimodal Discourse Analysis,, Rhetoric, Pragmatics, Applied Linguistics, and Translation. I am a proofreader at Koya University Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences. I have three published articles. My current project is exploring visual modality in advertisements.

References

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