Visual Rhetoric in the Curriculum

Abstract

A survey of BizCom listserv subscribers suggests that visual rhetoric receives relatively little attention within business communication curricula. Results indicate that programs typically do not require a course in visual rhetoric, and on average, 20% or less of teaching in undergraduate courses is dedicated to visual communication. The findings suggest that business communication curricula may not adequately prepare students for the multimodal communication tasks they are likely to encounter in the workplace, particularly those tasks that rely on knowledge of visual rhetoric. Possible solutions include adding courses, integrating visual communication more deeply into existing courses, contextualizing existing design projects to ensure they are more than software exercises, and incorporating visual communication into other typical course projects.