Exploration of the various ways news is visualized and how to analyze, understand, interpret and select news imagery. A critical evaluation of media images from a theoretical perspective, with emphasis on the ethical, credible, cultural and social aspects of visual news in its various forms.
Additional Requirements for Graduate Students: Evaluation of graduate students differs significantly from that of undergraduate students. Not only will graduate students be assigned more readings and additional projects, but they will also be graded with higher expectations than undergraduate students. Specifically, graduate students will be assigned additional research or applied project depending upon the discretion of the instructor. Research projects may involve secondary research reviews and synthesis, whereas primary research studies will involve collection and analysis of data. Applied projects will consist of an original professional-level project delivered as a written report and/or oral presentation.
Athena Title
Visual News Literacy
Equivalent Courses
Not open to students with credit in JOUR 5520E or JOUR 7520E
Undergraduate Prerequisite
Permission of department
Graduate Prerequisite
Permission of department
Grading System
A - F (Traditional)
Student learning Outcomes
Students will analyze and critique visual messages using multiple theoretical frameworks to understand how meaning is constructed through media images.
Students will understand how we physically, and socially "see," incorporating theories of visual perception and communication to interpret news imagery.
Students will critically evaluate how visual news media represent people, events, and cultures, with emphasis on ethical responsibility, cultural awareness, and the power dynamics embedded in visual storytelling.
Topical Outline
How We See
The science of seeing: physiology, cognition, and attention
The psychology of perception: emotion, memory, and visual bias
Seeing as a social act: identity, culture, and worldview
Visual perception in a digital attention economy
Theories of Visual Communication
Frameworks to interpret how images convey meaning and shape public understanding
People, Places, and the Visual News Narrative
How visual news media shape public understanding of events, cultures, and communities
Patterns of visual depiction, visual tropes, stereotypes
Iconic images and their cultural afterlives
How audiences make meaning from images in different contexts
Visual Judgment and the Ethics of Selection
Editorial responsibility, power, and trust in the process of choosing what images the public sees
Image selection as editorial power: gatekeeping in visual journalism
Framing through omission: what isn’t shown and why it matters
Ethical considerations in curating sensitive imagery
Visual misinformation: manipulation, AI, and miscontextualization
Credibility, skepticism, and the future of visual truth
Institutional Competencies Learning Outcomes
Analytical Thinking
The ability to reason, interpret, analyze, and solve problems from a wide array of authentic contexts.
Critical Thinking
The ability to pursue and comprehensively evaluate information before accepting or establishing a conclusion, decision, or action.
Social Awareness & Responsibility
The capacity to understand the interdependence of people, communities, and self in a global society.
