ABSTRACT
The importance of visual literacy in multi-media saturated world is a central topic in rhetoric and writing studies, and an environmental focus in this area is more essential than ever. This chapter focuses on two primary elements, a visual analysis "toolkit" derived from and a continuum map of environmental ideologies. By pairing these elements together, students gain vocabulary and skills to effectively analyze visual media. Kress and van Leeuwen's methods of social semiotic analysis provide with essential tools for analyzing images. Although it is necessary to simplify their theories and exercises for the purpose of quick application, the following steps provides the initial tools to understand the message of an image in deeper ways: narrative analysis through "vectors", symbolic analysis and modalities. The exercise leads up to the first essay of the course in which students are asked to develop an argument by rhetorically analyzing an environmental image of their choice.
