Pedagogia visuale / Visual Pedagogy

Over the twentieth century, visual anthropology and visual sociology defined a way of conducting research which placed the supremacy of the written text as the only scientifically recognised form for collecting and processing empirical data in crisis, affirming the legitimacy of research into visual repertories (photographs, films, videos) deemed as “significant data” in the socio-anthropological field. We must ask why “visual pedagogy” has not developed in the same way, taking on the importance of the "educational act” as a specific object of representations. In the field of pedagogy, the visual dimension has remained substantially linked to teaching devices, with only a subsidiary function aiming to improve teaching and learning processes. This essay aims to introduce and define Visual Pedagogy as a field of study and research with images and on images which represent educational events, demonstrating their specificity and scientific consistency.