Compelling Form: Architecture as Visual Persuasion

J. Donald Ragsdale

elo 2011 · Cambridge Scholars Publishing

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Compelling Form: Architecture as Visual Persuasion is an assessment of the visual persuasiveness of buildings. It demonstrates that architecture is as capable of social influence as speeches or advertisements are and that an awareness of this influence provides an insight into buildings’ cultural roles. The book considers a diverse array of structures ranging from museums, to performance halls, to universities, to cathedrals, to governmental buildings, to palaces, and to skyscrapers.

Compelling Form is an important extension of theories of persuasion and visual communication to architecture and engineering. The book bases its assessments on the elements of visual literacy and then on the elements of architectural design to demonstrate that buildings, monuments, and even such means of commerce as bridges affect the viewer in such a way as to have social impact.

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J. Donald Ragsdale is Professor and Chair of the Department of Communication Studies at Sam Houston State University, Huntsville, Texas, USA. He holds a BA from Samford University and an MA and PhD from the University of Illinois. Professor Ragsdale is a member of the Southern States Communication Association, the National Communication Association, the International Communication Association, and the International Pragmatics Association. He is the Editor of Southern Communication Journal.