Visualizations/ Visual Analogy

Writing ↔ Science Project

Conceived and developed by poet, educator and physicist Mario Petrucci,

the Writing ↔ Science Project generates new modes of cross-disciplinary dialogue.

This research aims to deliver educational resources that connect the sciences and the humanities (especially literary studies/ creative writing) inventively and productively.

CREATIVE

Writing ↔ Science

Creative Writing through Scientific Ideas

This pack deploys science as a catalyst for new work in prose or poetry, providing a first-class resource for classroom, university seminar, adult workshop or private study.

With science that is easy to grasp, the clear, step-by-step approach makes this resource eminently suitable for writers at all levels.

click here: www.mariopetrucci.com/writeideas.htm

Visual Analogy / Visualizations

(Crosstalk, Mutation, Chaos)

Bridge-building between Science and Literature via Visual Analogies

Anyone wishing to link the sciences with other disciplines would do well to explore visual analogies. The focus here is to investigate literary studies by means of attractive analogies taken principally from science and mathematics. These analogies bring to literary discourse a stock of exciting visual ideas for teaching and research. Beneficial outcomes include:

· a fresh supply of introductions and explanations across subject areas;

· an enticing augmentation of visual resources for workshops and discussion;

· novel tools to supplement more established modes of description, analysis and argument;

· an expansion of cross-curricular activities that are creatively, as well as critically, engaged;

· the creation of strong visual spurs to invigorate creative writing or critical explorations;

· a flush of research possibilities and innovative hybrid theories;

· the generation of new sites of Intertextual discourse;

· a broadening of ‘visual intelligence’ and visual forms of dialogue.

Prototype analogies relate (for instance) the electromagnetic spectrum, chaos physics and Venn diagrams to topics as varied as translation, Intertextuality and essay structure. Throughout, the science is kept as straightforward as possible for non-scientists.

The paper is cast in two distinct forms: the user-friendly version is shorter, focussing on the basics of visual analogy and emphasising practice; the in-depth version is more comprehensive and introduces the concept of scientific Visualizations. Each version comes with its dedicated figures. Both are free to download, via the links provided below. [© held by Mario Petrucci, 2012]

Note: the texts and figures are provided below as separate pdfs…

User-friendly version…

Shorter, more transparent. Centred on examples and applications for visual analogy. Designed for users wishing to get quickly to the core educational ideas and illustrations.

Crosstalk, Mutation, Chaos:

bridge-building between the sciences and literary studies using Visual Analogy

For text (User-friendly version) click below:

www.mariopetrucci.com/pictures/visualizations/Vis-text-UserF.pdf

For all figures (User-friendly version) click below:

www.mariopetrucci.com/pictures/visualizations/Vis-figs-UserF.pdf

In-depth/ academic version…

A detailed, extended assessment of the approach, with full references plus an expansive pedagogic appraisal. Presents the idea of scientific Visualizations, along with a thorough account of the opportunities and difficulties associated with visual analogies of this type.

Crosstalk, Mutation, Chaos:

the use of scientific Visualizations as analogies for textual reception;

bridge-building between the sciences and the humanities via Visual Analogy

For text (In-depth/ academic version) click below:

www.mariopetrucci.com/pictures/visualizations/Vis-text-InDepth.pdf

For all figures (In-depth/ academic version) click below:

www.mariopetrucci.com/pictures/visualizations/Vis-figs-InDepth.pdf

An alternative account of the Visualizations/ Visual Analogy idea was first published in
Interdisciplinary Science Reviews [Vol 36, No 4, Dec 2011]

http://www.maneyonline.com/doi/full/10.1179/030801811X13160755918561

Note. The pdf for this paper is also archived (by kind permission, © Maney Publishing) via the link below. This pdf, however, is protected by copyright and is for viewing/ archiving purposes only: it is not to be downloaded, printed, etc. To download the paper legally, please utilise the publisher’s website (as provided in the link above).

[Archived pdf (not for downloading)…] www.mariopetrucci.com/pictures/visualizations/Visualizations-ISR2011-Petrucci.pdf