Recursive screens: The role of recursive relationships in the rhetorical selection of images and words for the display of archaeological information and discipline identity

My dissertation analyzes the recursive relationships that contribute to the selection of images and words used to communicate archaeological information and disciplinary identity in print media. I examine introductory level textbooks, cultural resource management archaeology reports, and popular magazines focusing exclusively on archaeology. Using a theoretical framework founded in visual rhetoric, I examine how the meaning of the information displayed is screened through the recursive relationship between images and words. I expand my analysis to include the influence of the recursive relationship of discipline identity, genre, and audience on the selection of images and words. To demonstrate the influence of these recursive relationships upon the rhetorical display of archaeological information, I examine the texts using an approach that focuses on contextualization, mediations of audience expectations, and accommodations of the information.