With Time for Time: Critical Thinking and Visual Literacy in ‘Since 1880’
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.34640/ct10uma2025nunesKeywords:
picturebook, critical thinking, visual literacy, visual narrative, reading mediationAbstract
In an era marked by the overabundance of images, we paradoxically witness a growing difficulty in interpreting them critically. The acceleration of information consumption, shaped by disposable and instantly readable content, undermines the construction of meaning and weakens the depth of visual experience. This article offers a critical reading of Desde 1880, by Pietro Gottuso (2021), through the lens of visual literacy and conscious image interpretation. Based on the analysis of a non-verbal visual narrative, in which a fixed urban scene unfolds over 140 years, it examines how this structure challenges the reader to construct meaning from visual fragments. The absence of text, combined with the documentary precision of the illustrations, demands a slow and analytical gaze, fostering critical reading skills and an active relationship with time and social memory. Grounded in a hermeneutic approach informed by visual culture and critical thinking, the article identifies the image as a symbolic record of historical transformation and the picture book as a space of resistance to the superficiality of contemporary visual perception. Finally, it highlights the role of reading mediation in encouraging a more conscious and reflective interpretative practice among readers from diverse educational and cultural contexts.
References
Beckett, S. L. (2013). Crossover picturebooks: A genre for all ages. Routledge Taylor & Francis Group.
Benjamin, W. (2010). The work of art in the age of mechanical reproduction. Em M. G. Durham & D. Kellner (Eds.), Media and cultural studies: keyworks (Nachdr, pp. 18–43). Blackwell.
Campos, R. (2011). Imagem e tecnologias visuais em pesquisa social: tendências e desafios. Análise Social, XLVI (199), 237–259.
Campos, R. (2013). Introdução à cultura visual: abordagens e metodologias em ciências sociais. Mundos Sociais.
Castro, P. A. e. (2016). Cinema (e filosofia) ou como estimular o pensamento pela imagem. Revista livre de cinema, uma leitura digital sem medida (super 8, 16, 35, 70 mm, ...), 3(3), Artigo 3.
Drucker, J. (2014). Graphesis: Visual forms of knowledge production. Harvard University Press. https://monoskop.org/images/2/2a/Drucker_Johanna_Graphesis_Visual_Forms_of_Knowledge_Production.pdf
Elder, L. (2022). Critical thinking. Em Critical thinking. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781138609877-REE215-1
Gottuso, P. (2021). Desde 1880. Kalandraka.
Greimas, A. J. (1975). Sobre o Sentido: Ensaios semióticos. Vozes.
Gutfreund, D., & Mazzilli, C. D. T. S. (2021). Como o silêncio se manifesta no livro-álbum: Entrevistas e análise de obras. Blucher Design Proceedings, 58–59. https://doi.org/10.5151/4spdesign-4spdesign_28
Hall, S. (2010) [1980]. Encoding/Decoding. Em M. G. Durham & D. Kellner (Eds.), Media and cultural studies: Keyworks (pp. 163–173). Blackwell.
Han, B.-C. (2023). A crise da narração. Relógio D’Água.
IBBY International Board on Books for Young People. (2023, 5 de setembro). Květa Pacovská: The picture book is the first art gallery a child visits. IBBY. https://www.ibby.org/es/ibby-blog/post?cHash=869953db7e13184875b25ab1e49c848e&tx_news_pi1%5Baction%5D=detail&tx_news_pi1%5Bcontroller%5D=News&tx_news_pi1%5Bnews%5D=20
Mata, J. T. D., Neves, J. S., Martins, M. O., Lopes, M. Â., & ISCTE-Instituto Universitário de Lisboa, Centro de Investigação e Estudos de Sociologia (CIES-ISCTE) e Observatório Português das Atividades Culturais (OPAC). (2024). Contextos e práticas de mediação da leitura em Portugal. Sociologia on Line, 35, 85–103. https://doi.org/10.30553/sociologiaonline.2024.35.4
Mirzoeff, N. (2023). An introduction to visual culture (3.ª ed.). Routledge.
Mourão, S. (2023). Picturebooks for intercultural learning in foreign language education. a scoping review. https://doi.org/10.48694/ZIF.3620
Nikolajeva, M., & Scott, C. (2006). How picturebooks work. Routledge Research in Education.
Ommundsen, Å. M., Haaland, G., & Kümmerling-Meibauer, B. (Eds.). (2022). Exploring challenging picturebooks in education: international perspectives on language and literature learning. Routledge.
Petit, M. (2020). Ler o mundo: experiências de transmissão cultural na actualidade (1.ª ed). Faktoria Ágora K.
Ramos, A. M. (2020). Hibridismos e contaminações: a propósito do livro-álbum como formato omnívoro. Em Mix & match: poéticas do hibridismo (pp. 173–194). Húmus.
Ramos, A. M., & Navas, D. (2020). Livro-álbum e cinema: um diálogo interartes. Elos: Revista de Literatura Infantil e Xuvenil, 7, 121–144. https://doi.org/10.15304/elos.7.6950
Rodrigues, A. I. (2022). Métodos e dados visuais em investigação qualitativa: natureza, função e exemplo prático com uso de fotografias. New Trends in Qualitative Research, 10, 19. https://doi.org/10.36367/ntqr.10.2022.e527
Rodrigues, C. (2017). Para uma poética do álbum ilustrado: Teoria e crítica em torno de um «metagénero». Elos: Revista de Literatura Infantil e Xuvenil, 4. https://doi.org/10.15304/elos.4.4218
Rose, G. (2016). Visual methodologies: an introduction to researching with visual materials (4th edition). SAGE.
Santos, B. de S. (2000). A crítica da razão indolente: contra o desperdício da experiência (Vol. 1). Afrontamento.
Tabernero-Sala, R., & Colón-Castillo, M. J. (2024). Álbum sin palabras y hospitalidad de la lectura: estudio de caso en una biblioteca rural. Revista Prisma Social, 45, Artigo 45.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Carla Nunes
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
For more information follow the link: CC Atribuição-NãoComercial 4.0
