PICTURE A SCIENTIST: A VISUAL RHETORIC APPROACH TO THE PROBLEM OF GENDER DISPARITY IN STEM FIELDS A dissertation submitted to the Kent State University College of Arts and Sciences in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy By Holly M. Wells December 2012 Dissertation written by Holly M. Wells B.A., Youngstown State University, 1984 M.A., Youngstown State University, 2001 Ph.D., Kent State University, 2012 Approved by Chair, Doctoral Dissertation Committee Sara Newman, Professor of English Member, Doctoral Dissertation Committee Raymond A. Craig, Professor of English Member, Doctoral Dissertation Committee Derek Van Ittersum, Assistant Professor of English Member, Doctoral Dissertation Committee Laura G. Leff, Professor of Biology Member, Doctoral Dissertation Committee Mandy J. Munro-Stasiuk, Professor of Geography Accepted by Chair, Department of English Robert W. Trogdon Dean, College of Arts and Sciences Raymond A. Craig ii TABLE OF CONTENTS List of Figures ......................................................................................................... v List of Tables ......................................................................................................... ix Acknowledgments.................................................................................................. xi Chapter 1: Statement of Problem and Literature Review .............................................. 1 Importance of the Problem...................................................................................... 2 Purpose and Scope of the Study.............................................................................. 3 Assumptions ............................................................................................................ 6 Textbooks and Children .......................................................................................... 8 Rhetoric of Science ............................................................................................... 23 Visual Rhetoric ..................................................................................................... 27 Chapter 2: Methodology .............................................................................................. 69 Theoretical Foundation ......................................................................................... 69 Research Method .................................................................................................. 93 Data ................................................................................................................. 93 Data Analysis Procedures ............................................................................... 96 Triangulation of Methods ............................................................................... 97 Limitations of Methodology ......................................................................... 105 Ethical Issues ................................................................................................ 105 Conclusion .......................................................................................................... 106 Chapter 3: Glencoe Life Science 2005 ...................................................................... 108 Overview ............................................................................................................. 108 Results ................................................................................................................. 111 Discussion ........................................................................................................... 128 Results ................................................................................................................. 140 Discussion ........................................................................................................... 141 Summary ............................................................................................................. 167 Chapter 4: McDougal Littell 2005 ............................................................................ 170 Overview ............................................................................................................. 170 Results ................................................................................................................. 172 Discussion ........................................................................................................... 195 Results ................................................................................................................. 203 Discussion ........................................................................................................... 211 iii Summary ............................................................................................................. 219 Chapter 5: Prentice Hall Life Science 2005 .............................................................. 222 Overview ............................................................................................................. 222 Results ................................................................................................................. 225 Discussion ........................................................................................................... 248 Results ................................................................................................................. 251 Discussion ........................................................................................................... 258 Summary ............................................................................................................. 273 Chapter 6: Conclusions and Future Research ............................................................ 275 Summary ............................................................................................................. 275 Conclusions ......................................................................................................... 276 Implications......................................................................................................... 289 Limitations .......................................................................................................... 291 Recommendations for Future Research .............................................................. 293 BIBLIOGRAPHY ..................................................................................................... 298 APPENDIX A ........................................................................................................... 315 APPENDIX B ............................................................................................................ 317 APPENDIX C ............................................................................................................ 319 APPENDIX D ........................................................................................................... 320 APPENDIX E ............................................................................................................ 322 iv List of Figures Fig. 1. Arthur Rothstein. The bleached skull of a steer on the dry sun-baked earth of the South Dakota Dry Lands. May 1936. .............................................................................. 41 Fig. 2. The famous photograph of the flag raising at Iwo Jima ....................................... 57 Fig. 3. Horizontal photo layout. ....................................................................................... 58 Fig. 4. Saturation. From Clark & Wiebe (2000), Scientific Visualization. ..................... 74 Fig. 5. Depth .................................................................................................................... 77 Fig. 6. The Rothstein photo that caused controversy in the late 1930s. .......................... 90 Fig. 7. Photo Survey – Visual Rhetoric Analysis Part 1. ................................................. 96 Fig. 8. Triangulation of research methods. ...................................................................... 99 Fig. 9. The basic cat. ...................................................................................................... 101 Fig. 10. Gender distribution among editorial staff. ........................................................ 109 Fig. 11. Doctoral degrees among editorial staff. ............................................................ 109 Fig. 12. ............................................................................................................................ 111 Fig. 13. ............................................................................................................................ 113 Fig. 14. ............................................................................................................................ 114 Fig. 15. Low color differentiation. ................................................................................. 115 Fig. 16. ............................................................................................................................ 116 Fig. 17. ............................................................................................................................ 117 Fig. 18. ............................................................................................................................ 119 Fig. 19. Deep perspective. .............................................................................................