Visual metaphor and embodiment in graphic illness narratives, El Refaie, Elisabeth (reader In Visual Communication At The School Of English, Communication And Philosophy, Cardiff University)

What happens, though, when ordinary embodied experience is disrupted by illness? In this book, Elisabeth El Refaie explores how metaphors change according to our bodys alteration due to disease. She analyzes visual metaphor in thirty-five graphic illness narratives (book-length stories about
disease in the comics medium), re-examining embodiment in traditional CMT and proposing the notion of dynamic embodiment. Building on recent strands of research within CMT and engaging relevant concepts from phenomenology, psychology, semiotics, and media studies, El Refaie demonstrates how the
experience of our own bodies is constantly adjusting to changes in our individual states of health, socio-cultural practices, and the modes and media by which we communicate. This fundamentally interdisciplinary work also proposes a novel classification system of visual metaphor, based on a
three-way distinction between pictorial, spatial, and stylistic metaphors. This approach will enable readers to advance knowledge and understanding of phenomena involved in shaping our everyday thoughts, interactions, and behavior.