Through your eyes and ears you constantly absorb images of the world around you.  You interpret these images according to your previous experience and understanding.  Then you use them as a basis for your own response in words and action, forming yet more images.

RIght through that process there are opportunities for reality to be distorted.  It might be diminished, misrepresented, misunderstood or misinterpreted and might become unrecognisable from any initial truth.

Does it matter whether the images presented to you resemble the 'truth', whether you understand the motives of the image makers and their effect on you?  Do you mind being duped?   Do you mind being given a false picture of the world, by accident or design?   The short answer is probably YES - you don't care to be manipulated or misled.   Your thoughts, words and behaviour are likely to affect other people and need, for justice, to spring from as accurate an understanding as possible.

This Unit provides opportunities to analyse images from a number of angles - A World of Images (stereotyping, self-image, the power of images, image making); The Big Image Makers (advertising, the media); Images of Africa (images past, one continent - multiple images, African images of Africa); Images of development (developing relationships, images in words, images of aid).