Fontes visuais, cultura visual, história visual: balan？o provisório, propostas cautelares

the aim of this article is to displace the historian's focus on visual sources (iconography, iconology) into a more rewarding treatment of visuality as an important dimension of social life and historical processes. after a survey of contributions brought in by art history, visual anthropology, visual sociology and visual culture studies, concerning visual records and visual regimes, the author introduces a few prerequisites for a visual history - intended not as a new academic feud, but as a set of strategic operational means of enhancing historical research in all its domains.