Visual Biopolitics in Crisis: Multimodal Analysis of Tuberculosis in the Early Republican Period and COVID-19 Health Communication in Turkey

This study investigates how visual materials used during tuberculosis (1930s–1940s) and COVID-19 in Turkey, supported and reflected evolving forms of biopolitical governance. Drawing on data from the state-funded project “Analysis of Public Health Visual Communication Methods” (TÜBİTAK Project No. 123K980), we apply critical multimodal discourse analysis to explore how visual campaigns shaped public perceptions of health, risk, responsibility, and citizenship. Our source materials include archival visuals from Yaşamak Yolu, a journal published by the Istanbul Anti-Tuberculosis Society, illustrations from contemporary newspapers such as Cumhuriyet, and digital COVID-19 media, including the Ministry of Health’s Twitter posts, the HES (Life Fits Home) mobile app, TRT Çocuk (Turkish Radio Television Child) content, and materials by Yeşilay (Green Cross). We identify seven key thematic domains (“citizen – population–state,” “patient–healthy,” “microbe,” “hope,” “expertise–knowledge,” “education–school,” “family/child.”) that structure these campaigns. Findings indicate a historical continuity in the use of visual communication to guide health behavior and intensified state-defined norms of well-being. Yet significant ruptures emerge in representational strategies and media technologies. In the tuberculosis era, visuals highlighted medical paternalism, pedagogical authority, and individualized care, whereas COVID-19 visuals underscored emotional labor, collective responsibility, and digital engagement. Key discursive shifts include the transformation of the medical authority figure from a rational, commanding presence to a self-sacrificing, emotionally expressive one and the evolution of the child figure from a symbolic national emblem to an agentive, responsible actor. Depictions of contagion also transformed, shifting from minimalist, scientific imagery to colorful digital infographics. While the mother figure remained central across both periods, her portrayal grew more emotionally complex during the COVID-19 pandemic. Mental health also gained increased visibility as a domain of both individual vulnerability and national concern. By tracing these visual shifts, the study highlights how health communication mediates the intersection of biopolitical control, emotional appeal, and national identity. We argue that visual discourse is constitutive, reshaping the public’s sense of care, risk, and belonging during times of crisis.