Multimodality, where next?–Some meta-methodological considerations

Abstract

In this position statement, I draw broadly on approaches and theories relevant to the phenomena of multimodality to propose some methodological directions for further cycles of development and application. Two apparently opposed goals are accepted and reconciled: on the one hand, increased attention needs to be paid to empirical studies and, on the other, highly exploratory and smaller scale case studies with more conjectural analyses need to be continued and expanded. To achieve an integrative view spanning, both forms of approach, methodological refinements capable of reducing the gap between theoretical metalanguages and larger-scale empirical research are required. Multimodality is consequently reconstrued not as a field of study in its own right, but as a stage of development through which many disciplines naturally pass. Means are then explored for securing access to the various theoretical frameworks and methodological tools disciplines provide by combining new models of disciplinary triangulation with a more finely articulated notion of materiality.

The materiality key: how work on empirical data can improve analytical models and theoretical frameworks for multimodal discourse analysis

“…The fact that the project focused on movement-based analysis (specifically on dance choreography) carried out by scholars from very different disciplines, where the importance of incorporating the materiality of the human body in interaction with a performance environment was considered through different approaches (Multimodal Discourse Analysis, Engineering, Computer Science, etc. ) makes the examples of empirical data analysis proposed here particularly appropriate to the consideration of the notion of materiality as an interdisciplinary one and provides a clear connection with John Bateman's discussion of materiality in relation to the development of Multimodality as a practice that encompasses borders between disciplines and research areas (Bateman et al, 2017;Bateman, 2019Bateman, , 2022. This article will also show how the consideration of the materiality of dance allowed in primis for the further development of the Functional Grammar of Dance (Maiorani, 2021;Maiorani and Liu, 2023), which is now a more comprehensive and even more flexible tool that scholars have started to use for analysing movement-based communication in dance performances other than ballet or even outside the domain of dance altogether (see Mouard Ruiz, 2021;Bolens, 2022;Meissl et al, 2022;Prové, 2022;Sindoni, 2022;Vidal Claramonte, 2022;Wu, 2022;Elyamany, 2023).…”

“…I have started this article with an overview of the way the notion of materiality is understood and used as a nexus for connecting the different components of complex phenomena approached by a variety of disciplines and research areas. The pattern that emerged from such an overview highlights how materiality is actually used, as foregrounded by Bateman (2022), as an external language for description that can be applied to several contexts where human experience manifests itself in and is carried out through multimodal meaning-making socio-semiotic practices. The overview also showed that the notion of materiality helps anchoring theoretical advances to phenomenological studies, thus highlighting the importance of empirical data in any analytical activity across disciplines.…”

Editorial multimodality and society

“…We have strived to represent the many different approaches within multimodality including papers from within multimodal (critical) discourse analysis, social semiotic analysis, multimodal ethnography, corpus analysis, systemic functional linguistics, genre theory, nexus analysis, embodied interaction and conversation analysis among the many. This has opened the space for questions to be raised and proposals advanced on the role of multimodality within the academic disciplinary landscape (Bateman, 2022). We will continue to nurture this unfolding dialogue between the papers in Multimodality and Society .…”

Student Initiative of Producing Their Own Mini Videos for Language Learning

“…In educational settings, students using different modes grants unlimited opportunities to practice their 21st-century skills by managing multimodality resources (Hafner, 2014). Among possible options to integrate multiple modes as a foundation for developing students' language skills, the conjunction of modalities can be fully emphasized, as multimodality has reached a 'qualitatively new level, as reflected in students' videos, e.g., contextual information, visuals (e.g., face expressions), intonation, and so forth are all used to extract and build meaning, which echoes Bateman's (2022) call that multimodality should become an increasingly effective form of engagement with signifying practices.…”