Multimodality: A Hands-On Guide (De Gruyter Studium)

In current multimodality research, there is a methodological and analytic gap between the complexity of the materials targeted and the constructs applied. This gap makes it difficult for analyses to scale beyond single case studies. Support for larger-scale empirical, corpus-based work is often compromised and, when scaling does occur, it is at the cost of the breadth of multimodal phenomena covered. In this book we present the latest revision of our multimodal semiotic approach to advanced multimodality research which directly addresses these problems, providing extended theoretical constructs with solid foundations, staged methodological instructions for applying those constructs in practical analysis, and a specially selected set of hands-on illustrations of the account at work in diverse media and communicative situations. The framework clearly sets out methods and examples of how to conduct multimodality research regardless of the materials involved and always with a view to increasing scale to provide stronger empirical foundations. The selected analyses illustrate the application of the latest multimodality methodologies, complex data (across domains), analytical tools, and results from different phases of research.

John A. Bateman, University of Bremen; Janina Wildfeuer, University of Groningen; Tuomo Hiippala, University of Helsinki.