Introduction to Multimodal Analysis will provide you with a better understanding of the ways in which multiple modes of communication contribute to the construction of meaning in both texts and social interaction. Increasingly, empirical efforts taking systemic functional linguistic, social semiotic and discourse-pragmatic approaches to investigating language use in situ have recognised that material, spatial and temporal components which were previously deemed ‘contextual’ have direct and inextricable relationships to the utilisation of language in social situations. Thus, you will draw upon your understanding of the structure and functionality of the English language and learn how other communicative modes can have an effect on meaning potentials, production and interpretation. We will discuss what constitutes a communicative mode, how various modes are structured and restructured through use and the ways in which meanings are built or constructed through multimodal ensembles and configurations.

After acquiring an understanding of the theoretical origins of various approaches to multimodal communicative phenomena, we will investigate the utilisation of multimodal methods in gesture research, education and new media. Your knowledge of multimodal analytical methods will then be applied to a small scale empirical project in an area of your choosing.