Serafini, Frank.
(2015). Multimodal Literacy: From Theories to Practices. Language Arts. 92(6),
p.
412-423.
Using the above
mentioned tripartite framework as a lens for investigating the nature of the
multimodal ensembles that our students are exposed to in contemporary
classrooms, multimodal ensembles are conceptualized as: 1) visual objects, 2)
semiotic events, and 3) cultural artifacts (see Figure 1). This
reconceptualization of the nature of multimodal texts from three different perspectives
provides a foundation for the instructional approaches used to expand students’
interpretive repertoires. It is through these various lenses that we can begin
to move beyond the literal or denotative aspects of written text and visual images
to consider the semiotic and ideological dimensions of the multimodal ensembles
encountered in today’s classrooms.
Three Perspectives on Multimodal Ensembles
|
Theoretical
Perspective
|
Multimodal
Ensembles
|
Instructional
Approaches
|
|
Perceptual Analytical Perspective
|
Multimodal Ensemble as Visual Object
|
Noticing and Naming Visual Elements
Creating Perceptual Inventories
Attending to Peritextual Elements
Considering Basic Art Elements
Considering Design
|
|
Structural
Analytical Perspective
|
Multimodal Ensemble as Semiotic Event
|
Considering Visual Grammars
Ideational, Compositional, and Interpersonal Metafunctions
Vectors, Actors and Objects
Composition and Spatial Relations
|
|
Ideological
Analytical Perspective
|
Multimodal Ensemble as Cultural Artifact
|
Considering Sites of Production
Considering Sites of Reception
Critical Lens: Gender
Critical Lens: Race
Critical Lens: Power
|
