Multimodal digital communication is the main theme of this conference meant to attract multidisciplinary research on a wide range of issues from teaching and learning to analysing multimodal digital data appearing in multiple communication arenas.
Drawing on the work related to the European project EU-MADE4LL, European Multimodal and Digital Education for Language Learning, the conference intends to bring together international scholars belonging to various fields of research sharing an interest in exploring recent developments in multimodal digital communication.
We wish to tackle the complex arenas of digitality by reflecting on a broad range of multimodal texts, social practices and communities: content management systems, corporate web pages, institutional web pages, blogs, corporate videos, mash up, fanvids, social media, video mediated interaction, digital broadcasting, digital performing arts, gaming, networking sites and media sharing platforms. We are keen to address this ever-increasing complexity of digital communication by adopting a broad range of multimodal, semiotic and educational perspectives.
We are glad to announce the following plenary speakers:
Marina Bondi, University of Modena, Italy
Carey Jewitt, UCL – Institute of Education, London, UK
Rodney Jones, University of Reading, UK
Gunther Kress and Jeff Bezemer, UCL Institute of Education London, UK
David Machin, Örebro University, Sweden
Theo van Leeuwen, University of Technology, Sidney, Australia
The conference is open to proposals under 4 main thematic strands. Each strand can include the following topics but is not limited to these:
1. Teaching and learning multimodal digital communication
Digital texts in the classroom; Teacher training and digital literacy in multicultural contexts; System of assessment, evaluation and peer-assessment in the digital age; Cyberbullying and children’s digital literacy; Translanguaging; English as a Lingua Franca and digital communication; Online Multilingualism.
2. Exploring multimodal human-computer/technology interaction
Telecollaboration and video-mediated interaction; Gaming and geek culture; Communities of practice in media-sharing platform; Network sociality and new Agencies; Transdisciplinary skills, digital settings and new professions.
3. Analysing multimodal digital discourses
Specialized discourse and digital textuality; Digital identities vs. national/situated identities; Corporate texts in media contexts; Multimodal Critical Discourse Analysis; Online discourse analysis; Multimodal discourse in museums; Digitally mediated institutional / political discourse.
4. Stretching the boundaries of multimodality
From multimodality to multimediality; From multimodality to hypertextuality; Social Media complexity; Experimental approaches.
We strongly encourage a transdisciplinary agenda with discussion of case studies based on empirical evidence with a specific focus on multimodal approaches to communication.
Theoretical perspectives include, but are not limited to:
• Cognitive multimodal studies
• Computer-mediated discourse analysis
• Conversation analysis
• Corporate communication studies
• Digital literacy studies
• Intercultural communication
• Media and film studies
• Multimodal critical discourse analysis
• Multimodal interaction analysis
• Semiotic technology
• Sensory ethnography
• Social semiotics
• Systemic Functional grammar
• Translation studies