Janina Wildfeuer

An Open Multilevel Classification Scheme for the Visual Layout of Comics and Graphic Novels: Motivation and Design

Analytic interest in comics, graphic novels and similarly visual media is currently experiencing considerable growth. In order to pursue empirical investigation of such media, it is useful to explore how data of this kind can be made accessible for the application of established empirical methods, such as linguistic corpus analysis. Many forms of communication have already benefited from data-driven analytic procedures, and it is logical to consider how this might also be the case for visual media. However, comics and graphic novels raise some unique challenges for this endeavor because a substantial component of their communicative effect is achieved by variations in their visual appearance and spatial organization. Schemes capable of capturing the spatial organization of visual media are to date limited largely to geometric descriptions and so are of limited value for more interpretative analyses. In this article, we set out a detailed classification scheme for the visual appearance of comics, graphic novels, and similar media that focuses particularly on their spatial ‘layout’ to make this facet of their meaning accessible to corpus-based quantitative and qualitative analyses.

The expanding galaxy of performing arts: extending theories and questioning practices

This paper introduces the Special Issue on the languages of performing arts and is therefore aimed at designing how the context of the latter can be illuminated by socio-semiotic and multimodal approaches to communication. In this Special Issue, performances and performing arts are described as multimodal semiotic acts that co-deploy a range of semiotic resources to produce and construct meanings across different cultures and ages. Seen as dynamic and interactive processes of meaning-making, their analysis calls for new and multidisciplinary frameworks which are collected in this Special Issue. The introduction gives an overview of these papers and discusses their range of diverse phenomena, both live and recorded, including theatre performances and films, art installations, opera, as well as reading out aloud. By outlining the significance and contribution of different disciplines and fields of studies to the broad area of performance studies, the chapter argues the case for innovative approaches that can extend theories and analyse aesthetic and performative practices in context. With the help of some case studies, it provides guidelines for the reading and interpretation of the several theoretical discussions and practical case studies presented to encourage further multidisciplinary research on these domains.

Special Issue: Analysing Digitized Visual Culture

T h e D I G I T A l A G e As is well known, Communication and media studies have been challenged by the advent and consolidation of the digital age. The digital revolution with its continuing advances in technologies and innovations has greatly increased the resources and modes that are available for production, distribution and reception of communication in various forms. Whether it is the replacement of analog photography and photochemical films by arrays of photo sensors and computer software, their constant availability on phones and other mobile devices to document our daily life or the evolving new channels of communication on the internet, including the expansion of social media both for private and commercial use, we are surrounded by digitized media in which digitized photos and other (audio)visuals play a major role. In some communities, in fact, multimodal artefacts and performances composed of various representations have become the dominant way of 770584 VCJ Visual CommunicationWildfeuer et al.

Visual communication: mobilizing perspectives:

Since the launch of Visual Communication in 2002, much has changed in the lived experience of contemporary communication practices, as well as in the academic study of it. The founding editors of the journal – Carey Jewitt, Theo van Leeuwen, Ron Scollon and Teal Triggs – set themselves the ambitious task of creating a forum for introducing the visual as a (somewhat) new focus for research and critique. As they said at the time:

When context changes: The need for a dynamic notion of context in multimodal argumentation

This paper highlights the notion of dynamic context as an indispensable pragmatic aspect of multimodal argumentation and exemplifies a context-based approach to multimodal arguments with an analysis of the Mophie 2015 Super Bowl commercial. Whereas in dynamic semantics and verbal discourse analysis the notion of dynamic context and its context change potential are significant patterns for the analysis, argumentation theorists have not yet fully included these patterns in their discussions. The paper argues that multimodal argumentative genres such as commercials and movie trailers often work with a dynamically changing interpretation, which, at the end, reveals their persuasive patterns and final claims. It demonstrates that it is absolutely necessary for a detailed analysis of the argumentation in these multimodal genres to include the contextual influence and dynamic change potential. The paper thus emphasizes the need for an inclusion of the notion of dynamic context in methods and frameworks dealing with the complexity of multimodal argumentation.

Talking about dying and death: On new discursive constructions of a formerly postulated taboo

In this article, we pursue a critical and multimodal discourse analysis of texts in the context of the innovative German discourse project ‘30 young people talk to dying people and their relatives’ – an initiative by two German universities encouraging young people to develop an explicit attitude towards death. We take a detailed look at the various text forms (short films about discussions between the young people and dying patients, online postings about their experiences, etc.) by asking how the concepts of ‘dying’ and ‘death’ are new and differently constructed in these various textual artefacts. A formal as well as critical analysis of the semantic content produced by the participants will examine how this content is produced and how new types of sociocultural practices become visible in these texts.