Excerpt from new Language Arts article

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