Research on multimodality in the context of highly qualified national scientific journals: a cartographic study

Abstract

Contemporary social practices are increasingly permeated by a variety of semiotic resources or, in other words, by the combination of verbal and nonverbal languages - multimodality. However, it was not until recent times that multimodality received the status of a field (BEZERRA; NASCIMENTO, 2013). The present study then aims at mapping the studies on multimodality published in five A1 national scientific journals that were developed in Brazil in the period from 2009 to 2013 in terms of 1) theoretical and methodological trends; 2) genres investigated; 3) generic aspects approached; and 4) the geographical distribution of the studies in Brazil. To do so, the abstracts and the articles of the experimental studies were considered in the analysis. The results indicate that there was a small amount of publication related to the field. However, it was possible to note a growth in the number of studies in the period investigated. The majority of these studies are comprised in the social semiotic basis (BEZEMER; JEWITT, 2010) investigating mainly genres (MOTTA-ROTH, 2008) on the media sphere, especially magazine cover and advertisement. The publications are mostly affiliated to institutions on the Southeast region. It may be possible to argue that UFMG is the university in the Southeast region that is closest to holding a niche of investigation on multimodality, since there is a pattern in terms of theory use. The present study intends to contribute to the consolidation of the field in the national context as well as, pedagogically, help researchers and people interested in multimodality.