Presentation for Dr. Samuelson's L750

1. Multimodal Historical Bodies
“Signifying the Self” (Kramsch, 2009)
Kelly Wiechart
Dr. Samuelson’s L750
Sept. 24, 2015

2. Study Background
RQ1: How do translingual students appropriate multimodal
semiotic resources to negotiate and co-construct identities in
a travel abroad media literacy course?
Theor Frame: Complexity Theory (Larsen-Freeman &
Cameron, 2008)
open, nonlinear, dynamic, emergence
Meth Frame: Mediated Discourse Analysis
(Scollon & Scollon, 2004)

3. Analytical Frames
Multimodal Discourse Analysis Nexus Analysis
Speech
Layout (physical spaces;
personal spaces)
Movement (gesture, facial
expressions, actions, dancing,
singing, playing, composing,
designing)
(Scollon & Scollon, 2004)
Jones, R. Nexus Analysis:
personal.cityu.edu.hk/~enrodney/.../Nexusana
lysisfieldguide.doc

4. Historical Bodies
Persons – Historical body
“Concern is not with a full life-history of each of of the social actors but rather
to understand how the action-practice and the mediational means came into
the historical body of each of the participants” (Scollon & Scollon, 2004, NP).
How did these participants all come to be placed at this moment and in this
way to enable or carry out this action?
This question may be developed with more specific questions to keep in mind:
• How habitual or innovative is the action-practice ‘for that person’
• How intentional (agentive) or accidental? How do you know?
• To what other practices is this linked for this person?
• How much is this action keyed to the uniqueness of the person?
• What is the emotional impact on the participant of this action? Is it exciting, routine, or
boring to do this; is the action sought or avoidedWhat discourses are transformed,
resemiotized, or internalized in this action
Adapted from Jones, R. FieldGuide Nexus Analysis (link on previous slide)

5. Participants’ Historical Bodies
Participants: Translingual students from Mexico &
Texas doing study abroad in Germany & France
3 “teachers” + researcher
14 students (9 F & 5M) ages 13-20
 6 in study (4 F & 2 M)
Focal Participant-Ricky
the limnalist of them all (Kramsch, 2009)
the American

6. Ricky’s Historical Body
13 years old entering 8th grade
Son of the one of the “teachers”
Dropped-in
Going to take Spanish
Nanny spoke only Spanish

7. Signifying Self-Actions
Dressing
Playing
Gaming
Eating (or not)
Composing

8. Signifying Self
• Son
• Mover (disrupt interaction orders)
• “Sort of a teenager” (Interview, Aug. 2014)
• Gamer
• Not media literate: NO social media at all.
• History fan
• Emergent translingual

9. Data Sample-Video Dance Around

10. Ricky’s Translingual Self
• Did not attempt Spanish even though bilingual since
childhood
• “He hurted my feelings” (Field notes, July 5, 2014)
• “I Learned that a lot of people can speak a lot of
languages” (Stimulated recall Interview, Aug. 2014
• I was also really shocked about the English, how good
the people from Mexico spoke” (Stimulated recall
interview, Aug. 2014)
• Because I’m American, Starbucks feels more like home”
(Stimulated recall interview, Aug. 2014)