[ecrea] CfP: BreMM 15 - Second International Symposium on Multimodality

BreMM15: Second International Symposium on the Theory and Practice of 
Multimodal Research
Interdisciplinary Conference at Bremen University, Germany, September 
21-22, 2015

Multimodality is one of the most influential semiotic theories for 
analyzing media artefacts nowadays, and it enjoys growing popularity 
globally. However, this popularity does not imply universality: the 
empirical application and even the conceptual anchoring of multimodality 
often remain nationally and regionally grounded. Definitions of modality 
and even mediality thus differ from each other in terms of their 
starting points. From a German national perspective, language remains 
the main point of description. International, mostly Anglo-Saxon 
approaches, in contrast, no longer take language as the main semiotic 
resource of communication but treat it as one more part of the 
multimodal ensemble carrying meaning.
The second edition of the Bremen multimodality conference takes these 
differences in national and international perspectives as a starting 
point of discussion and analysis and invites further inquiry into the 
specific theories and practices of multimodal research today. By making 
explicit which aspects of description, terminology, and methodology vary 
and which difficulties result from these variations in daily academic 
life, it expands the discussion of applicable approaches to multimodal 
document analysis. Another major goal of the conference remains the 
active exchange between the cutting edge in international multimodal 
research and more traditional German humanities, especially within 
linguistics, media and communication studies. Whereas outside Germany, 
multimodality is already firmly anchored in BA- and MA-level courses as 
well as a highly discussed topic in international conferences, its 
counterpart in Germany is still situated in a small niche within 
branches of applied linguistics. The 2014 symposium in Bremen uncovered 
a large potential for multimodality’s expansion in the German-speaking 
context, and the 2015 meeting will keep up with this theme. The 
multimodal analysis of documents which are not predominantly anchored in 
verbal text, such as film, comic books, or Web material, offers fruitful 
ground for international exchange and is, thus, of particular interest 
to the 2015 conference.
We invite papers with high interest in combining empirical analysis with 
thoughts on theoretical questions about the concept of multimodality. 
Research questions which might be addressed in these papers are:

How is multimodality defined in the authors’ home discipline? What other 
disciplinary concepts help define multimodality in theory and practice?

What disciplinary and methodological synergies promote comprehensive 
multimodal empirical analysis?

Which terminological specifications or analytical improvements are 
needed to bring together the concepts which shape multimodality as a 
theoretical and empirical approach?


APPLICATION

For a lively and multifaceted discussion, we invite papers of 20-25 
minutes followed by discussion of 10-15 minutes from researchers working 
in all disciplines concerning media analysis (linguistics, literary 
science, media and communication as well as informatics and computer 
science). We especially welcome papers which re-examine existing 
theoretical frameworks and/or which highlight and apply new 
methodologies that have not been used within the general multimodal 
context. Abstracts of 300 words must clearly indicate the analytical 
focus of the paper as well as its connection to the theoretical background.
We also explicitly invite students to participate in the conference by 
presenting an analytical approach as examined in final papers or theses 
in the poster panel to be organized on the second day of the conference.
Please submit your abstract or a short poster description including 
name, affiliation, and email address to (bremm15 /at/ uni-bremen.de) before 
February 15th, 2015. All acceptance and rejection notices will be out by 
the beginning of May.


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