Abstract
This chapter looks into an online genre resulting from recent scholarly and scientific digital practices: popular science online videos. These are short videos of approximately 10 minutes in which a varied and validated scientific content is disseminated to the general public. We adopt a multimodal discourse analysis approach and use specialised annotation software for the analysis of recontextualisation strategies (Valeiras-Jurado et al., Ibérica: Revista de la Asociación Europea de Lenguas para Fines Específicos, 35, 93–118, 2018; Luzón, Ibérica. Journal of the European Association of Languages for Specific Purposes, 37, 167–192, 2019; Rowley-Jolivet & Carter-Thomas, Journal of English for Academic Purposes, 48, 1–14, 2020) and modes used to enact them in the four examples selected: (1) Why Megalodon (Definitely) Went Extinct, (2) Why the Muon g-2 Results Are so Exciting!, (3) The Physics Girl: What Is the Magic Russian Diamond? and (4) Why Are We the Only Humans Left?—YouTube. Our findings suggest that the composition and semiotic affordances of the multimodal ensembles employed play a decisive role in a successful recontextualisation of scientific content.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Argyle, M., Ingham, R., Alkema, F., & McCallin, M. (1981). The different functions of gaze. In A. Kendon (Ed.), Non-verbal communication, interaction and gesture (pp. 221–237). Mouton.
Bezemer, J. A., & Kress, G. (2008). Writing in multimodal texts: A social semiotic account of designs for learning. Written Communication, 25(2), 166–195.
Boy, B., Bucher, H.-J., & Christ, K. (2020). Audiovisual science communication on TV and YouTube. How recipients understand and evaluate science videos. Frontiers in Communication, 5, 1–18.
Carter-Thomas, S., & Rowley-Jolivet, E. (2020). Three minute thesis presentations: Recontextualisation strategies in doctoral research. Journal of English for Academic Purposes, 48, 1–14.
Goldman, R., Erickson, F., Lemke, J., & Derry, S. J. (2007). Selection in video. In S. Derry (Ed.), Guidelines for video research in education: Recommendations from an expert panel (pp. 19–27). Data Research and Development Center at the University of Chicago.
Jewitt, C., & Kress, G. (Eds.). (2003). Multimodal literacy. Peter Lang.
Kastberg, P. (2011). Knowledge asymmetries: Beyond ‘to have and have not’. Fachsprache: Internationale Zeitschrift für Fachsprachenforschung -didaktik und Terminologie, 33(3–4), 137–151.
Kendon, A. (2004). Gesture: Visible action as utterance. Cambridge University Press.
Kress, G. (2010). Multimodality: A social semiotic approach to contemporary communication (2nd ed.). Taylor & Francis.
Ladewig, S. H. (2013). Creating multimodal utterances: The linear integration of gestures into speech. In C. Muller, A. Cienki, E. Fricke, S. Ladewig, D. McNeill, & S. Teßendorf (Eds.), Body-language-communication: An international handbook on multi-modality in human interaction (Vol. I, pp. 1662–1677). De Gruyter Mouton.
Luzón, M. J. (2019). Bridging the gap between experts and publics: The role of multimodality in disseminating research in online videos. Ibérica. Journal of the European Association of Languages for Specific Purposes, 37, 167–192.
Luzón, M. J., & Pérez-Llantada, C. (2019). Connecting traditional and new genres: Trends and emerging themes. In M.-J. Luzón & C. Pérez-Llantada (Eds.), Science communication on the Internet: Old genres meet new genres (pp. 1–18). https://doi.org/10.1075/pbns.308.01luz
Luzón, M. J., & Pérez-Llantada, C. (2022). Digital genres in academic knowledge production and communication. Perspectives and practices. Multilingual Matters. https://doi.org/10.21832/9781788924726
Müller, C. (2013). Gesture as a medium of expression: The linguistic potential of gestures. In C. Muller, A. Cienki, E. Fricke, S. Ladewig, D. McNeill, & S. Teßendorf (Eds.), Body-language-communication: An international handbook on multi-modality in human interaction (Vol. I, pp. 202–217). De Gruyter Mouton.
O’Halloran, K. L., Tan, S., & Marissa, K. L. E. (2015). Multimodal analysis for critical thinking. Learning, Media and Technology, 42, 147–170.
OECD. (2015). Making open science a reality, OECD science, technology and industry policy papers. OECD Publishing (No. 25).
Paltridge, B. (2012). Discourse analysis (2nd ed.). Bloomsbury.
Pérez-Llantada, C. (2021). Genres and languages in science communication: The multiple dimensions of the science-policy interface. Language & Communication, 78, 65–76.
Querol-Julián, M. (2011). Evaluation in discussion sessions of conference paper presentations: A multimodal approach. LAP Lambert Academic Publishing GmbH & Co. K.G., Saarbrücken.
Rowley-Jolivet, E., & Carter-Thomas, S. (2019). Scholarly soundbites. Audiovisual innovations in digital science and their implications for genre evolution. In M.-J. Luzón & C. Pérez-Llantada (Eds.), Science communication on the Internet: Old genres meet new genres (pp. 81–106).
Rowley-Jolivet, E., & Carter-Thomas, S. (2020). Three minute thesis presentations: Recontextualisation strategies in doctoral research. Journal of English for Academic Purposes, 48, 1–14. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jeap.2020.100897
Ruiz-Madrid, M. N. (2021). A multimodal discourse approach to research pitches. Journal of English for Academic Purposes, 52, 1–15.
Sancho Guinda, C. (Ed.). (2019). Engagement in professional genres. John Benjamins.
Scotto di Carlo, G. (2014). The role of proximity in online popularizations: The case of TED talks. Discourse Studies, 16(5), 591–606.
Scotto di Carlo, G. (2015). Stance in TED talks: Strategic use of subjective adjectives in online popularisation. Ibérica: Journal of the European Association of Languages for Specific Purposes, 29, 201–221.
Stöckl, H. (2014). Typography. In S. Norris & C. D. Maier (Eds.), Interactions, images and texts. A reader in multimodality (pp. 281–295). Walter de Gruyter.
Valeiras-Jurado, J. (2019). Modal coherence in specialised discourse: A case study of persuasive oral presentations in business and academia. Ibérica: Revista de la Asociación Europea de Lenguas para Fines Específicos, 37, 87–114.
Valeiras-Jurado, J., & Bernad-Mechó, E. (2022). Modal density and coherence in science dissemination: Orchestrating multimodal ensembles in online TED talks and Youtube science videos. Journal of English for Academic Purposes, 58.
Valeiras-Jurado, J., & Ruiz-Madrid, M. N. (2019). Multimodal enactment of characters in conference presentations. Discourse Studies, 21(5), 561–583.
Valeiras-Jurado, J., Ruiz-Madrid, N., & Jacobs, G. (2018). Revisiting persuasion in oral academic and professional genres: Towards a methodological framework for Multimodal Discourse Analysis of research dissemination talks. Ibérica: Revista de la Asociación Europea de Lenguas para Fines Específicos, 35, 93–118.
van Leeuwen, T. (2006). Towards a semiotics of typography. Information Design Journal, 14(2), 139–155.
Vicente-Sáez, R., & Martínez-Fuentes, C. (2018). Open science now: A systematic literature review for an integrated definition. Journal of Business Research, 88, 428–436.
Xia, S. A., & Hafner, C. A. (2021). Engaging the online audience in the digital era: A multimodal analysis of engagement strategies in TED talk videos. Ibérica: Revista de la Asociación Europea de Lenguas para Fines Específicos, 42, 33–58.
Zhang, Y., & O’Halloran, K. L. (2013). From popularization to marketization: The hypermodal nucleus in institutional science news. In E. Djonov & S. Zhao (Eds.), Critical multimodal studies of popular discourse (pp. 172–190). Routledge.
Acknowledgements
This research has been supported by the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities [grant number PGC2018-094823-B-I00] and Research Promotion Plan at Universitat Jaume I (Spain) [grant number UJI-B2020-09].
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2023 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Ruiz-Madrid, N., Valeiras-Jurado, J. (2023). Reconceptualisation of Genre(s) in Scholarly and Scientific Digital Practices: A Look at Multimodal Online Genres for the Dissemination of Science. In: Plo-Alastrué, R., Corona, I. (eds) Digital Scientific Communication. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-38207-9_9
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-38207-9_9
Published:
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-031-38206-2
Online ISBN: 978-3-031-38207-9
eBook Packages: Social SciencesSocial Sciences (R0)