Introduction: Narrativity and multimodal communication in the age of new media

Abstract

The paradigm of narrativity connects in the most challenging ways with another fundamental human communication paradigm: multimodality. People express meanings through narratives by choosing between semiotic resources and/or modes available to them in a particular social situation and moment (Jewitt and Henriksen 2016; Kull 2018). In today’s multimodal society (Baldry 2000; Kress and van Leeuwen 2001; Norris 2004), where digital technologies have created a dynamic new communication ecosystem, new opportunities are emerging to explore long-standing issues, such as the interplay between narrativity and multimodality. Whether we are discussing natural or artificial narratives, multimodality can be understood as a performative aspect of narrativity. The articles included in this special issue explore the complementarity of the two paradigms, focusing on the multimodal dimension of narrativity in the context of digital culture.