Dr. Janette M. Hughes - Multiple Literacies
Multiple Literacies
We read the world through images, symbols, colours, signs, body language and in the gaps and margins as well as through printed text. But traditionally, the print text has been privileged in English language arts classrooms. The notion of “text” has broadened to include texts of all kinds including images, sounds, and even the body.
Graphic Novels
Today, book-length comics, better known as graphic novels, have evolved as a popular medium for children and adolescents. There is a growing North American market for import books like Japanese Manga, and traditional bookstores and libraries are devoting multiple shelves and, in some cases, entire walls to their graphic novel collections. There has been an explosion of graphic novels that retell classic stories and childhood favourites. Graphic novels appeal to a generation of children and adolescents who have grown up in a more visual society, and their inclusion in English language arts classes has been touted as a wonderful new way to engage reluctant readers and especially boys (Christensen, 2007; Frey & Fisher, 2004; Gallo & Weiner, 2004; Schwarz, 2006).
Contrary to this trend to promote graphic novels as “simpler” texts for struggling readers, graphic novels actually require different and possibly even more complex reading skills than traditional print texts. The inclusion of pictures, for example, does provide the reader with visual clues to help understand what is happening in the text; however, readers of graphic novels need to understand not only print text and visual images (facial expression and gestures, for example), but also how certain media techniques are employed for different effects. For example, why is a close-up used in a floating panel or how is a panoramic image used to convey a certain effect? As Peter Gutierrez (2009) points out, “By their nature [graphic novels] force readers to get information from the art within a panel, from the progression of images from panel to panel, from the printed text of speech balloons and captions, and often from the in-art ‘audio’ text of sound effects—all at the same time. You must synthesize as you go”. Although comics have been around for decades, the increasing availability of graphic novels provide readers with opportunities to engage with a medium that complements the literacies required by the kinds of multimodal platforms many of them are immersed in daily, such as MSN, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.
Multiple Literacies
We read the world through images, symbols, colours, signs, body language and in the gaps and margins as well as through printed text. But traditionally, the print text has been privileged in English language arts classrooms. The notion of “text” has broadened to include texts of all kinds including images, sounds, and even the body.
Graphic Novels
Today, book-length comics, better known as graphic novels, have evolved as a popular medium for children and adolescents. There is a growing North American market for import books like Japanese Manga, and traditional bookstores and libraries are devoting multiple shelves and, in some cases, entire walls to their graphic novel collections. There has been an explosion of graphic novels that retell classic stories and childhood favourites. Graphic novels appeal to a generation of children and adolescents who have grown up in a more visual society, and their inclusion in English language arts classes has been touted as a wonderful new way to engage reluctant readers and especially boys (Christensen, 2007; Frey & Fisher, 2004; Gallo & Weiner, 2004; Schwarz, 2006).
Contrary to this trend to promote graphic novels as “simpler” texts for struggling readers, graphic novels actually require different and possibly even more complex reading skills than traditional print texts. The inclusion of pictures, for example, does provide the reader with visual clues to help understand what is happening in the text; however, readers of graphic novels need to understand not only print text and visual images (facial expression and gestures, for example), but also how certain media techniques are employed for different effects. For example, why is a close-up used in a floating panel or how is a panoramic image used to convey a certain effect? As Peter Gutierrez (2009) points out, “By their nature [graphic novels] force readers to get information from the art within a panel, from the progression of images from panel to panel, from the printed text of speech balloons and captions, and often from the in-art ‘audio’ text of sound effects—all at the same time. You must synthesize as you go”. Although comics have been around for decades, the increasing availability of graphic novels provide readers with opportunities to engage with a medium that complements the literacies required by the kinds of multimodal platforms many of them are immersed in daily, such as MSN, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.
