Norris provides an important contribution to the examination of identity in this book on the theoretical and methodological approach called multimodal interaction analysis. The book moves beyond the traditional discourse analysis focus on spoken language to examine the interplay of broader communicative modes that work together with language use. This longitudinal ethnographic study of two women living in Germany shows how multimodal interaction analysis offers a finer grained holistic analysis of identity construction through context.

This Reader is a comprehensive introductory text for the study of multimodality and offers a wide range of approaches and data sets illuminating the value of multimodal investigations for education, sociology, anthropology, linguistics, psychology, and communication. With an extensive list of further readings, suggested assignments, and an alphabetic glossary, the book is a useful companion to students and researchers alike.

Multimodality is a fast growing area of inquiry as the interest in modes beyond, but always also including language, such as layout, gesture, gaze, or body posture is increasing. A conglomeration of research from various fields interested in examining language as it is embedded in a vast array of other modes, rather than a coherant field of inquiry, this collection will showcase the major achievements in this multidisciplinary field, through the inclusion of theoretically, methodologically and practically important works Topics will range from language studies to education and classroom...