Loosening the ligatures of text : Kamishibai performance in the modal ecologies of 21st century classrooms / Tara M. McGowan.

Format:

Book

Manuscript

Thesis/Dissertation

Author/Creator:

McGowan, Tara M.

Contributor:

Hornberger, Nancy H., advisor.

Lytle, Susan L. (Susan Landy), 1942- advisor.

Howard, Kathryn M., 1966- committee member.

Rowsell, Jennifer, committee member.

University of Pennsylvania. Education.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Penn dissertations--Education.

Education--Penn dissertations.

Local Subjects:

Penn dissertations--Education.

Education--Penn dissertations.

Physical Description:

2 volumes (xv, 442 pages) : color illustrations ; 29 cm

Production:

2012.

Summary:

This dissertation examines student performance of kamishibai. Originally a Japanese street-performance art, kamishibai involves orally telling a narrative while manipulating illustrated cards inside a stage. Hailed as a precursor of manga cartoons and animé films, kamishibai has been receiving attention in Japan and internationally for its uses within educational settings. This dissertation poses the question: What opportunities for multimodal instruction and curriculum development does kamishibai offer in the 21st century classroom and how might these advance our understanding of current theories of multimodality? Research was conducted over two four-month periods and involved creation, critique, and performance of kamishibai stories with 3rd graders in two public school districts in Central New Jersey. In each site, participant observation was carried on for the first month and throughout the project. In the second and third months, the researcher led students through the creation of their stories, during which time she videotaped evolving performances and critiquing sessions. Finally, she videotaped performances for parents and peers and interviewed students and teachers to hear their reflections on the process. Drawing upon methods of microanalysis, the researcher chose case studies to analyze specific student performances and how they evolved over time. The significance of kamishibai lies in its particular synaesthetic ensemble of kineikonic modes, combined with oral language and framed as live performance, and this framing gives rise to certain affordances that challenge many commonly held assumptions about the reach of modes in American classroom ecologies, where the written mode is most valued. The kamishibai project loosened the ideological ligatures around modes in both liberating and destabilizing ways that upended existing classroom hierarchies, while exposing instances of blockages and fluidity of modal transfer, leading to the conclusion that transference of knowledge from one mode to another cannot be assumed. Further research needs to address the complexity of these synaesthetic processes if we are to achieve a "resource" model of multimodality where all available modes may be drawn upon equally as resources in student learning.

Notes:

Advisers: Nancy H. Hornberger; Susan L. Lytle.

Thesis (Ph.D. in Education) -- University of Pennsylvania, 2012.

Includes bibliographical references.

OCLC:

801184376