Kristi Lee
Dr. Musgrove English 6361 8 August 2012 Abstract My project explores the question, what methods can be utilized to teach secondary students how to recognize, understand, and evaluate multimodal metaphors in print and media advertising? As a high school English teacher this topic is very important to me. Metaphors in advertising are based on a shared vernacular of culture, including pop culture, and it is valuable for high school students to understand the shared experiences upon which these metaphors are based; furthermore, it is imperative for students to master analysis and synthesis skills through the evaluation of media literacy. The new English Language Arts TEKS implemented in 2010 include a strand on media literacy, stating “students will use comprehension skills to analyze how words, images, graphics, and sounds work together in various forms to impact meaning.” Additionally, as a high school English teacher I desire to create lessons with higher engagement and buy-in from students. Analyzing multimodal metaphorical advertisements seems like a means to that end. For these reasons alone this question would be important for others, especially teachers; however, others may also desire to become more informed consumers and understanding and evaluating metaphors in multimodal advertisements would serve to increase consumer awareness. Many sources I read maintained that metaphor use is prevalent and on-going in our everyday language. As a result of metaphors’ immersion in our culture and language, their utilization has broadened beyond everyday speech and language. More specifically, my sources address the target and source domain of metaphors used in multimodal advertising. While there were many specific metaphorical sentences such as sweet corn is fine wine, the messages ultimately came down to the product is quality, the product is luxury, the product is status, the product is safety, and so forth. The message of the advertisements, no matter the method, is that their product is the best (Forceville). On their own, most high school students would understand metaphors used in advertising, even if they are not aware that they are metaphors, and that the purpose of advertisements is to persuade the consumer to purchase the product. Methods in getting students to evaluate and analyze beyond the obvious is the answer I seek in this presentation. My sources do not specifically address best instructional practices for teaching evaluation of metaphor in multimodal advertisements in the secondary classroom, but some of my sources, through their content of explaining how the metaphors work, provided instructional framework. Interestingly enough the methods for instructing analysis of metaphor use in multimodal advertisements is not much different from the instructional methods for teaching analysis of rhetorical and literary texts. Kaplan states, “Metaphors achieve their potency by first creating some degree of tension, then providing a means for the interpreter to resolve that tension” (45). It is this tension and resolution that students must identify as the central meaning of the advertisement, and furthermore, students must explore the methods with which the tension is resolved. Explicating the meaning via the method is parallel to how students explicate theme in literature. While looking for the deeper meaning conveyed through the metaphor in multimodal advertisements is similar to seeking the central or controlling idea of a text passage, the methods with which that meaning is employed in the advertisements is different. Barbu asserts that when evaluating advertisements one must consider the details of typography layout, aesthetic construction of the logo, use of specific typefaces, colors, and textures, orientation of the text, and details of images (219). Students would simply need to be provided with instruction concerning advertising terminology and practice in evaluating the use of metaphor in multimodal advertisements in order to master this medium. Using multimodal advertisements as an introduction to analysis in the secondary English classroom would serve to engage students and hopefully serve as a transition to other academic analysis writing. Works Cited Barbu, Oana. “Education through Advertising’s Metaphors.” Journal Plus Education. 7.1 (2011): 211-224. Education Research Complete. EBSCO. Web. 31 July 2012. Forceville, Charles. “Pictorial Metaphor in Advertisements.” Metaphor & Symbolic Activity. 9.1 (1994): 1-29. Humanities International Complete. EBSCO. 29 July 2012. Kaplan, Stuart Jay. “Visual Metaphors in the Representation of Communication Technology.” Critical Studies in Mass Communication. 7.1 (1990): 37-48. Education Research Complete. EBSCO. Web. 1 Aug 2012. Texas. Region XIII Education Service Center. English Language Arts and Reading: TEKS Resource Handbook. Austin: University of Texas System/Texas Education Agency, 2009. Print. Kristi Lee
Dr. Musgrove English 6361 8 August 2012 Annotated Bibliography Barbu, Oana. “Education through Advertising’s Metaphors.” Journal Plus Education. 7.1 (2011): 211-224. Education Research Complete. EBSCO. Web. 31 July 2012. West University of Timișoara Political Science, Philosophy and Communication professor Oana Barbu presents an article touting the merits of educating the public through advertisements. Barbu asserts that advertisements are capitalist based, but that they also tap into the emotions of the audience. Advertisement are dually structured including the message and persuasiveness of the advertisement and also the social and educational aspect of the advertisement. The author states, “advertising has a pedagogical function in its discourse suggesting socio-cultural and moral models representative for this century.” Barbu’s research question pertains to the ability of advertising to educate the masses. Barbu explicates the use of metaphor in advertising and claims that “metaphor is the most commonly used figure of speech within the advertising discourse.” The author uses Lakoff as a source claiming that the public does not need the specific skill set of evaluating metaphor as metaphor is so pervasive in everyday language. Furthermore, Barbu claims we don’t simply talk in metaphor but move an act in metaphor and explicates the ARGUMENT IS WAR metaphor as proof of this claim. The author outlines that metaphors are used in advertisements because consumers have a “metaphorical familiarity with the everyday language” and consumers “respond to an existential need of the public for the alternation of realities in which it desires to loose and discover itself!” This article is useful for the purpose of the research as it explains the use of metaphor, including multimodal metaphor, in advertising. Additionally, this article proposes means of educational practices concerning the evaluation of metaphor use in multimodal advertisements. Specifically, the article provides methods of evaluating the advertisement including typography layout, aesthetic construction of the logo, use of specific typefaces, colors, and textures, and orientation of the text. Furthermore the article offers exploration of the denotative, connotative, and symbolic levels of advertisement evaluation. Utilizing these analysis methods, Barbu asserts that advertisement messages reflect cultural and societal values. Forceville, Charles. “Metaphor in Pictures and Multimodal Representations.” The Cambridge Handbook of Metaphor and Thought. Ed. Raymond W. Gibbs. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2008. 462-482. In his article, “Metaphor in Pictures and Multimodal Representations” from The Cambridge Handbook of Metaphor and Thought, University of Amsterdam professor Charles Forceville reiterates Lakoff and Johnson’s definition and analysis of language metaphors. Concerning conceptual metaphor theory (CMT), Forceville claims there is a warranted need for more research of non-verbal metaphors such as static and moving pictures, sounds, music, and gestures. Forceville examines the validity of pictorial metaphor including multimodal metaphor, metaphor with “at least two different sign systems” (463). He claims that pictorial metaphors differ from language only metaphors in that they are based on perception, have different cues to the comparison, they are more easily recognized, and often have stronger emotional appeals (463). Forceville outlines the different types of pictorial metaphor including contextual metaphor, hybrid metaphor, pictorial simile, and integrated metaphor. When discussing multimodal metaphors Forceville emphasizes the importance of utilizing recognizable sign systems and sensory modes to indicate the target and source domains of the metaphor. Other considerations for evaluating multimodal metaphor include determining how implicitly or explicitly the metaphor is indicated, if the metaphor is embedded or creative, the importance of the metaphors movement or static station. Forceville continues by elaborating on multimodal metaphor in print advertising and film. He concludes his article calling for more research of multimodal metaphors in advertising, political cartoons, and film. The information provided in this Forceville article serves as definition as a definition of multimodal metaphor and the different types. Per the research purposes this article provides the foundation for metaphor in advertising and the foundation of types and uses of multimodal metaphor. Forceville, Charles. “Pictorial Metaphor in Advertisements.” Metaphor & Symbolic Activity. 9.1 (1994): 1-29. Humanities International Complete. EBSCO. 29 July 2012. In this article, University of Amsterdam professor Charles Forceville focuses on analysis of pictorial metaphors. In order to do so in a productive means, Forceville develops vocabulary to allow discussion and analysis of pictorial metaphors. In evaluating pictorial metaphors in advertising, Forceville discusses the target as primary subject (PS) and the source as secondary source (SS). Forceville adheres to Black’s central claim that “metaphors often do not reveal pre-existent similarity but rather create that similarity.” Through his explication of French, Dutch, and British advertisements, Forceville provides proof of Black’s assertion. Forceville chooses to analyze pictorial metaphors in advertisements as they have a clear-cut purpose and their image signification is intentional. Forceville includes many examples of multimodal print ads where he explains that the PS is typically the product and the SS is how the product is desired to be perceived by the consumer. Combinations of images, grounded in textual comment and supported by context, serve to inform that the product is safety, the product is luxury, the product is status, the product is quality, etc. This article serves to support the research project as Forceville specifically outlines his analysis methods. He notes that there are three messages present in multimodal print ads, the linguistic message, the denoted message and the connoted message. The linguistic message grounds the holistic message, the connoted message is the image as a whole or symbolic message, and the denoted message is what remains when the connoted message is mentally erased. However, Forceville notes that the connoted and denoted message of an image cannot be separated. When analyzing multimodal advertisements, Forceville expresses the importance to asking the following questions: “What are the two terms of the pictorial metaphor, and how are they to be verbalized? What is the PS, and what is the SS in each metaphor, and how do we know? And, what properties, if any, are projected from the implicative complex of the SS upon the PS?” These analytical questions work well for secondary students as a means of understanding how message is conveyed in advertisements. Forceville asserts that context is pertinent for analysis and the three types of content in advertising, include pictorial context, linguistic context, and world and cultural knowledge context. Forceville reiterates that purpose always assists with analysis and evaluation of metaphor use in multimodal advertisements. Kaplan, Stuart Jay. “Visual Metaphors in the Representation of Communication Technology.” Critical Studies in Mass Communication. 7.1 (1990): 37-48. Education Research Complete. EBSCO. Web. 1 Aug 2012. Lewis and Clark College Associate Professor of Communications, Stuart Jay Kaplan, presents an article explicating the social and cultural values portrayed and conveyed through advertisements. He narrows his focus to advertisements about new technologies and the effects of technological advancement on society specifically in the areas of communication an education. Kaplan states, “advertising now plays a vital role in the sense-making process by which people organize their experiences and comprehend their physical and social environment.” And, as mentioned in other sources, metaphor is the tool or method used to convey the meaning and purpose of the advertisement. Concerning metaphors in our daily lives, Kaplan explains that they appeal to the imagination, are fundamental to language, thinking, and behavior, and provide interpretive frameworks for structuring information. He notes the use of metaphors in important political speeches and national new reports as means to assist the public in sense-making of volatile situations. For his article, Kaplan conducted a study of the effects of metaphorical based multimodal advertisements about new technology. He narrowed the field of advertisements to those concerning home use of novel technologies only. Overwhelmingly the two metaphor relationships that garnered the highest responses were computers are levers, and new technology will facilitate a synthesis of old and new values. Kaplan determined that the “use of metaphors in the advertising of new products and service gives the public a means for apprehending possibly unfamiliar phenomena by making associations with familiar objects and feelings.” Like Lakoff’s notion that metaphors help people to understand something new, in this case new technologies, in terms of something familiar, the advertisers of new technology found it important to “establish some continuity with the past in order to make their innovations more acceptable.” This article supports the research of the use of metaphor as a vehicle of understanding. Additionally, the article addressed the idea of tension, where the metaphor creates tension then provides a resolution to the tension. This idea is compatible with rhetorical and literary analysis structures in the high school English classroom, thus supporting the means of analyzing metaphor use in multimodal advertisements. McQuarrie, Edward F. & David Glen Mick. “Visual Rhetoric in Advertising: Text-Interpretive, Experimental, and Reader-Response Analysis.” Journal of Consumer Research. 26.1 (1999): 37-54. JSTOR. 27 July 2012. In their article, Edward McQuarrie and David Mick report the findings of their action research study. Their research project reported the effects of visual elements in advertising. The results of the study are not applicable to the current research; however the authors’ compilation of the review of the literature and their preliminary accounts do prove pertinent to this research project. In the literature review portion of the study the authors discuss the relationship between text structures of advertisements and consumers who read the ads. They elaborate how the style of advertisements can convey information, add meaning, and concern the brand. Beyond basic text structures the authors explicate the use of rhetorical figures in advertising. Metaphor as a rhetorical figure is referred to as “artful deviation” that “adds interest to an advertisement.” Furthermore, the authors note, metaphors add “flexibility of visual style as a means of altering consumer response to advertising.” The authors present that rhetorical figures, such as metaphor, in advertising have two effects on consumer response, elaboration and pleasure. They state, “elaboration indicates the amount, complexity, or range of cognitive activity occasioned by a stimulus” and “when a rhetorical figure is embodied visually, it is reasonable to suppose that both discursive and imagistic elaboration may result.” In analyzing the use of metaphor in multimodal advertising close attention should be paid to the reasons for using metaphor in the advertisement. According to the authors, “texts that allow multiple readings or interpretations are inherently pleasurable to readers.” In addition to communicating the message of the advertisement, metaphors add pleasure for the reader and thus a positive attitude in the consumer. The effects of elaboration and pleasure as additional reasons for incorporating metaphor in multimodal advertisements provides an added dimension to the evaluation and analysis process of these advertisements in the secondary English classroom. Ortiz, Maria J. “Visual Rhetoric: Primary metaphors and Symmetric Object Alignment.” Metaphor & Symbol. 25 (2010): 162-180. Humanities International Complete. EBSCO. 25 July 2012. University of Alicante Communication and Social Psychology professor Maria J. Ortiz presents an article containing interesting information on analyzing metaphor of symmetrically aligned objects in advertising. She acknowledges that very few studies have been conducted concerning the utilization of primary metaphors within pictorial or visual representation advertisements. Ortiz explores how primary metaphors create visual messages utilized in advertising. She focuses on visual advertisements that contain relational concepts that create a metaphorical relationship that she calls symmetrical object alignment. In these metaphorical cases, the two objects are symmetrically aligned with respect to size, orientation, and distance. Ortiz explains three types of symmetric alignment and their effects for advertising. She explains, “the symmetric alignment of identical objects…is used to express the idea that all of the objects belong to the same brand being advertised.” She explains that “the symmetric alignment of incompatible objects creates a pictorial oxymoron” and “the symmetric alignment of differing objects creates a pictorial simile.” Through sample advertisements, Ortiz elaborates on and analyzes types of metaphor relationships such as, SIMILARITY IS ALIGNMENT, SIMILARITY IS PROXIMITY, and THE NATURE OF AN ENTITY IS ITS SHAPE. This article is related to the current research as it explains how a specific type of multimodal metaphors function in advertising. "Human Life is Art"
Blog 36 Tags: Johnson, The Meaning of the Body chapter twelve, embodied meaning In chapter twelve of his book, The Meaning of the Body, Johnson “summarizes the view of meaning, thought, and language that arises from [his] exploration of embodied meaning” (208). Johnson reiterates the thesis of his book by stating, “philosophy becomes relevant to human life only by reconnecting with, and grounding itself in, bodily dimensions of human meaning and value” (263). In this concluding chapter of his book, Johnson’s purpose is to tie together all he has been arguing, that meaning is inherently connected and tied to the body. He address the problem with philosophers leaving out the visceral aspects of meaning and only focusing on the intellectual aspects of meaning. In so doing, Johnson believes they have discarded a fundamental foundation for making meaning from human experiences. Johnson believes in a holistic, embodied view of meaning is needed in the current study of philosophy. Even linguistics must understand that while language is a valuable tool for communication, inquiry, and knowledge, language cannot always fully articulate “the depth and richness of our experience, thereby limiting our ability to understand and reconstruct our experience” (267). Johnson contrasts objectivist theory of meaning to experientialist view of meaning. He specifically outlines seven characteristics of an embodied, experientialist view of meaning. He succinctly reiterates the tropes of the meaning of the body as 1) the body as a biological organism, 2) the ecological body, 3) the phenomenological body, 4) the social body, and 5) the cultural body. Johnson concludes this final chapter outlining the philosophical implications of the embodied mind. Johnson’s book was published in 2007 and I have to wonder how it has been received. He states, “Our meaning is human meaning – meaning grounded in our human bodies, in their humanly encountered environments” (283). I have to wonder if the science of philosophy took note and did it alter ways of thinking about meaning. I hope so. "Music Moves Me and You"
Blog 35 Tags: Johnson, The Meaning of the Body chapter eleven, music, emotions, feeling, art In chapter eleven of his book, The Meaning of the Body, Johnson explores the embodied meaning associated with the art of music. He explores the “felt flow of musical meaning and our use of image, schemas and metaphors to understand musical motion” (208). In this chapter, Johnson focuses on “enriching our appreciation of the vast array of embodied structures that make meaning possible” (236). Johnson maintains that “music is meaningful because it can present the flow of human experience, feeling, and thinking in concrete, embodied forms – and this is meaning in its deepest sense” (236). Music appeals to the feeling aspects of meaning and is embodied as we not only feel moved emotionally by music, but we also want to move our bodies to the music. Johnson uses Langer’s studies to support his thesis. He paraphrases Langer who says that “when we are actively listening to music, we imaginatively enter into its “motion,” experiencing all of the ways it moves, swells, hops, rushes, floats, trips along, drags soars, and falls” (239). All of this combined creates a felt flow of experience through music. Johnson utilizes examples from songs “Over the Rainbow,” and “Something,” to prove his theories of embodied meaning occurs through the experience of music. In so doing, Johnson is able to convey how music affects us and that “we gain profound insights into the bodily basis of meaning and understanding” (261). At the end of the chapter Johnson states, “when you investigate the workings of various arts, you are investigating what meaning is, where it comes from, and how it can grow” (262). I don’t really have a question, but a comment. This statement, and part three of this book for that matter, support the methods I have used to teach feeling and emotion as it is related through literature, art, music, movies, etc. I feel very fortunate to be within a close proximity to the University of Texas. On the UT campus is the Blanton Museum of Art. The Blanton has a program, The Poetry Project, where Texas poets have written poems in response to works of art in the museum’s permanent collection. It can be viewed online, but I find taking students to the museum is best. For years I have had crossover units of art/literature. But, I am planning to take my students to the physical location of the Blanton and have them see the art and literature. Additionally, I am going to have them write a poem or song in response to a piece of art there. Johnson’s book will support the value of this meaning-making experience should anyone call my idea into question. Link to the Blanton: http://blantonmuseum.org/interact/poetry_project/ "Thinking Beyond the Page or Painting"
Blog 34 Tags: Johnson, The Meaning of the Body part III and chapter ten, aesthetics, art, poetry In part three of his book, The Meaning of the Body, Johnson outlines that while it is important to discuss the philosophic issues of meaning, art or aesthetics should not be forgotten within this discussion. Johnson claims that we look for meaning in art “because it helps us to understand our human condition” (208). He states that part three of his book explores “art for insight into the nature of meaning” (208). In chapter ten specifically, Johnson explores meaning making through art by providing examples from poetry, fiction, and painting. Based on Dewey’s theories “that meaning-making in art is the exemplary or even paradigmatic case of all human meaning-making, Johnson continues in this vein by evaluating aesthetics (218). Throughout the chapter Johnson provides examples from poetry, fiction, and painting to reveal how art is an example of embodied meaning. In explicating poetry he reveals how there is deeper meaning beneath the surface of the words. How the few words of poetry carry a much larger, more intricate message than is explicitly stated. Johnson argues the same for prose in that prose carries deeper meanings than the surface concepts written in the text. When explicating visual arts, such as paintings, Johnson discusses how the details of images, patterns, colors, only provide the surface for a deeper understanding of the art. Johnson acknowledges that even though we sometimes cannot articulate our interactions and experiences with art, this does not diminish the meaning of our experiences with art. These thoughts and feelings that sometimes cannot be expressed in language are still embodied, immanent meaning. This may seem like a weak and whiny question, especially considering that I have an affinity for the arts and support Johnson’s theory that art is an exemplar of meaning-making, but I still do not understand why so many see art as secondary to reason and logic. I do not understand why they cannot be considered a collective and equals when discussing cognition. Through Johnson’s history lesson he says of at that “things of beauty in nature and at had come to be dissociated from our engagement with the practical affairs of life” and that along with ethics, social and political philosophy, aesthetic is merely a “value field” (210, 213). Language such as this deems art as secondary in cognitive thought. I just don’t understand that classification by some. "Metaphor: Explaining One Discipline at a Time"
Blog 33 Tags: Johnson, The Meaning of the Body chapter nine, abstract conceptualization, science and metaphor In chapter nine of his book, The Meaning of the Body, Mark Johnson asserts how abstract concepts in a myriad of subjects can be defined, described, and understood via conceptual metaphor. He explains how this is so for mathematics, philosophy, physics, chemistry, psychology, anthropology, religion, politics, and law. Johnson states, “metaphor makes it possible to extend body-based meaning and inference into abstract thought” (176-77). Johnson argues that “the reason that conceptual metaphor is so important, then, is that it is our primary means for abstract conceptualization and reasoning” (179). He discusses how we acquire hundreds if not thousands of generic metaphor naturally through our development from infancy to adulthood and how these generic metaphors provide the foundation upon which we build complex and conceptual metaphors. Johnson argues that conceptual metaphor is the basis for abstract conceptualization and reasoning. Through this argument he notes the importance of image schemas and conceptual metaphor as they “make it possible for us to use the structure of sensory and motor operations to understand abstract concepts and to draw inferences about them” (180-81). Again he asserts that meaning making is embodied as we “recruit body-based, image-schematic logic to perform abstract reasoning” (181). Johnson continues the chapter expanding on his claim that “Without metaphor there would be no philosophy, nor any other mode of reflective understanding of our world” (187). Using the same arguments as his article in The Cambridge Handbook of Metaphor and Thought, Johnson asserts that deep philosophical questions cannot be addressed without using conceptual metaphors. Ultimately, Johnson’s argument proves that metaphor can be utilized as a tool in which to acquire new knowledge in disciplines beyond English, literature, and linguistics. For the remainder of the chapter, Johnson debunks the theories of the literalists. When discussing Donald Davidson’s theory that metaphors mean nothing at all, Johnson quotes Davidson who states, “We must give up the idea that a metaphor carries a message, that it has a content or meaning (except of course, its literal meaning)” (197). Here Davidson, as does Rorty, uses a metaphor to explain why metaphors are meaningless. Why would Davidson chose to do this? It seems he would want to only use literal language to prove his theory, when instead he seems to only prove Johnson’s theories as correct, that abstract concepts and theories are explained via metaphor. "The Ups and Downs of Research"
Blog 32 Tags: research, multimodal metaphor, advertising, instructional strategies Researching is definitely a process. I have been able to easily locate sources explicating the use of multimodal metaphor in advertising. I am still waiting for the Forceville text to arrive in the mail, but in the mean time I have numerous sources with information about the use of multimodal metaphor in advertising. The second part of my research concerns the pedagogical aspect of my project. At first, it appeared that there are a multitude of pedagogical articles connected to my subject, but on a deeper, closer reading the opposite is true. As I was evaluating sources concerning instructional strategies for my project, I found very few articles that specifically address the subject of best practices for teaching analysis of metaphor in advertising. In fact, many of the articles I have perused for this project state that more research is needed concerning instructional strategies and practices for evaluating metaphor in advertising. I did find one article, “Education Through Advertising’s Metaphors” that includes information pertinent to the issues I wish to explore in my project. However, this is the only article that alone addresses instructional strategies concerning metaphor. So, as a result of limited articles addressing my specific question and purpose, I have had to adjust my methods. I did not, nor am I changing my QAI for many reasons. To begin, it is late in the course, but more importantly I have a heightened interest in the pedagogical aspects of my project. So, I decided to broaden my research scope in order to collect information that can be combined to answer the pedagogical aspects of my question. As I broadened my scope I found articles concerning instructional strategies for evaluating and analyzing multimodal visual images, and I found articles about the importance of consumer education concerning advertisements. Additionally, I found an article about meaning making and multimodal representation pedagogy in the high school ESL classroom. I feel confident that the combination of the information in these articles and my personal knowledge of the TEKS and instructional strategies for the secondary English classroom will provide a connected synthesis to answer my QAI. My working thesis addresses how multimodal metaphors in advertising are created, and how best practices for evaluating and analyzing multimodal metaphors are similar to rhetorical analysis of other literacies with the intent to persuade. "Brain and Body on Fire"
Blog 31 Tags: Johnson, The Meaning of the Body chapter eight, neuroscience In chapter eight of The Meaning of the Body, Johnson provides scientific evidence that supports his embodiment of meaning theory. He outlines aspects of cognitive neuroscience that supports his claims. Johnson begins by providing discussion of the neural basis for conceptualization. He proposes that we must examine the evidence that “the meaning of concrete concepts is grounded in activations of sensorimotor areas of the brain” (157). Johnson claims that concepts are neural activation patterns developed by both mind and body where “energy exchanges between and organism and its environment ultimately result in patterns of activation within functional neuronal clusters” (157-58). These neural activation patterns become ingrained in the brain via environmental experiences. According to Johnson, “concepts are patterns of interaction” that contain significance for a person in that they are “selected from the flow of experience” (159). Individual neurons, paired neurons, and neuron clusters connect and fire together in response to conceptual patterns. Johnson discusses theories that contend that conceptualization utilizes some of the same neural activation patterns as perceptual and motor experiences. This supports Johnson’s assertion that thinking and doing are similar in brain functioning. When putting together my action research proposal for my educational research course, I remember reading that the brains of today’s youths are mapped differently than those of their teachers (my research was about the effects of individual technologies on student achievement). This different mapping pattern is a result of the influx of multi-media and youths’ immersion in it. In the chapter, Johnson provides information from the studies of Gallese and Lakoff and part of their research states, “the sensorimotor system of the brain is multimodal—that is, that our systems for seeking, touching, hearing, and motor actions, for example, are integrated by cross-modal neural links” (160). This certainly supports that the brain is well equipped to experience and make meaning from multi-media technology. I remember discussing my research in the teachers’ lounge and some of my colleagues feeling almost offended as they thought I was implying that the 21st century student is smarter than us, the adult teachers. I don’t think this nor did I mean to imply that our students are smarter than us; as a result of the changes in the environment in which they came of age, they have different experiences from us. However, while we adults didn’t grow up with technology, it is certainly part of our current environment and our experiences with it create meaning for us. My question is does it matter when environment influenced meanings are mapped? Does it make a difference that our students grew up with the technological environment and we made meaning from technology experiences later in life? I don’t think it would as Johnson says we carry meaning forward; we adults just picked up this specific meaning later in life. "Foundational Knowledge" Blog 30 Tags: Johnson, The Meaning of the Body chapter seven, image schema, social cognition In chapter seven of The Meaning of the Body, Johnson continues his evaluation and explanation of embodied meaning. He recounts how spatial experiences are based on “recurring patterns and structures that constitute the contours of our world” (135). These patterns are a continuous means for s to interact with and understand our world. Mankind is insistent on separating ourselves from lower animals based on our abilities to reason and conceptualize. Johnson’s goal is to explain how humans have the ability for meaning making, abstraction, reasoning, and symbolic interaction while not separating our connection to lower forms of life and maintaining a mind-body connection as well. Image schemas are the basic sensorimotor experience with which we interact, engage, and understand our world. Our body allows for systematic evaluation of our world (up-down / right-left) that remain constant and this allows us to make sense of our experiences and our situations. Johnson states, he emotional salience of the vitality-affect contours in image schemas shows that image schemas are not mere static “representations” (or “snapshots”) of one moment in a topographic neural map. Instead, image schemas operate dynamically in and through time” (144). In addition to the bodily interactions with environment that shape our neural maps and the image schemas in them, Johnson also makes a case for social aspect of cognitive development. Johnson says that “Mind is an achievement, not a pre-given faculty” (152). Also, he states, “Because of social and cultural cognition, we do not have to relearn the meaning of our world. Each child, and each social group, can appropriate those objects and activities in which a culture’s meanings and values are sedimented” (152). Could this mean that each generation is more cognitive advanced, or more intelligent than the previous generation? I wouldn’t say a concrete yes, but as we preserve and impart our “accumulated meaning, understanding, and knowledge” onto the younger generation, we allow them the opportunity to explore and create more and newer cognitive experiences. I think this video captures many of the concepts we have been discussing in this class. The Shawshank Redemption is one of my favorite movies.
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AuthorThis is my last semester as a graduate student! I will graduate in August with my MA in Curriculum and Instruction with a content focus in English. Go Rams! ArchivesCategories
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