Honors Theses and Capstones

Date of Award

Spring 2021

Project Type

Senior Honors Thesis

College or School

COLA

Department

English

Program or Major

English

Degree Name

Bachelor of Fine Arts

First Advisor

Melinda White

Abstract

Multimodal digital narratives are currently in the spotlight for acquisition into the digital humanities. The narrative form is emerging with great research interest, the form having no previously established traditions. This research paper attempts to define the nature of multimodal digital narratives and their implementation into modern society. Specifically, the paper addresses the digital rhetoric appropriated by multimodal digital narratives and how it translates into modifying perceptions of society. This multimodal digital rhetoric is then explored in the context of digital activism and education, formative social discourses the augment societal perceptions. Digital rhetoric is utilized to augment a user’s reality to distort and influence societal perceptions. Audio, visuals, user interface, reading, and text all filter into digital rhetoric, compounding an author’s ideas with each added element. All aspects of a digital narrative are tended to create user immersion, creating a multi-sensory narrative. The quality of user immersion and variability in narrative navigation, provides a personalized meaning individual to every user. Digital rhetoric is a means in which the author shapes the limits of what a user retains from the narrative itself. Examining instances of multimodal digital narratives reveals the quality of societal distortion. By using my research to create the multimodal digital narrative, “Promise of Paradise,” I explored digital activism though the platform, Twine. Authors model reality through a predetermined system that allows for authorial intent. The system and elements, designed by the author, indicate motivation and display the specific intent an author has in the creation of their multimodal digital narrative. These concepts speak of immense power and capability, filtering into digital activism and modern education.

Comments

There is both an analytical research component and a creative writing component contained within this thesis.

The digital narrative created from this research can be found at: http://multimodalmel.com/pages/promise.html

Download

Share

COinS