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Materiality and Mediality of Textbooks

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Abstract

This chapter sketches recent research on the mediality and materiality of school textbooks. Drawing on cultural studies, media theory and socio-material analysis, it suggests that textbooks can be seen as material elements within larger assemblages. An increasing interest in the ‘mediality’ of textbooks refers to a shift in focus from the content and information presented in media such as textbooks to the ‘how’ of their mediation, that is, to the ways in which words, images and materiality are choreographed into ways of engaging with these media. The chapter describes three methodological and theoretical approaches to mediality: (1) the linguistic dimension, (2) the multimodal dimension, and (3) the material dimension. It also points to areas for further research, focusing on interdisciplinary dialogue, non-coherence and digital (im)materiality.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Goettingen, Goettingen, Germany

    Felicitas Macgilchrist

  2. Georg-Eckert-Institute - Leibniz-Institute for International Textbook Research, Braunschweig, Germany

    Felicitas Macgilchrist

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  1. Felicitas Macgilchrist
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Georg Eckert Institute - Leibniz-Institute for International Textbook Research, Braunschweig, Germany

    Eckhardt Fuchs

  2. Georg Eckert Institute - Leibniz-Institute for International Textbook Research, Braunschweig, Germany

    Annekatrin Bock

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Macgilchrist, F. (2018). Materiality and Mediality of Textbooks. In: Fuchs, E., Bock, A. (eds) The Palgrave Handbook of Textbook Studies. Palgrave Macmillan, New York. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-53142-1_12

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-53142-1_12

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  • Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, New York

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-137-53141-4

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-137-53142-1

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