Dreamers and caminantes

Redefining migrant representations through multimodal metaphors in Yuyi Morales’ children’s picture book 'Dreamers'

Authors

  • Agata Żelachowska Universidad de Salamanca
  • Susana Marrón-González Universidad de Salamanca, currently at Universitat Pompeu Fabra

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.1558/lhs.26272

Keywords:

multimodal metaphor, migration, Conceptual Metaphor Theory (CMT), children's picture books, visual grammar, social justice

Abstract

Migration remains a recurring yet controversial subject in today’s society. Previous research on press discourse has predominantly focused on migration metaphors from their verbal construction (Santa Ana, 1999; O’Brien, 2003) and the interplay with the visual mode in articles (Catalano & Waugh, 2013; Catalano & Mitchell-McCollough, 2019) or political cartoons (El Refaie, 2003). This genre frequently reflects an unfavorable and discriminatory representation of migrants through the lens of the host country. However, children’s picture books addressing this sensitive issue have received little attention despite their pedagogical value for promoting intercultural, positive attitudes at an early age in an increasingly multicultural and multilingual world. Our study aims to examine the metaphorical construction of migration in Yuyi Morales’ picture book Dreamers, combining the cognitive and social semiotic approaches (Forceville, 2016; Kress & Van Leeuwen, 2006; Painter et al., 2013) to shed light on how both frameworks can complement each other in Critical Discourse Analysis and to demonstrate how children’s picture books can constructively contribute to social change by providing a counterbalancing voice to the dominant narrative on migration.

Author Biographies

  • Agata Żelachowska, Universidad de Salamanca

    Agata Żelachowska is an Associate Lecturer in the Department of English Studies at the University of Salamanca. Her research interests include discourse analysis, critical discourse analysis, cognitive linguistics with special interest in (Multimodal) Conceptual Metaphor Theory, social semiotics and multimodality, as well as the applications of descriptive linguistics to educational and social contexts.

  • Susana Marrón-González, Universidad de Salamanca, currently at Universitat Pompeu Fabra

    Susana Marrón-González is an Associate Lecturer in the Department of English Studies at the Faculty of Education (Zamora Campus) of the University of Salamanca. Susana has a broad experience as an English, French and Spanish teacher in Primary, Secondary and Adult Education. She holds a master’s degree in Teacher Training in Compulsory Secondary and Upper Secondary Education, Vocational Training and Foreign Languages from the University of Valladolid. Her research interests include systemic functional linguistics, descriptive linguistics applied to educational contexts (specifically teacher training education), multimodal analysis and intercultural communication.

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Published

2024-08-08

How to Cite

Żelachowska, A., & Marrón-González, S. (2024). Dreamers and caminantes: Redefining migrant representations through multimodal metaphors in Yuyi Morales’ children’s picture book ’Dreamers’. Linguistics and the Human Sciences, 16(1), 79-101. https://doi.org/10.1558/lhs.26272