Lectures and seminars Mapping Material Zones: A Multimodal Exploration of Medical Emergencies
This international series of talks is organised by The UCL Visual and Multimodal Research Forum, the University of Leeds Multimodality@Leeds and Unit of Teaching and Learning (KI). In this talk Dr. Polina Mesinioti will present her completed PhD research on the discursive construction of leadership in medical emergencies.
Presenter
Dr. Polina Mesinioti (University of York).
About
Multimodal approaches are gaining traction in health communication research. However, discourse studies have largely prioritised verbal cues, gaze, and gesture, while the role of materiality remains underexplored (De Fina & Georgakopoulou, 2020). Examining the material ecology of healthcare settings through a multimodal lens can offer valuable insights into clinical performance and patient safety.
In this talk, I will present my completed PhD research on the discursive construction of leadership in medical emergencies. By introducing the concept of ‘material zones’, I will show how I analysed healthcare professionals’ engagement with material space and its impact on clinical performance. Additionally, drawing on my recent review (Mesinioti, 2025), I will reflect on the methodological challenges and theoretical implications of applying multimodal discourse approaches in health communication research.
References
De Fina, A., & Georgakopoulou, A. (Eds.). (2020). Discourse Materialities and Embodiment: Introduction. In The Cambridge Handbook of Discourse Studies (pp. 255–370). Cambridge University Press.
Mesinioti, P. (2025). Multimodal discourse analysis in health communication: sketching out the field. Qualitative Health Communication, 4(1), 2–16. https://doi.org/10.7146/qhc.148808