I wanted to also add this image. It is some ways articulates my sentiment about the importance of considering various modalities when examining the lived experiences of Black males in education.

Arts-Based Research

2/12/2018

Shawn Brown

When reading Sarah Pink’s article several ideologies and theories resonated with my core beliefs about research. Various modalities of the human experiences are needed to holistically understand an experience. Bella Dicks articulates the extended listing of modalities ‘obvious ones include writing, speech and images; less obvious ones include gesture, facial expression, texture, size and shape, even colour’ (2006: 82).
The subtle nuances of modalities help to conduct research that can consider not such apparent variables. These subtitles are extremely important when addressing historically marginalized groups who have not be able to share their thoughts and emotions traditionally. Such groups use music, art, dance, etc. to express their views. A westernized understanding of sensory categories come into play in studies of multimodalities and must be scrutinized because of historical, implicate bias. Research tends to separate modalities regionally, culturally and to regard to senses. Research states that ‘none of the senses ever operates in isolation from the others’ and that this ‘guarantees the multimodality of our semiotic world’ (2000: 184).
Isolation of the five senses is humanly impossible. Researchers would then have to actively chose not consider these thoughts when conducting observations, which is improbable. The society in which we live is one of labels, categories, and structures. The tendency to separate out different modes and media of communication is not only reflected in the way the senses are understood as each ‘providing highly differentiated information’ (Kress, 2000: 184). Images, words, and sounds all communicate messages. The level of complexity of the messaging changes based on several variables; the audience, time, societal norms, politics, etc. Kress speaks about how words are immobile in comparison to depictions which have an infinitely large potential of depictions – precise, specific, and full of meaning, (Kress, 2005: 15–16).
All senses work in conjunction with one another and are used in different ways at different times, not separately. There are commonalities between some of these senses that work seamlessly with one another. The obvious two are writing and drawing. Drawing pre-dates writing and was our first form of communication.

The reading further reinforced my beliefs about infusing the arts into all components of my research. I believe it is a necessity for marginalized groups that have been required to use these outlets to express themselves.