Learning (with) animation: semiotic premises of a transdisciplinary pedagogical framework

By: Alexandra Milyakina and Maarja Ojamaa

 

ARTICLE INFO:
Volume: 10
Issue: 01:Summer 2024
ISSN: 2459-2943
DOI: 10.18680/hss.2024.0008
Pages: 141-157
Lic.: CC BY-NC-ND 4.0
KEYWORDS:
Animated film
Multimodality
Semiotics of culture
Digital learning

 

ABSTRACT

The paper employs the principles of semiotics of culture and social semiotics to explore the educational applications of animation with an empirical focus on Soviet Estonian animated films. We begin by discussing the polyglottic nature of animation as a medium, highlighting features unique to the local context. Soviet Estonian animation, conceptualized as a representative of the “Soviet West” (Pikkov 2016: 28), combines the universal conventions of the genre with the experimental approaches originating within the constraints of totalitarian ideology. Using a methodological framework grounded in Juri Lotman’s functions of text (2001) and Gunther Kress’s modes of communication with the text (Kress 2010), we examine three potential roles of animation in education: technical packaging, a historical artifact, and a poetic object. The case study revolves around three animated films featured on the digital learning platform “Estonian Animation” (Eesti animafilmid 2023) developed at the University of Tartu in collaboration with the Estonian Film Institute. The paper analyzes the project results while discussing the role of animation within the transdisciplinary framework of cultural education. Examples from the platform are complemented with an overview of educational materials developed by teachers and accessible in Estonian educational databases. The transdisciplinary pedagogical framework combines three approaches to learning (with) animation: relating content to various subject fields, exploring the historical context of animated film, and interacting with it through the prism of design.

 
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