To look for another thing, and in another way: revitalising criticality with multimodal methodologies

This article proposes multimodal methodologies as a path to revitalising criticality in CTS. It begins by assessing the strengths of existing scholarship on “terrorism”, whilst also noting this scholarship’s overwhelmingly linguistic source materials. It considers shortcomings of such a monomodal methodology: including the reproduction of binary conceptual codes, which I argue are uniquely highly codified in linguistic sources; and an imbalance towards structured logics, rather than unstructured affects, in CTS’ conception of terrorism discourses. The article suggests greater diversity of source materials can resolve these shortcomings: deepening our critical project by heightening our sensitivity to transformative, non-binary ways of knowing; and reorienting our analyses from logical to affectual modes of cognition. I demonstrate these possibilities with a review of multimodal materials from Northern Ireland’s so-called “peace walls” (built by state security to contain violence of the “Troubles”). I end with reflections on why CTS might have operationalised a predominantly textual methodology to date – and, further, with a call for readers to integrate multimodality in disseminating our research, as much as selecting our source materials.