Centre for Multimodal Communication

Building bridges between organisation studies and multimodality research.

On 29–30 May, the MLO (Multimodality, Language and Organisation) research group hosted a symposium focused on the growing need to better understand the multimodal nature of organisations and organising.

Organised by MLO’s Daniel Wolfgruber, Heidi Hansen, Søren Vigild Poulsen, and Theo van Leeuwen, the symposium brought together leading scholars and emerging researchers to explore how communication, materiality, and technology shape organisations.

We were honored to welcome keynote speakers François Cooren (Université de Montréal), Dennis Jancsary (University of Liverpool), and Renate Meyer (WU Vienna), alongside panel contributions from Aarhus University, Aalborg University, and the University of Southern Denmark.

Across keynotes and panels, the symposium highlighted how closer dialogue between the two fields can strengthen both theoretical insights and analytical approaches to contemporary practices of organising.

Thank you to all speakers and participants for contributing to a very stimulating event.

Also a great thank you to Carlsbergfondet for generously sponsoring the symposium.
You can read about the symposium here: https://event.sdu.dk/multimodality/conference

How do organisations come into being through communication?

This week, the MLO (Multimodality, Language and Organization) research group hosted a PhD course exploring this question, bringing together perspectives from organisation studies and multimodality research.

Taught by MLO’s Heidi Hansen and Theo van Leeuwen, the course combined lectures and hands-on workshops to:
• analyse how organisations and brands are communicatively constituted
• apply multimodal analytical tools to empirical organisational phenomena
• critically reflect on the role of material and embodied resources – such as organisational dress – shaping organisationality.

A key focus was the concept of organisationality: the gradual introduction of elements of formal organisation in social collectives held together by shared identities rather than legal arrangements.

The Ph.D. course was organised by MLO’s Daniel Wolfgruber, Heidi Hansen, Søren Vigild Poulsen, and Theo van Leeuwen.

Thank you to all participants for engaging discussions and thoughtful analyses!

The Ph.D. course was generously sponsored by the Carlsberg Foundation

You can read about the PhD course here: https://event.sdu.dk/multimodality/conference

Last week, the research project Ignorance and Inequality in Sexual Health hosted a workshop with health communication practitioners working in the field of sexual health.

We were grateful to be joined by Marie Louise Poulsen (The Danish Committee for Health Education), Stine Bang (The Danish AIDS Foundation), and Maria Fonfara (independent photographer), who generously shared their professional experiences and discussed concrete examples from their work.

The workshop provided valuable insights into how health communication practitioners develop and convey sexual health information for diverse population groups, and into the practical challenges and considerations that shape this work in everyday contexts.

We are very thankful for our guests’ openness, expertise and willingness to engage in dialogue, which contributed greatly to the discussions and offered important perspectives for our ongoing research.

The workshop was funded by the VELUX Foundation.
VELUX Fonden AIDS-Fondet Komiteen for Sundhedsoplysning

Earlier this week, the research project Ignorance and Inequality in Sexual Health hosted the conference Diversity in Sexual Health Communication.

It was truly a globally diverse event, bringing together participants from Australia, China, Denmark, Egypt, Greenland, India, Italy, Malaysia, Nigeria, Pakistan, Scotland, Sweden, South Africa, Switzerland and the UK.

Across plenary sessions, panels and discussions, the conference offered a wealth of intellectually stimulating perspectives on diversity, inequality and communication in sexual health research and practice, with a particular focus on publicly available sexual health information.

Plenary presentations were delivered by Theo van Leeuwen (University of Southern Denmark), Deborah Bateson (University of Sydney), Gwen Bouvier (Shanghai International Studies University), and Gareth Millward (University of Southern Denmark).

In addition, a panel of sexual health communication practitioners enriched the conference with valuable practice-based insights: Marie Louise Poulsen (The Danish Committee for Health Education), Sofie Krog (The Danish Association of Youth with Disabilities), Stine Bang (The Danish AIDS Foundation), and Maria Fonfara (independent photographer).

The conference was made possible through generous funding from the VELUX Foundation.

We would like to thank all speakers and participants for their engagement and thoughtful contributions – your work and discussions made this a truly memorable event.

VELUX Fonden AIDS-Fondet SUMH Komiteen for Sundhedsoplysning

Earlier this week, Stine Harboe Petersen successfully defended her PhD thesis, “Organisational Culture in Construction: A Critical Realist Perspective”.

The defence featured engaging discussions and valuable reflections on her research, and we are pleased to share that all went exceptionally well.

Everyone at MLO extends heartfelt congratulations to Stine on achieving her PhD. We wish her all the very best in her future endeavours.

Yesterday, MLO’s Søren Vigild Poulsen took part in a 24 hour livestream event celebrating the life and work of Umberto Eco.
The Umberto Eco Foundation, together with Fondazione Bottega Finzioni, hosted a global online gathering where researchers, artists, publishers, and journalists from around the world paid tribute to the Italian semiotician and writer.
In his talk, Søren spoke about Eco’s honorary doctorate at the University of Southern Denmark—back when it was called Odense University—awarded on 26 September 1986. He also reflected on how Eco’s work helped shape his own education in semiotics.
If you’re a fan of Eco or curious about his lasting impact, you can revisit the full program and explore the many perspectives shared throughout the event on the official Umberto Eco Foundation YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/live/5LPVQg2XfNQ?si=ydBVsC4tc20C7jaJ

🎉 Great news!
Theo van Leeuwen, together with Heidi Hansen and Søren Vigild Poulsen, has received a grant from Carlsbergfondet to host a two day symposium + a PhD course on Organizationality & Multimodality at SDU.

🧩 The event explores how organizations take shape through multimodal communication – across visuals, language, space, design & more – and how organizationality emerges in networks, social movements, and online communities.

📅 Please note the dates 28–30 May 2026 – Odense and pass on the information
More details coming soon!
Carlsbergfondet

Today, MLO says goodbye to Astrid Jensen.
Astrid has been a fantastic colleague – committed, hard-working and always ready to help. Her work in organisational communication – including her expertise in narratives and counter-narratives in the construction of organisational identity, organisational crises, and organisational change – has been an invaluable asset to the group.
Dear Astrid, we are sad to say goodbye. You will be greatly missed, both professionally and personally 🌺

Happy New Year from Multimodality, Language and Organisation!
Thank you for an inspiring year. We look forward to connecting with colleagues at conferences and other events in 2026. Here’s to another year of meaningful conversations, shared knowledge and inspiring research 🎉🎉🎉

Yesterday, Multimodality, Language and Organisation had the pleasure of engaging with John G. McClellan from Aalborg University in a stimulating seminar.

John presented “Communicating with Care: Relational Responsibility for Sustainable Change”, framed within a CCO perspective. His talk explored the political and relational qualities of communication and introduced the idea of a relationally-responsive ethic of care as a guiding logic for fostering sustainable, mutually supportive ways of organising. This perspective sparked rich discussions about how these concepts intersect with our own research on multimodality, language, and organisation.

A heartfelt thank you to John for sharing his insights – and to Heidi Hansen for organising both the seminar and the dinner that followed in town!