Combinations and Connections: Reaching Across Disciplinary Boundaries

The data- rich articles in this special issue invite readers to consider how grammar and multimodality enact social practices. In particular, they propose a reconceptualization of grammar, moving beyond an autonomous system of items and combinatorial rules to demonstrate how grammar is an embodied resource for social interaction. In this discussion, I build on this important reconceptualization of grammar in order to identify cross- cutting themes- themes that result from combining research methodologies and connecting the research reported on here with that originating from other disciplines, especially that inspired by complex dynamic systems theory. My intention is to urge all researchers not only to pursue their own research agendas but also to build on existing common ground, in order to overcome fractionalization and to contribute to our mutual understanding.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/172104/1/modl12753.pdfhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/172104/2/modl12753_am.pd