Taking the World by Hand

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elena Cuffari ◽  
Jürgen Streeck
Keyword(s):  
Meaning Making ◽  
Video Data ◽  
Hand Gestures ◽  
Making Meaning ◽  
Double Movement ◽  
The World ◽  
Initial Basis ◽  
Embodied Meaning ◽  
Philosophical Texts ◽  
Point Of Departure

Pairing interpretation of philosophical texts with microanalysis of video data, this essay examines some particular ways that hand gestures enable embodied meaning making and sharing. The point of departure is Maurice Merleau-Ponty’s statement that gesture is the initial basis by which a subject lives and signifies. Intercorporeality and interpretive effort then become the basis of interactive meaning making. Meaning emerges when hand gestures, as intercorporeal acts, reflect and reflexively alter the constituting norms, perspectives, and possibilities found in a given space. This double movement is appropriative and disclosive—hand gestures must fit to a given world of meaning even as they take hold of and form it. Explaining this common feature of distinct gesture ecologies leads to a number of conclusions for the study of language.

Affect as a hinge

2016 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 78-96 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sari Hokkanen ◽  
Kaisa Koskinen
Keyword(s):  
Meaning Making ◽  
Theoretical Framework ◽  
Social Processes ◽  
Narrative Approach ◽  
Social Environments ◽  
Embodied Experience ◽  
Research Projects ◽  
Embodied Meaning ◽  
Narrative Practice ◽  
Point Of Departure

Affect, understood here as embodied meaning-making, offers one useful point of departure in studying translation as an activity that involves both cognitive and social processes, because it functions as a hinge between subjective understandings and social environments. We approach affects related to translating with the theoretical framework of the translator’s experiencing self, defined here as the perception that translators have of themselves, based on lived and embodied experience. In other words, we suggest that the study of affect in relation to translating should pay attention to translators’ own processes of meaning-making. Since the processes of human meaning-making, including self-construction, have been argued to rest upon narrative practice, we furthermore argue for a narrative approach to studying affects. We illustrate the methodological opportunities provided by a narrative approach to affect with three cases deriving from three different research projects.

scholarly journals I-Reflexes: The Affective Implications of Bodies in Dance Improvisation Performance

1969 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Paula Guzzanti
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Meaning Making ◽  
The Body ◽  
Perceptual Awareness ◽  
Factors Influencing ◽  
The World ◽  
Dance Improvisation ◽  
Kinesthetic Empathy ◽  
Embodied Meaning ◽  
Performance Project

In this article, I present—from the perspective of the dance improviser—an analysis of my practice-as-research project, entitled I-Reflexes. In this piece I explore factors influencing decision-making in dance improvisation performance. I-Reflexes captures the improvisational interaction of three performers: a solo dancer, a musician, and a sonic artist; the audience also participates through the mediation of their mobile phones. In this performance project, ringtones trigger unplanned, reflex-like movements in the body, suggesting alternate terms of decision-making within dance improvisation practice. A significant reflection that emerged from this study was that the act of perceiving brings the world into the body of the improviser, while the felt experience of affect places the body in relation to other bodies in the world. Therefore, I will suggest that to advance understandings of dance improvisation practice and theory, perception and affect should be explored together. Moreover, I will suggest the idea that interactive participation creates a closer affective space between performers and audience, connecting them in a meaningful and stimulating way. In addition, through the medium of ringtones, kinesthetic empathy was amplified. This had the effect of heightening the audience’s perceptual awareness of the relation between performers’ movements and sounds. This relational dynamic between the dance improviser and audience is explored within a psychosocial approach to the study of affect. I draw upon the embodied meaning-making model of affect developed by social psychologist Margaret Wetherell, to investigate this meaningful affective encounter.

SIMILARITIES AND DIFFERENT FEATURES OF HAND GESTURES IN AMERICAN AND KYRGYZ CULTURES

2019 ◽  
pp. 19-22
Author(s):  
Avtandil kyzy Ya
Keyword(s):  
Everyday Life ◽  
Facial Expressions ◽  
Main Part ◽  
Body Language ◽  
Hand Gestures ◽  
Common Definition ◽  
The World ◽  
The Common ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Different Cultures

Abstract: This paper highlights similarities and different features of the category of kinesics “hand gestures”, its frequency usage and acceptance by different individuals in two different cultures. This study shows its similarities, differences and importance of the gestures, for people in both cultures. Consequently, kinesics study was mentioned as a main part of body language. As indicated in the article, the study kinesics was not presented in the Kyrgyz culture well enough, though Kyrgyz people use hand gestures a lot in their everyday life. The research paper begins with the common definition of hand gestures as a part of body language, several handshake categories like: the finger squeeze, the limp fish, the two-handed handshake were explained by several statements in the English and Kyrgyz languages. Furthermore, this article includes definitions and some idioms containing hand, shake, squeeze according to the Oxford and Academic Dictionary to show readers the figurative meanings of these common words. The current study was based on the books of writers Allan and Barbara Pease “The definite book of body language” 2004, Romana Lefevre “Rude hand gestures of the world”2011 etc. Key words: kinesics, body language, gestures, acoustics, applause, paralanguage, non-verbal communication, finger squeeze, perceptions, facial expressions. Аннотация. Бул макалада вербалдык эмес сүйлѳшүүнүн бѳлүгү болуп эсептелген “колдордун жандоо кыймылы”, алардын эки башка маданиятта колдонулушу, айырмачылыгы жана окшош жактары каралган. Макаланын максаты болуп “колдордун жандоо кыймылынын” мааниси, айырмасы жана эки маданиятта колдонулушу эсептелет. Ошону менен бирге, вербалдык эмес сүйлѳшүүнүн бѳлүгү болуп эсептелген “кинесика” илими каралган. Берилген макалада кѳрсѳтүлгѳндѳй, “кинесика” илими кыргыз маданиятында толугу менен изилденген эмес, ошого карабастан “кинесика” илиминин бѳлүгү болуп эсептелген “колдордун жандоо кыймылы” кыргыз элинин маданиятында кѳп колдонулат. Андан тышкары, “колдордун жандоо кыймылынын” бир нече түрү, англис жана кыргыз тилдеринде ма- селен аркылуу берилген.Тѳмѳнкү изилдѳѳ ишин жазууда чет элдик жазуучулардын эмгектери колдонулду. Түйүндүү сѳздѳр: кинесика, жандоо кыймылы, акустика,кол чабуулар, паралингвистика, вербалдык эмес баарлашуу,кол кысуу,кабыл алуу сезими. Аннотация. В данной статье рассматриваются сходства и различия “жестикуляции” и частота ее использования, в американской и кыргызской культурах. Следовательно, здесь было упомянуто понятие “кинесика” как основная часть языка тела. Как указано в статье, “кинесика” не была представлена в кыргызской культуре достаточно хорошо, хотя кыргызский народ часто использует жестикуляцию в повседневной жизни. Исследовательская работа начинается с общего определения “жестикуляции” как части языка тела и несколько категорий жестикуляции, таких как: сжатие пальца, слабое рукопожатие, рукопожатие двумя руками, были объяснены несколькими примерами на английском и кыргызском языках. Кроме того, эта статья включает определения слов “рука”, “рукопожатие”, “сжатие” и некоторые идиомы, содержащие данных слов согласно Оксфордскому и Академическому словарю, чтобы показать читателям их образное значение. Данное исследование было основано на книгах писателей Аллана и Барбары Пиз «Определенная книга языка тела» 2004 года, Романа Лефевра «Грубые жестикуляции мира» 2011 года и т.д. Ключевые слова: кинесика, язык жестов, жесты, акустика, аплодисменты, паралингвистика, невербальная коммуникация, сжатие пальца, чувство восприятия, выражение лиц.

For a translational sociology: Illuminating translation in society, theory and research

2021 ◽  
pp. 136843102110021
Author(s):  
Esperança Bielsa
Keyword(s):  
Meaning Making ◽  
Social Process ◽  
Translation Studies ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Sociological Perspective ◽  
Cultural Globalization ◽  
Methodological Nationalism ◽  
The World ◽  
Sociology Of Translation ◽  
Basic Social Process

This article argues for a non-reductive approach to translation as a basic social process that shapes both the world that sociologists study and the sociological endeavour itself. It starts by referring to accounts from the sociology of translation and translation studies, which have problematized simplistic views of processes of cultural globalization. From this point of view, translation can offer an approach to contemporary interconnectedness that escapes from both methodological nationalism and what can be designated as the monolingual vision, providing substantive perspectives on the proliferation of contact zones or borderlands in a diversity of domains. The article centrally argues for a sociological perspective that examines not just the circulation of meaning but translation as a process of linguistic transformation that is necessarily embodied in words. Only if this more material aspect of translation is attended to can the nature of translation as an ordinary social process be fully grasped and its intervention in meaning-making activities explored. This has far-ranging implications for any reflexive account of the production of sociological works and interpretations.

Searching and Making Meaning of the COVID-19 Pandemic: Perspectives of African Immigrants in the United States

2021 ◽  
pp. 002216782110224
Author(s):  
Angela U. Ekwonye ◽  
Nina Truong
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Health Care Providers ◽  
Meaning Making ◽  
Democratic Republic Of Congo ◽  
Central Africa ◽  
African Immigrants ◽  
The United States ◽  
Care Providers ◽  
Making Meaning ◽  
The Impact

African immigrants continue to be disproportionately affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. It is unclear how they are searching for and finding meaning in the face of this adversity. This study sought to understand how African immigrants in the United States are searching for and making meaning of the COVID-19 pandemic. We conducted in-depth interviews remotely with 20 immigrants from West Africa (Nigeria and Ghana), East Africa (Somali and Rwanda), and Central Africa (Democratic Republic of Congo). The meaning-making model was used as a framework to understand the processes of coping during a significant, adverse life event. The study found that some participants attempted to reduce the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on their global meaning by seeking answers as to why the pandemic occurred and creating positive illusions. Some redefined their priorities and reframed the pandemic in a positive light. Participants found meaning in the form of accepting the pandemic as a reality of life, appreciating events previously taken for granted, and making positive changes in their lives. This study’s findings can inform health care providers of the meaning-making processes of African immigrants’ and the need to assist them in their search for meaning.

scholarly journals Media Literacy in the Lifeworlds of Malaysian Children

2013 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 72-85 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shanthi Balraj Baboo
Keyword(s):  
New Media ◽  
Media Literacy ◽  
Meaning Making ◽  
User Experiences ◽  
Childhood Experiences ◽  
Media Technologies ◽  
School Settings ◽  
The World ◽  
The Media ◽  
Home And School

Many children grow up in contemporary Malaysia with an array of new media. These include television, video games, mobile phones, computers, Internet, tablets, iPads and iPods. In using these new media technologies, children are able to produce texts and images that shape their childhood experiences and their views of the world. This article presents some selected findings and snapshots of the media lifeworlds of children aged 10 in Malaysia. This article is concerned with media literacy and puts a focus on the use, forms of engagement and ways that children are able to make sense of media technologies in their lives. The study reveals that children participate in many different media activities in their homes. However, the multimodal competencies, user experiences and meaning-making actions that the children construct are not engaged with in productive ways in their schooling literacies. It is argued that media literacy should be more widely acknowledged within home and school settings.

scholarly journals “Acting in Accordance with the Ordinary Legislative Procedure…”: Metadiscourse in EU Regulations on Immigration

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 49
Author(s):  
Michela Giordano ◽  
Antonio Piga
Keyword(s):  
Professional Practice ◽  
Teaching Experience ◽  
European Law ◽  
The World ◽  
Legislative Procedure ◽  
Ordinary Legislative Procedure ◽  
Interactional Features ◽  
Point Of Departure ◽  
Parallel Texts ◽  
The Eu

The ongoing Pan-European integration process has profoundly influenced the nature of European law and its development, demanding a review of “the ways of how language […] is materialized” (Gibová, 2009, p. 192). EU multilingualism is thus becoming an intricate concept since “EU translation is […] becoming the language of Europe” (Gibová, 2009, p. 192) encompassing a supranational view of the world conveyed in EU-wide legislation. Very much in line with this assumption, and taking into account the teaching experience in Specialised Translation Masters’ courses training would-be professional translators, this study examines a corpus of European Parliament Regulations on immigration. In order to understand whether dissimilarities and/or congruencies occur between the EU working language, i.e., English, and the Italian versions, the metadiscourse framework by Hyland (2005), comprising both interactive and interactional features, is used as the point of departure for the analysis of parallel texts. The Regulations produced by EU institutions and conveyed and transmitted both in English as a “procedural language” (Wagner, Bech, & Martίnez, 2012) as well as in Italian have been scrutinized both quantitatively and qualitatively, in order to draw precious pedagogical implications for translation studies and professional practice for future qualified and trained translators.

scholarly journals Using Technology in Pedagogically Responsive Ways to Support Literacy Learners

2009 ◽  
pp. 203-215 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lisa Kervin ◽  
Jessica Mantei ◽  
Jan Herrington
Keyword(s):  
Information And Communication Technologies ◽  
Meaning Making ◽  
New Technology ◽  
Authentic Learning ◽  
Communication Technologies ◽  
Literate Practices ◽  
New Knowledge ◽  
The World ◽  
Information And Communication ◽  
Literacy Learners

In this chapter the authors discuss two central themes: the changing nature of literate activity brought about by Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), and suggestions for how educators could respond to this guided by principles of authentic learning. The access many young people have to ICT has resulted in new forms of literacy as they manipulate technology, using this new knowledge to assist the process of meaning making. Each new technology brings with it navigational concepts, space to negotiate, new genres and a range of modalities, all of which need to be interpreted. ICTs have the potential to reshape literate practices in classrooms as students create, collect, store and use knowledge as they connect and collaborate with people and resources across the world. What is crucial though, is that the nexus between technology and literacy within classrooms is conceptualised through meaningful, relevant and authentic connections with curricula.

scholarly journals The Importance of the Collection of Oskar Kolberg for Contemporary Choreological Studies

2014 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 13-22
Author(s):  
Tomasz Nowak
Keyword(s):  
World War Ii ◽  
Comparative Studies ◽  
Geographic Origin ◽  
Geographic Range ◽  
World War ◽  
Critical Perspective ◽  
Extensive Documentation ◽  
The World ◽  
Long Time ◽  
Point Of Departure

Abstract The mainstream fields of Polish dance research were defined in 1818–1847 by Józef Elsner, Kazimierz Brodziński, Łukasz Gołębiowski and Karol Czerniawski, who broadly characterized some elements of the dances considered as national (the polonaise, mazur, krakowiak and kozak). Oskar Kolberg knew very well the works of all these authors and referred to them many times. However, he was unique in his extensive documentation of dance melodies, information about their geographic origin, and local terminology. He also characterized the dances with regard to their sequence in the traditional context and described the dance technique in an instructive manner. Oskar Kolberg’s documentation for quite a long time remained outside the scope of mainstream research and publications about dance in Poland. In the 1930s Polish representatives of the newly defined field of ethnochoreology were the first to include examples from Kolberg in their works on the ritual dances, regional dances and characteristic dance behaviour types and forms. Kolberg’s works increased in popularity after the World War II. Today the materials left by Oskar Kolberg allow us to establish to a large extent the geographic range and perspective on the changes of dance repertoire, both with regard to choreographic technique and dance types, or a more detailed and critical perspective on the problems of folk terminology in dance phenomena. It may also serve as the point of departure for wider retrospective or comparative studies – which may not be very fashionable today, but which have never been adequately conducted in Poland.

scholarly journals Subjectivity in the life and works of Paulo Coelho

2021 ◽  
Vol 58 (1) ◽  
pp. 5781-5783
Author(s):  
Mr. Animesh Sharma, Dr. Shriya Goyal
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
20Th Century ◽  
The World ◽  
Philosophical Texts ◽  
Modern Era

Be it at any given point of time, humans have had to make their decisions based off their  unique set of experiences. When faced with dilemmas, it becomes easier for them to turn to  peers or even excerpts from philosophical texts to make decisions in precarious situations. As  life becomes more and more complicated, so does a person’s understanding of these notions.  Meanwhile, shifting base and travelling to be exposed to other cultures broadens horizons  which only makes the process of decision- making all the more comprehensive, now that  several ideologies are conflicting as well as complementing each other.  This is what gives rise to a person’s subjectivity, i.e., the concept of a person’s decisions  being influenced by their tastes, experiences, feeling and opinions. The rise of the notion of  subjectivity has its philosophical roots in the thinking of Descartes and Kant(1), and its  articulation throughout the modern era has depended on the understanding of what constitutes  an individual. The aim of this paper is to unearth the myriad philosophies and beliefs Paulo Coelho  encountered in his travels throughout the world and how they influenced his subjectivity  which is so well reflected in his works over the years. The paper responds to the question of  what role did the 20th century ideologies play in shaping the different phases of his life as  well as his books.  

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