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Welcome to the Gesture Zone

Gesture Literacy Knowledge Studio (GLKS) explores gestures, focusing on how to make them a more integral part of human communication. Gestures are universal and ancient, yet their importance in communication is often overlooked. This studio uniquely examines gestural communication from the perspective of signers, investigating where gestures end and sign languages begin and developing tools to assess and disseminate gestural knowledge.

The studio is composed of four strands: research, education, development, and creativity. The goal of each strand is to find building blocks of gestures, to change public perception of the value and usefulness of gestures; and to create learning opportunities thereby making gestural communication more efficacious.


Education

  • Understanding human use of gestures across cultures and modes of communication.
  • Building a corpus of gestures drawn from different cultures worldwide.
  • Developing a gesture assessment tool to unlock the user’s ability to understand and use the gestures.
  • Develop different curricular approaches to gesture acquisition and reacquisition.

Research

  • Make visual communication skills more attainable for hearing people who come in contact with deaf people and for families with deaf children.
  • Broach the world of gestures to the world at large by changing public perception on the values and merits of using gestures.
  • Make gestures a more viable communication option.

Development

  • Develop novel pedagogical and technological approaches for promoting gesture-based communication and innovative technologies and resources to advance Gesture Studies.
  • Develop Interactive platforms to maximize gesture and sign language exposure and experiences.

Creativity

  • Increase the use of gestures in arts, literature, and theater.
  • Put Gallaudet University on the map as a center on creative gesture production.

Information

Meet the Team

Teresa Blankmeyer Burke

School Director

Gaurav Mathur

Research Scholar

Contact Us

Gesture Literacy Knowledge Studio (GLKS)

Kellogg Conference Hotel 2nd floor

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