37.3419, Confs: Gestures in Motion: Hands That Carry Worlds (Germany)

[The LINGUIST List]

LINGUIST List: Vol-37-3419. Tue 20 Oct 2026. ISSN: 1069 - 4875.

Subject: 37.3419, Confs: Gestures in Motion: Hands That Carry Worlds (Germany)

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Date: 16-Oct-2026
From: Andy Lücking [andy.luecking at phil.tu-chemnitz.de]
Subject: Gestures in Motion: Hands That Carry Worlds


Gestures in Motion: Hands That Carry Worlds

Date: 28-Sep-2027 - 02-Oct-2027
Location: Schwäbisch Gmünd, Germany

Linguistic Field(s): Anthropological Linguistics; Computational
Linguistics; Discourse Analysis; Pragmatics; Sociolinguistics

Submission Deadline: 30-Nov-2026

Panel at the Congress "Signs in Motion: Semiotic Perspectives on
Migration"
University of Education Schwäbisch Gmünd, 28 September – 02 October
2027
Organizer: Jana Bressem, Ellen Fricke, Martin Siefkes, Andy Lücking,
Alexander Mehler (TU Chemnitz, GU Frankfurt)
Contact: jana.bressem at phil.tu-chemnitz.de
Migration is not only a movement of people but also a movement of
signs. This panel bridges semiotic theory and migration studies by
focusing on the often-overlooked role of gestures as mobile signs —
exploring how migrants reconfigure, negotiate, or resist meaning
through bodily and digital communication, and how gestures function as
semiotic resources in adaptation, identity negotiation, and language
contact. It also provides a space for discussing methodological and
empirical challenges (e.g., documenting ephemeral gestures; data
protection and private languages) as well as theoretical gaps (e.g.,
how to model gesture meaning in contact situations).
We invite contributions that examine:
 - The lexicography of emblems in migrant communities (e.g., how
stable gesture forms are used, translated, or recontextualized).
 - Gesture in language contact: How do migrants integrate, adapt, or
shape gestural repertoires in multilingual settings?
 - Migrant memes and digital gestures: The circulation of gestural
signs in social media, memes, or digital communication as forms of
cultural resistance, humor, or belonging.
 - Semiotic gaps and misunderstandings: Cases where gestures lead to
miscommunication or reveal power dynamics in host societies.
 - Methodological innovations: Corpus-based, computational, or
ethnographic approaches to studying migrant gestures (e.g., annotation
schemes, motion capture, or AI-assisted analysis).
 - Theoretical frameworks: How can semiotic or linguistic theories be
applied to analyze the role of gestures in the context of migration?
Might theories even need to be adapted to the specific characteristics
of migrant gestures?
Topics:
We welcome submissions on (but not limited to):
1. Lexicography and Documentation
  - Creating gesture dictionaries for migrant communities.
  - Challenges in translating or standardizing emblems across
cultures.
2. Gesture in Language Contact
  - Code-switching between gestural and verbal modes in migrant
speech.
  - The role of gestures in language acquisition or loss among
migrants.
3. Digital and Pop Culture
  - Migrant memes, GIFs, or TikTok trends as gestural semiotic
systems.
  - Virtual gestures (e.g., avatars, emojis) in diasporic
communication.
4. Semiotic Conflict and Power
  - Gestures as markers of inclusion/exclusion (e.g., offensive vs.
polite gestures in host cultures).
  - Institutional or legal semiotic regimes (e.g., how gestures are
policed or misinterpreted in asylum procedures).
5. Interdisciplinary Methods
  - Combining semiotic analysis with computational tools (e.g., NLP,
computer vision).
  - Ethnographic or auto-ethnographic accounts of gestural practices
in migration.
Submission Guidelines:
- Abstracts: 300–500 words (excluding references), in English.
- Format: PDF, including title, author(s), affiliation, and 3–5
keywords, along with a short academic CV.
- Deadline: 30 November 2026
- Notification of Acceptance: 15 December 2027
- Submission to: jana.bressem at phil.tu-chemnitz.de


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