British Academy Lecture: The sign language myth

Sign language is not universal – hundreds of diifferent types are used throughout the world – but could there be one common system that everyone could understand? Could International Sign be that language – the answer to global signed communication? The lecture will be illustrated with clips from ethnographic films the speaker has directed.

This lecture will be live signed and will have closed captioning.

Biography

Annelies Kusters is Professor in Sign Language and Intercultural Research at Heriot-Watt University, where she works since 2017. She led a research team of deaf scholars undertaking the pioneering project ‘Deaf mobilities across international borders: visualising intersectionality and translanguaging” (MobileDeaf.org.uk) (2017-2023), funded by the European Research Council. Professor Kusters posesses a broad academic background, including a BA in Philosophy, an MA in Social and Cultural Anthropology from the University of Leuven, and both an MSc and a PhD in Deaf Studies from the University of Bristol. With a passion for ethnographic research, she has conducted extensive fieldwork across diverse locations including Suriname, Ghana, India, and the United Kingdom. Recognized for her expertise in the study of language practices, language ideologies, transnationalism, mobilities, and sign language media, Professor Kusters has created six films on International Sign. She is currently writing a monograph on the same topic.

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