At the dawn of anthropology, gesture was widely considered a “universal language”. In the 20th century, however,
this framing fell out of favor as anthropologists rejected universalism in favor of relativism. These polemical positions were
largely fueled by high-flying rhetoric and second-hand report; researchers had neither the data nor the conceptual frameworks to
stake out substantive positions. Today we have much more data, but our frameworks remain underdeveloped and often implicit. Here,
I outline several emerging conceptual tools that help us make sense of universals and diversity in gesture. I then sketch the
state of our knowledge about a handful of gestural phenomena, further developing these conceptual tools on the way. This brief
survey underscores a clear conclusion: gesture is unmistakably similar around the world while also being broadly diverse. Our task
ahead is to put polemics aside and explore this duality systematically – and soon, before gestural diversity dwindles further.
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Littlemore, Jeannette
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Cartmill, Erica A.
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