ESN Workshops Sept. 6 2023

Before the Embodied Syntax Network Conference (Sep 7-8), there will be the opportunity to participate in one of two workshops on Wednesday September 6th, 13.00-17.00 (fika/coffee break included!). Registration (free!) for the workshops can be found here (note that this is different from the Conference registration).

Actions and their multimodal gestalts: the case of offers of objects here-and-now

Lorenza Mondada

The workshop focuses on a classical problem in Conversation Analysis: the multimodal formatting of actions and their possible systematization. Taking the exemplary case of offers of objects here-and-now, the workshop discusses

  1. The formatting of offers here-and-now, including syntactic formats and embodied formats
  2. The systematization of the analysis of collections, considering multimodal Gestalts, in relation to their specific ecology, and identifying their distribution in recurrent sequential environments
  3. Possible variations within these formats and their socio-interactional relevance
  4. The actions ascribed to offers (as “genuine” offers vs. as “interested” offers) and their systematic variations depending on specific sequential environments and the overall organization of interaction.

The workshop will include the participants in the various steps of the analysis, starting with a short data session and continuing with discussions of sub-sets of comparable data.

How can bodily performances be included in syntax?

Leelo Keevallik, Agnes Löfgren, Emily Hofstetter

The workshop discusses an ongoing question in linguistics and interactional work: how are non-speech elements incorporated into syntax by participants, and what does this tell us about the nature of language as a system? Working with data in artistic, work, and leisure contexts, the workshop will support participants in considering the following questions:

  1. What does it mean to be syntactically organized in interaction?
  2. When and how is the body embedded into syntactic structures?
  3. How can co-occurring bodily movements become accountable to syntax?

The workshop will involve a short introduction and focus on small-group data sessions.