Nationality British Parents Frank Kendon | Role Author Name Adam Kendon | |
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Awards Guggenheim Fellowship for Social Sciences, US & Canada Books Gesture: Visible Action as, Conducting interaction, Sign languages of Aborigi, Gesture and Understa | ||
Learning How to Look & Listen with Adam Kendon
Adam Kendon (born in London, son of Frank Kendon) is one of the world's foremost authorities on the topic of gesture. He initially focused on sign systems in Papua New Guinea and Australian Aboriginal sign languages, before developing a general framework for understanding gestures with the same kind of rigorous semiotic analysis as has been previously applied to spoken language.
Educated at University of Cambridge and Oxford Universities in biology and experimental psychology, his thesis topic—communication conduct in face-to-face interaction—spelled out the interests he would pursue in subsequent decades. He is noted for his study of gesture and sign languages and how these relate to spoken language.
He was a founding editor of the journal GESTURE (published by John Benjamins of Amsterdam), along with Cornelia Müller, in 2000. He was the sole editor from 2010 to April 2017, when he will be replaced by Sotaro Kita. In his role as editor of GESTURE he has been an Ex Officio member of the board of the International Society for Gesture Studies.