Formulating the Triangle of Doom : Le Geste dans son Contexte

Keywords

gesture, category analysis, ethnomethodology

Abstract

For any concept or category presented gesturally, there is a range of possibilities from which a particular formulation may be adopted on any actual occasion of use. We will examine here how Schegloff's analysis of locational formulations might be extended to analyze gestural formulations. We have been studying the practices through which surgeons provide instruction while performing surgeries in a teaching hospital. Surgeons rely upon surgical atlases and texts as guides in traversing the particularities of the interior spaces of their patient's bodies. Knowing how to map abstract structure to that which is available to sight and touch in an unfolding surgery represents a form of "professional vision" (Goodwin, 1994). We are interested in the practices through which professional vision is developed, including the role that gesture might play within these practices. Here we will examine a particular anatomy lesson taking place during a surgery performed in a teaching hospital. The attending surgeon uses his hands and arms to gesturally construct a description of a particular anatomic region ("the Triangle of Doom") for the benefit of two medical students viewing and participating in the surgery. Employing the structure of Schegloff's analysis of lexical place formulations, we conduct an analysis of the Attending's gestural formulation. We suggest that categorial analysis of the type done here might represent a promising direction for future gesture research.

Original Publication Citation

Koschmann, T., LeBaron, L., Goodwin, C., Zemel, A., & Dunnington, G. (June 2005). The triangle of doom: Le Geste dans son Contexte. Paper presented at the Congress of the International Society for Gesture Studies, Lyon, France.

Document Type

Conference Paper

Publication Date

2005

Publisher

Congress of the International Society for Gesture Studies

Language

English

College

Marriott School of Business

Department

Marketing

University Standing at Time of Publication

Full Professor

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