Embodied Languages: Teaching Anthropology of Communication through Italian Sign and Tactile Sign

Abstract (English)

This paper explores the transcultural dimensions of teaching anthropology of communication to students
specializing in Lingua dei Segni Italiana (Italian Sign Language, LIS) and Tactile Sign Language (LIST). Drawing
on my experience in higher education programs for Deaf and DeafBlind students, I reflect on how sign
languages expand our anthropological understanding of communication beyond speech-centered models.
In transcultural and multilingual Italy, the academic recognition of LIS foregrounds urgent questions about
embodiment, multisensory cognition, and alternative semiotic systems. Teaching anthropology in this
context requires rethinking categories such as 'language', 'voice', and 'text' from the margins of sensory
experience. Following Finnegan’s and Kusters’ work on multimodal and plurilingual communication, I
argue that communication must be understood as inherently embodied, relational, and plural.
This perspective challenges traditional hierarchies that have historically marginalized signed and tactile
forms of expression. The classroom becomes a transcultural space where diverse epistemologies meet,
negotiate, and co-create new forms of knowledge. This experience invites broader reflections on inclusive
education, linguistic rights, and the transformative potential of anthropology when it fully embraces non-
hearing, non-visual modes of being-in-the-world. Teaching through sign and tactile languages not only
enriches our field but also contributes to decolonizing communication and education practices.