RESEARCH ASSISTANT POSITIONS AVAILABLE:
Ethnography, Videography, & Linguistic/Interaction Analysis
(4-8 hours/week, $20.00/hour)
Principal Investigator: Dr. Terra Edwards, Department of Linguistics
I am starting a Priority Research project this spring, looking at the grammatical incorporation of
pointing in Pro-Tactile American Sign Language at Gallaudet. The broad aim of this project is to
understand how routine patterns in embodied interaction can influence the grammatical
organization of language. In order to achieve this aim we will focus on the ways that pointing is
incorporated into the grammar of Pro-Tactile American Sign Language (PTASL) among
DeafBlind people at Gallaudet University, over a three-year period. The Pro-Tactile movement,
which began in Seattle, in 2007, is based on the idea that all human activity can be realized via
touch—that hearing and vision are not necessary for such things as co-presence, navigation,
social interaction, and communication. One of the implications of this view is that DeafBlind
people need not rely on sighted interpreters to communicate in and about their environment.
Instead, they can develop practices for communicating directly with other people about the
dimensions of the world that are knowable through kinesthetic, tactile, olfactory, and thermal
senses. Building on prior work in the Seattle DeafBlind community and informed by research
about pointing and deictic systems in both spoken and signed languages, I predict that the protactile movement will lead DeafBlind people at Gallaudet to point to objects and events in the
immediate environment in new ways, and that pointing will be integrated with the grammar to
yield linguistic forms, patterns, and processes that are not found in American Sign Language
(ASL). In April, 2016, two DeafBlind, ProTactile leaders will be coming to Gallaudet for 6
weeks to lead a series of classes. We will be collecting linguistic and interactional data during
those classes and comparing how language-use and language structure changes over a three-year
period. In addition, we will be engaging in ethnographic (anthropological) methods of participant
observation. Analysis of these data promises to generate new knowledge about pointing in tactile
signed languages, and in doing so, provide new insights into how embodied interaction can
influence the emergence and development of language. See below for a description of available
positions, and instructions on how to apply:
1-2 Ethnographers= average of 4-8 hours per week, $20.00/hour
Skills:
 ProTactile proficiency and active involvement in local DeafBlind community
 Knowledge of or willingness to learn ethnographic methods
 Ability to produce accessible and engaging accounts of personal and cultural experiences
in English or ASL.
 Strong English and/or Visual American Sign Language proficiency and knowledge of or
willingness to learn Tactile American Sign Language
Description: The ethnographers will attend local DeafBlind events, and take note of current
events, patterns in language use and attitudes about language use, and socio-political dynamics
that will affect the development of PTASL on campus. They will also be conducting some
ethnographic interviews, and participating in ethnographic team meetings. In order to do so, they
will need to learn about and understand the rationale for the research, understand how to engage
in ethnographic research (or be willing to learn), know how to maintain subject confidentiality,
and how to interpret, synthesize, and share findings from ethnographic research.
1-2 Coders/Videographers= average of 4-8 hours per week, each (more during the PT
workshops)
Skills:
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Knowledge of, or willingness to learn about ProTactile philosophy and practice
Video recording and video editing experience
Strong American Sign Language proficiency
Knowledge of, or willingness to learn Tactile American Sign Language
training in linguistics, including use of ELAN, experience with transcription, and analysis
of linguistic data
Strong organization and communication skills, self-directed
Description: These researchers will be collecting videorecordings of language-use, managing
those data, conducting data analysis, and proposing analyses. In order to do so, they will need to
understand the rationale for the research, know how to maintain subject confidentiality, and how
to interpret, synthesize, and share findings with the PI.
How to Apply: Send your CV and a one page letter of interest in English to
terra.edwards@gallaudet.edu by January 15th, 2016 or else, a link to a 2 minute video in Visual
American Sign Language. You should tell me in your letter what qualifications you have, what
you hope to learn, and how this position will contribute to your educational or professional goals.
Feel free to contact me if you have any questions.