Transcending the Object in Embodied Interaction

Despite a burgeoning body of studies concerned with the analysis of naturally occurring talk and discourse, relatively few augment their analyses with a consideration of the ways in which the body and material artefacts feature in, and work with, talk. In particular it is rather surprising to note that little analytic attention has been concerned with the ways in which talk and gesture combine over, around and with objects to produce meaningful discourse. For example, studies of discourse, particularly analyses of accounts of physical objects, rarely consider the ways in which the body enriches and elaborates talk about documents, paintings, tools, technologies and other aspects of material culture. In this chapter, we will explore how talk and embodied conduct is used to ‘animate’ or enliven physical objects in co-present interaction. Moreover, we will consider the ways in which individuals interweave talk and gesture over and around inanimate objects seemingly to infuse them with character and actions: character and actions that may otherwise remain unavailable.