Gesture in Naples and Gesture in Classical Antiquity: A Translation of (Paperback)

~ Andrea de Jorio (Author), Adam Kendon (Author) "The study of man can be called the science of sciences..." (more)
Key Phrases: mano cornuta, fusa torte, word corno, Holy Bible, New Catholic Edition, Don Rodrigo (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"As a chronicle of the salty doings of a richly theatrical city, Gesture in Naples is unsurpassed; as a snapshot of a society now homogenised like any other, it is unique." - The Economist "I had heard about this book for years. The person who put the word out, at least in lay circles, was probably Luigi Barzini, in The Italians (1964). Praising his countrymen's gift for talking with their hands, Barzini lamented that so little had been written on this subject. To his knowledge, only one person - Andrea de Jorio, a Neapolitan priest - had attempted a lexicon of Italian hand gestures, in an 1832 volume entitled La Mimica degli antichi investigata nel gestire napoletano... Barzini offered a little sample... Upon reading [it], you felt that if you could not get hold of de Jorio's book immediately, you would bite your elbows... [N]ot until this year was de Jorio's treatise brought out in English. The translation, the copious notes, and the long, helpful introduction... [are] a source of wisdom and delight." Joan Acocella, New York Review of Books "The twentieth century found little time for de Jorio's pioneering work until recently, when the rise of semiotics combined with an interest among art historians in gesture to invest his achievement with an importance that not even he could have imagined. Even so, this book has been more often cited than read. In view of its immense relevance to contemporary studies of gesture in the context of language and culture, it is surprising that we have had to wait so long for a translation into English. Adam Kendon has now given us the first complete, annotated rendering of [de Jorio's book]. Kendon himself is an established leader in the new scientific approach to the study of gesture." G.W. Bowersock, The New Republic

Product Description

First published in Naples in 1832, Andrea de Jorio's work soon became famous for its descriptions and depictions of Neapolitan gestures, but it is only with the recent expansion of scholarly interest in gesture that its true importance has come to be recognized. It is the first book ever written to present an ethnographic study of gesture.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 518 pages
• Publisher: Indiana University Press (January 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0253215064
• ISBN-13: 978-0253215062
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: No customer reviews yet. Be the first.
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,193,052 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)