Prof. Dr. Cornelia Müller
Karine Aigner
Faculty of Social and Cultural Sciences (Kuwi)
Professor of Language Use and Multimodal Communikation
Cornelia Müller works on multimodal forms of language use, focusing on embodied, affective, and dynamic processes of meaning making in gestures and in audio-visual media. She has published on many facets of gesture as a medium of expression and on multimodal metaphor. She has investigated gestural mimesis, emergent proto-linguistic gestural forms (sedimentation, conventionalization) and developed Methods for Gesture, Film and Metaphor Analysis. Together with Adam Kendon she has launched and co-edited the international journal GESTURE and the book series GESTURE Studies (Benjamins) from 2000 to 2010. With Hermann Kappelhoff, she has developed a transdisciplinary (film studies and linguistic) approach to the experiential and affective dynamics of metaphorical meaning in speech, gestures, and audiovisual media.
Her most recent publications include:
Müller, C. (2024). Dead and Alive, Sleeping and Waking Metaphors: The Spectrum of Metaphor and the Multimodality of Discourse. In: Anders Örtenblad (ed.), The Oxford Handbook of Metaphor in Organization Studies. Oxford: Univ. Press.
Müller, C. (2024). Gestural mimesis as ‚as-if‘ action. In: Przemysław Zywiczynski, Johan Blomberg and Monika Boruta-Zywiczynska (eds.), Perspectives on Pantomime. Amsterdam/Philadelphia: John Benjamins.
Müller C. (2023). Language from the Body – Dynamic relations between gestures and signed language. In: Terry Janzen and Barbara Shaffer (eds.), Signed Language and Gesture Research in Cognitive Linguistics, XIII-XVI. De Gruyter Mouton.
Müller, C. (2022). Obituary, Adam Kendon 1934-2022. In: Gesture 21, 2/3, 157-166.
Upon request: Contact the secretary Iris Franke to make an appointment via sekretariat-cmueller@europa-uni.de
- gesture and language
- methods of gesture analysis
- multimodal stancetaking: expressive movement and affective stance. political debates in the German Bundestag and the Polish Sejm
- multimodal and media-based forms of language use (theory and methods)
- audio-visual multimodality and the multimodality of speaking
- embodiment and experience as basis for the dynamic emergence of meaning
- multimodal and cinematic metaphor
- discourse dynamics
Overview of publications in the Publication section.
EDUCATION
2004
Habilitation: Venia legendi, General and German Linguistics (Freie Universität Berlin) Publ.: Müller, C. (2008) Metaphors Dead and Alive: Sleeping and Waking. A Dynamic View. Chicago: Chicago Univ.Press
1996
PhD (Dr. phil.): Linguistics and Psychology (summa cum laude) (Freie Universität Berlin) Publ.: Müller, C. (1998) Redebegleitende Gesten: Kulturgeschichte–Theorie–Sprachvergleich. Berlin: Berlin Verlag.
1994
Graduate Studies: 'First International Summer Institute in Cognitive Science, University at Buffalo, New York' (Semantics and Cognitive Linguistics)
1990
Masters Degree, General and German, French and Hispanic Linguistics (Freie Universität Berlin) [Grade: excellent]
POSITIONS
2018-2022
Vice-Dean and Dean for Research at the Department of Social and Cultural Studies, European University Viadrina, Frankfurt (Oder)
2015-2016
Fellow at Cinepoetics, Institute for Advanced Film Studies, Freie Universität Berlin (Hosting the program of the year: Multimodal Metaphor and Expressive Movement. Publ.: Müller, C und H. Kappelhoff (2018) Cinematic Metaphor: Experience-Affectivity-Temporality. Berlin: DeGruyter)
2009-2015
Vice-President for Research and Graduate Education, European University Viadrina, Frankfurt (Oder)
03/2007
Visiting Professor at University of Southern Denmark
2006-present
Professor of Language Use and Multimodal Communication, European University Viadrina, Frankfurt (Oder)
2004-2006
Professor of Linguistics (C1) at Dep. of General and German Linguistics, Freie Universität Berlin
1997-2003
Associate Professor of Linguistics at Dep. of General and German Linguistics, Freie Universität Berlin
04-08/1999
Visiting Professor at the University of Chicago (McNeill Gesture and Speech Lab)
05/1995
Visiting Scholar at Max-Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics, Nijmegen, NL
1992-1997
Assistant Professor of Linguistics at Dep. of General and German Linguistics, Freie Universität Berlin
1991-1992
PhD grant from NaFöG (Nachwuchs-Förderungs-Gesellschaft Berlin)
PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES
2014-2018
PI of International Project at Moscow State Linguistic University, Multimodal Communication and Cognition Laboratory, headed by Prof. A. Cienki, Prof. O. Iriskhanova
2014-2019
Associated researcher at Cinepoetics, Institute for Advanced Film Studies, FU Berlin
2007-2014
PI in the Center of Excellence Languages of Emotion (FU Berlin)
2007-2010
Co-coordinator of Area A Language and Emotion in the Cluster of Excellence
2007-2010
Member of executive board of the Center of Excellence Languages of Emotion
2004
Foundation of the Berlin Gesture Center with a focus on interdisciplinary research, education and training. (www.berlingesturecenter.de)
2002
Founding and executive board member of the International Society for Gesture Studies (ISGS)
1998-2002
Coordination of the activities of the ISGS in the process of being founded
2001-2010
In collaboration with Adam Kendon: Launching & editing the international journal GESTURE (2001-2010) & the book series GESTURE STUDIES (since 2007) (Benjamins, Amsterdam & Philadelphia).
2013 and 2014
Editor in chief of an international encyclopedia: Handbook of Body, Language, and Communication. Perspectives on Multimodality (Mouton De Gruyter: Berlin, New York) (with A. Cienki, E. Fricke & D. McNeill)
Contact
Auditorium Maximum (AM)Logenstraße 4
15230 Frankfurt (Oder)
- AM 132
+49 335 5534 2730 cmueller@europa-uni.de sekretariat-cmueller@europa-uni.de