Annelies Maria Jozef Kusters (born c. 1983, Belgium) is a deaf Belgian sociolinguist and researcher who in November 2023 became the first deaf scholar in the UK to be appointed full professor in the fields of Deaf Studies and Sign Language Studies, at Heriot‑Watt University in Edinburgh. She holds the title of Professor of Sociolinguistics and leads the SIGNS@HWU research group. Her research encompasses sign language ideologies, deaf mobilities, communication practices, ethnographic filmmaking, and transnational deaf communities through projects such as the ERC‑funded MobileDeaf initiative.
Early life and education
Born and raised in Belgium, Kusters earned a Bachelor’s degree in Philosophy and a Master’s degree in Social and Cultural Anthropology at the University of Leuven (Katholieke Universiteit Leuven). She then moved to Bristol in 2006 to complete an MSc and PhD in Deaf Studies, supervised by deaf scholars, drawing on her experiences in Ghana and other field sites[2].
Academic career
After finishing her PhD in 2012, Kusters spent several years as a post‑doctoral researcher at the Max Planck Institute for the Study of Religious and Ethnic Diversity in Göttingen, Germany. In 2017, she joined Heriot‑Watt University in Edinburgh as a faculty member in the Department of Languages and Intercultural Studies, where she was promoted from Associate Professor to Professor of Sociolinguistics in November 2023—a milestone marking the first time a deaf scholar held a full professorship in deaf studies in the UK[3].
Research and methodology
Kusters’s research brings together sociolinguistics, Deaf Studies, geography, anthropology, and media studies. She is Principal Investigator of the ERC‑funded MobileDeaf project (2017‑2023), which examines how deaf individuals from different countries adapt mutual signing strategies in international encounters. Her work draws on ethnographic methods and documentary film to explore multilingual signing repertoires, sign language ideologies, and deaf mobilities across diverse global sites including Ghana, India, Suriname, Brazil, Denmark, Kenya, France, and Italy.
Her co‑edited volume Innovations in Deaf Studies: The Role of Deaf Scholars (with De Meulder & O’Brien, 2017)[6] highlights methodological and theoretical contributions of deaf academics to the discipline. In earlier work on “language portraits,” she investigates embodied multimodal repertoires among deaf multilingual communities, contributing methodologically to visual and narrative approaches in linguistic anthropology[7].
Leadership and impact
At Heriot‑Watt University, Kusters serves as Co‑Director of Engagement for the School of Social Sciences and founded the SIGNS@HWU research cluster focused on Deaf Studies, sign linguistics, and interpreting research. She also holds leadership roles in delivering the MA in British Sign Language (Interpreting, Translating and Applied Language Studies) from 2025 onwards, and supervises many early‑career deaf scholars and PhD students[3].
She emphasizes the importance of deaf-led scholarship in the field; in media interviews, she describes standing "on the shoulders of the deaf lecturers and scholars who educated me" and commits to supporting others to stand on her shoulders[1].
Recognition as UK’s first deaf full professor
The Guardian, Heriot‑Watt official announcements, and advocacy organisations like Signature and the Deafness Resource Centre reported on her promotion in November 2023 as a historic breakthrough: the first deaf scholar in the UK to reach full professorship in Deaf Studies and Sign Language Studies. At the time, other UK institutions employed around 10–15 full professors in these fields, all hearing, making her promotion especially significant in a discipline long dominated by hearing academics[1].
Selected projects and contributions
- MobileDeaf (ERC‑funded): a large-scale study of cross‑cultural signing adaptation among deaf people in international contexts (2017‑2023)[3].
- Ethnographic film projects (seven documentaries since 2015), bringing sign language communities into visual research and teaching formats[2].
- Co‑organisation of Deaf Studies academic community growth at Heriot‑Watt via SIGNS@HWU, building the largest concentrated Deaf Studies team in Europe/UK[2][4].
Legacy and influence
Kusters’s appointment is widely considered transformative: as described by colleagues, she exemplifies inclusive, deaf‑led research culture and mentorship in a discipline matured over nearly four decades in the UK. She continues to advocate for greater representation of deaf academics in research, teaching, interpreting training and policy engagement[4][5].
- Deaf scholar promoted to full professor in deaf studies in UK first, The Guardian, 1 Nov 2023.
- UK first as deaf scholar Annelies Kusters becomes full Professor at Heriot‑Watt University, Heriot‑Watt University News, 1 Nov 2023
- Annelies Maria Jozef Kusters – Heriot‑Watt Research Portal
- Annelies Kusters – The first deaf professor at Heriot‑Watt University, Signature blog, Dec 2023
- Annelies Kusters: exploring deaf communities globally, ENT&A Audiology News interview, 3 May 2024
- Kusters, A., De Meulder, M., & O'Brien, D. (Eds.). (2017). Innovations in deaf studies: The role of deaf scholars. Oxford University Press.
- Kusters, A. M. J., & De Meulder, M. (2019, September). Language portraits: Investigating embodied multilingual and multimodal repertoires. In Forum: Qualitative Social Research (Vol. 20, No. 3, p. 10). Institut fur Klinische Sychologie and Gemeindesychologie.
