Semiotics and Culture 08-KUDU-MA-SCE1
The seminar is oriented towards such topics as: history of semiotics, the ideas of sign, symbol and language (as presented in various traditions and from various perspectives), the ideas of code and message, text and context, denotation and connotation, various modes of communication, the problem of intertextuality, the idea of structure and semiosphere, semiotic square, spatial and chronological relations, synchrony and diachrony, rhetorical tropes (metaphor, metonymy, synecdoche), the problem of myth, structuralism v. poststructuralism, the idea of simulacrum, the problem of representation. All the topics are to be discussed including various semiotic traditions, schools, theories and perspectives (e.g. by F. de Saussure, Ch.S. Peirce, A. Greimas, U. Eco, R. Barthes, J. Kristeva, Y. Lotman, M. Foucault, J. Derrida). Some of the topics are to be presented as short lectures held by the teacher, some of them as presentations prepared by the students, some other in a form of a discussion on a given text. The main goal of the classes is not only to introduce the main ideas and traditions of semiotics to the students but to recognize the critical potential of semiotics and the possibilities of its application to the various areas of research in the field of cultural studies as well.
Module learning aims
Information on where to find course materials
Major
Number of hours
Methods of teaching for learning outcomes achievement
Course module conducted remotely (e-learning)
Student workload (ECTS credits)
Cycle of studies
Module type
Year of studies (where relevant)
Pre-requisites in terms of knowledge, skills and social competences
Course coordinators
Learning outcomes
Student is to know and understand some of the theories of culture which are used in the interdisciplinary discourses; needs to know the basic terminlogy and ideas oriented towards the analyses of the cultural processes and relations. Student is also able to describe (by using some proper methods of analyses and interpretation) the meaning of the social relations and cultural objects in both the synchronic and diachronic dimensions of culture. Student is also capable of developing his or her cultural and intercultural competencies; understands the complexity of various cultural traditions and intercultural relations; is able to form opinions and propose the solutions according to various social conflicts or cultural politics.
Assessment criteria
Student works on a presentation on a given topic and presents it to the teacher and to the group during the classes. The presentation is evaluated basing on its accuracy and critical potential as well as on the student's ability to discuss and defend the main thesis of the presented material.
Practical placement
none
Bibliography
D. Chandler, Semiotics. The Basics, Routledge 2002,
R. Barthes, Mythologies, trans. Annette Lavers, New York: FARRAR, STRAUS & GIROUX, 1972, 1991,
Y. Lotman, Universe of the Mind. A semiotic Theory of Culture. London/New York: I.B. Tauris&Co Ltd. 1990
U. Eco, Serendipities. Language and Lunacy, trans. William Weaver, London: Phoenix 1999,
R. Hodge, G. Kress (ed.), Social Semiotics, New York: Cornell University Press 1988,
M. Blonsky (ed.), On Signs, Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press 1985
Additional information
Additional information (registration calendar, class conductors, localization and schedules of classes), might be available in the USOSweb system: