Tuesday, October 15, 2013

Seminar: Semiotics ( OUGD401 )

Semiotics - the social science revolving around 'signs'.

Codes rely on a shared knowledge.

A 'sign' is made up of : 

  • A signifier - Which triggers meaning. i.e the word 'Dog' or a picture of a dog.
  • The signified - the mental concept of a dog.
A denotation of 'dog' is 'a four legged creature'.
A connotation of 'dog' is an associated meaning eg. walks, loyalty, krufts.

Myths:

Stereotypes engrained such as 'Englishness' which come from connotations.

  • The meanings of signs shift.
  • Meanings don't come from the objects themselves but from people.
  • By analysing the connotations of cultural artefacts we can access idealogical meaning and thus further understand how and why culture operates as it does.


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