Structuralism and Semiology

This course will introduce students to structural semiology as a framework for interpreting a wide range of cultural practices. We will also critically examine both the relevance and limitations of structural semiology when applied to specific examples drawn from various cultures and historical periods. The lectures will begin by clarifying essential key concepts in order to address the following questions: What constitutes a ‘structure’ within a cultural configuration? What are ‘signs’? Can these concepts be applied equally across different forms of language and modes of cultural expression? Are systems of signs governed by an underlying structure that remains constant over time and across cultures? To enable a deeper understanding of these issues, students will be introduced to the work of Ferdinand de Saussure (1857–1913), gaining insight into fundamental notions such as ‘diachrony’ and ‘synchrony’, ‘signifier’ and ‘signified’, ‘representation’ and ‘narration’, ‘paradigmatism’ and ‘syntagmatism’, ‘metaphor’ and ‘metonymy’, and the distinctions between ‘sign’ and ‘symbol’.

Structural semiology may be applied in a variety of ways across different cultural domains. In every instance, students will be encouraged to think critically about the appropriateness of structural semiological methods, considering the specific cultural context – whether Eastern or Western – in which these approaches are employed.

Lectures

1. What are structuralism and semiology? An Introduction.

2. General definitions in structural linguistics applied to the image: Ferdinand de Saussure (1857-1913)

3. Structuralism solving problems in human visual language: Émile Benveniste (1902-1976)

4. Structuralism as a method of understanding culture and society: Claude Lévi-Strauss (1908-2009)

5. Structural semiology applied to language, poetry and art: Roman Jakobson (1996-1982)

6. From language to myths: Roland Barthes (1915-1980)

7. The structure of the unconscious as language and its manifestations in visual culture: Jacques Lacan (1901-1981)

8. Against the permanence of structures: Julia Kristeva (1941-)

9. Undecided signs and differing phenomena in writing, painting, and figures: Jacques Derrida (1930-2004)

10. This is not a pipe: Michel Foucault (1926-1984)

11. The open text and semiotics applied to visual configurations: Umberto Eco (1932-)

12. What comes after structural semiology? The conflict of interpretations: Paul Ricoeur (1913-2005)    

13. (13) Deciphering signs and symbols, a philosophical critique: Erwin Panofsky (1892-1968)