Semiotics

Counterfeiting What? Aesthetics of Brandedness and BRAND in Tamil Nadu, India

by Constantine Nakassis

(2012) Anthropological Quarterly 85(3):701-722, Special Collections - Pirates and Piracy, Broadly Conceived.

Nonverbal Communication and Power

by Rasmus Rebane

Misyurov D.A. Dialectical formulas based on the binary notation as the development formulas // Credo New. 2012. №2

by Dmitry Misyurov

The article suggests dialectical formulas based on the binary notation as the development formulas: formula with... more The article suggests dialectical formulas based on the binary notation as the development formulas: formula with dominant and the non-dominant elements; universal formula; formula with symbolic weight of elements; tautological formula. For example, it suggests an opportunity to use the dialectical formulas for modeling and artificial intelligence creation, etc.

The dynamics of sense making: a diatextual approach to the intersubjectivity of discourse

by Rosa Traversa

Manuti, A., Traversa, R., Mininni, G., (2012). The dynamics of sense making: a diatextual approach to the intersubjectivity of discourse. Text and Talk. An Interdisciplinary Journal of Language, Discourse & Communication Studies, 32–1: 39 – 61, De Gruyter.

Psycho-semiotics is a qualitative research perspective aiming at developing
the seminal intuition by Peirce... more Psycho-semiotics is a qualitative research perspective aiming at developing
the seminal intuition by Peirce (1931–1958) according to whom man is a
complex
network of signs. Hence, text and talk-in-interaction are the basic
“psycho-discursive practices” ( Wetherell 2008) where the intersubjective nature
of sense making is revealed. Peirce is an inspiring point of reference for
psycho-semiotics also at a methodological level, since he considered not only
deduction and induction as research practices able to characterize the process
of scientific knowledge production, but he emphasized an inferential modality
labeled “abduction.” Moving from such assumptions, the aim of the present
paper is to introduce the notion of diatext as a reflexive way to enhance the
value of this abducing procedure. Diatextual approach is a specific methodological
orientation within critical discourse analysis specifically aimed at
capturing the dynamics between interlocutors, text, and context which characterize
any kind of human interaction. A corpus of empirical data, collected
within different social contexts, will allow us to discuss and to understand how
diatexts actually work as yeast for human discourses.

Sprachliche Zeichen und die kontextabhängige Rezeption

by Utku Tanrıvere

On Couches and Controllers: Identification in the Video Game Apparatus

by Peter McDonald

Forthcoming in Issues of Control, Ed. Matthew Wysocki

The video game controller is a complex site of mediation for the player's identification with an avatar or... more The video game controller is a complex site of mediation for the player's identification with an avatar or perspective. The controller plays a number of roles: it is involved in a action-response feedback loop; it is a major aspect of video game literacy; it's layout guides a game's design; and it controls the basic verbs that video game theorists such as Aki Jarvinen and MacKenzie Wark place at the core of a game's meaning. Drawing on Lacanian film criticism much of the recent work on identification in video game studies, such as Bob Rehak's “Playing at Being: Psychoanalysis and the Avatar” has focused on the visual process of identification, taking the controller as at best a transparent medium for kinaesthetic identification, and at worst as an outdated technology that must be re-invented. Both of these approaches ignore the semiotic function of the controller which introduces an arbitrary relationship between the video game signifier (a button press), and signified (the on screen action). This essay expands on this semiotic function of the controller to make the argument that button presses can be read as differential chains of signs. I look several 1st, 2nd and 3rd generation controllers to show how they develop, the role of button combinations, and the meaning of their spatial layout.

Les applications de la sémiotique à la communication des organisations

by Andrea Catellani

Ces deux domaines complexes que sont la sémiotique-sémiologie et la recherche en communication des organisations... more Ces deux domaines complexes que sont la sémiotique-sémiologie et la recherche en communication des organisations présentent une certaine richesse de croisements, de figures d’échange et de rencontre, d’ailleurs plus ou moins internes au domaine de l’information et de la communication. D’un point de vue général, les organisations sont des « machines sémiotiques » à cause de leur incessante production de sens et de textualités, à l’intérieur comme vers l’extérieur. Cette production est nécessaire pour leur existence, bien avant les objectifs de « succès », réputation et efficacité auprès des publics et des parties prenantes. Les organisations sont même des « machines paresseuses », comme le disait Eco à propos des textes (1979), parce que l’interprétation des organisations, la « lecture » que les acteurs sociaux peuvent en faire, et donc au fond leur existence, est liée strictement à l’activité interprétative, sociale, politique, etc. des acteurs humains (sans oublier leur prothèses, interfaces et « adjuvants » non-humaines).

L’analyse des organisations rend donc possible le croisement de la tradition sémiotique avec les SIC. Le développement des socio-sémiotiques est particulièrement intéressant pour les SIC, tout comme les évolutions de la sémio-pragmatique. Nous constatons en tout cas que, si des recherches sémiotiques sur les textualités et les pratiques des organisations existent, une véritable sémiotique de l’organisation reste peut-être encore à construire. Sera-t-il alors le rapprochement avec les SIC, et en particulier avec certaines approches « constitutives » de la communication organisante, à rendre plus facile cette naissance ? Nous imaginons ici donc un processus inverse, une fécondation de retour.

Du point de vue des SIC, les apports sémiotiques seront toujours importants pour mieux saisir la dimension de la production et circulation du « sens » et des signes. Il ne s’agit pas du tout d’imposer un courant « textualiste » en SIC d’organisation, qui serait centré sur le texte (verbal) en contraposition aux courants plus « actionnistes » (centrés sur l’analyse de l’interaction et de l’action des acteurs). Nous soulignons que l’organisation entière, ses objets, ses interactions, et les actions de ses acteurs sont des objets possibles pour l’analyse sémiotique autant que les textualités plus traditionnelles. Il s’agit donc plutôt de montrer l’utilité d’une ouverture, d’une attention réciproque, et aussi de certaines fertilisations croisées au niveau conceptuel et méthodologique

“Dude! You mean you’ve never eaten a peanut butter and jelly sandwich?!?” Nut allergy as stigma in comic books

by Simon Weaver

with Sarah McNicol, Health Communication, Online 10th May 2012

This article examines the representation of nut allergy in comics aimed at children and young people. It maps the... more This article examines the representation of nut allergy in comics aimed at children and young people. It maps the signification and stigma of nut allergy in comics, and includes an outline of the imagery, stereotypes, and connotations that are created on this condition. Three texts are examined: first, Allergic, a semi-autobiographical story by Adrian Tomine aimed at young adults; second, What's Up With Paulina? from the Medikidz series of comic books that aim to help a pre-teenage audience learn about medical conditions; and third, Peanut, a forthcoming comic book by Ayun Halliday aimed at those in their early to mid teenage years. Using textual analysis, we focus on three principal areas of the texts. First, we consider the way in which the allergic character is represented in relation to examples of felt stigma, typified by feelings of shame and rejection, and compare this representation to common stereotypes of disability. Second, we look at the representation of other characters, drawing attention to the way in which stigma is enacted, highlighting acts of overt discrimination. Last, we examine the way in which the event of an allergic reaction is portrayed, considering how this might be used to help children and young people better understand nut allergy and combat the stigma attached to it. Throughout the article we compare the representation of stigma in comics with that depicted in empirical research on children living with nut allergies.

Peirces Rhetorical Turn. Conceptualizing education as semiosis

by torill strand

Keywords:
Peirce;semeiosis;semiotics;phenomenology;pragmatism;learning;philosophy of education
more Keywords:
Peirce;semeiosis;semiotics;phenomenology;pragmatism;learning;philosophy of education

Abstract
The later works of Charles Sanders Peirce (1839–1913) offer an extended metaphor of mind and a rich conception of the dynamics of knowledge and learning. After a ‘rhetorical turn’ Peirce develops his early ‘semiotics’ into a more general theory of sign and sign use, while integrating his pragmatism, phenomenology, and semiotics. Therefore, in this article I bring Peirce's notion of semiosis—the sign's action—to the forefront. In doing so, I hope to disclose how Peirce's rhetorical turn not only opens up towards a richer conception of the dynamics of knowledge and learning, but also invites a shift of perspective from the psychological processes of learning to the semeiotic processes that characterizes the very dynamics of knowledge production.

A Visual Approach to Multiculturalism

by Jerome Krase

This is a draft of an article that appeared as “A Visual Approach to Multiculturalism,” in Beyond Multiculturalism edited by Giuliana Prato, Ashgate Publishing Ltd, 2009: 1-38.

There are undoubtedly many ways by which one can approach multiculturalism and its many intersections at the local,... more There are undoubtedly many ways by which one can approach multiculturalism and its many intersections at the local, national and global levels. Each different perspective on the subject adds another dimension to our understanding of this complex, and changing phenomena. Offered here is a visual approach to one of its more ubiquitous versions, ethnic diversity, as it is expressed in the appearance of vernacular landscapes. It is argued that there is something about ethnic vernacular landscapes that can be best grasped via the use of image-based research. It is also suggested that such an approach might provide some needed focus to the inter- and intra-disciplinary debates over cultural diversity in its many scientific and related ideological forms.

Krakowiak. Frammenti di una etnosemiotica misinterpretativa.

by Francesco Galofaro

Pubblicato in "Alibi. Verso una Semiotica del viaggio",
a cura di Giampaolo Proni e Davide Gasperi, Ocula 12 - Marzo 2012.

La prima parte del saggio è costituita da appunti di viaggio nel “paese che non esiste”, come Jarry definì un tempo la... more La prima parte del saggio è costituita da appunti di viaggio nel “paese che non esiste”, come Jarry definì un tempo la Polonia. La seconda parte è un tentativo di trarre qualche conseguenza metasemiotica dall’impatto con una cultura diversa, cui non ero preparato. Non nego che in questi casi si tentino inferenze; è che esse sono sempre sbagliate. Non vi è alcun meccanismo cognitivo innato, pre-esistente, in grado di assicurare il successo delle nostre ipotesi. Inoltre, gli oggetti stessi, che per qualcuno costituirebbero l’innesco della semiosi, sono tuttavia di per sé del tutto insufficienti ad alimentarla, come una candela esausta. È per questo che esistono i codici: l’appropriazione di una città passa attraverso una serie di performance intimamente legate alla lingua, sistema modellizzante primario grazie al quale riconosciamo il proprio nell’altrui, rendendo mutuamente accessibili la nostra cultura e quella dell’altro.

Symbol, Thought, Action: A Semiotic Approach to the Deterritorialization of Uyghur Resistance

by Michael Caster

A Necessary Condition for Proof of Abiotic Semiosis

by Marc Champagne

To appear in Semiotica.

This short essay seeks to identify and prevent a pitfall that attends less careful inquiries into “physiosemiosis.” It... more This short essay seeks to identify and prevent a pitfall that attends less careful inquiries into “physiosemiosis.” It is emphasized that, in order to truly establish the presence of sign-action in the non-living world, all the components of a triadic sign — including the interpretant — would have to be abiotic (that is, not dependent on a living organism). Failure to heed this necessary condition can lead one to hastily confuse a natural sign (like smoke coming from fire) for an instance of abiotic semiosis. A more rigorous and reserved approach to the topic is called for.

Social Semiotics and Fieldwork: Method and Analytics

by Phillip Vannini

Published in Qualitative Inquiry, 2007

Drawing from recent analytical developments in semiotics and postmodern
ethnography, this article exposes and... more Drawing from recent analytical developments in semiotics and postmodern
ethnography, this article exposes and assesses the combination of social
semiotics and fieldwork as a form of qualitative inquiry. Approaches to semiotics
and fieldwork are not new—structural ethnographers in cultural anthropology
and structural interactionists in sociology and communication studies
have previously laid the foundations for the integration of formal methods of
analysis and inductive approaches to data collection—yet, as this article
argues, structuralism’s limitations have hampered the growth of semiotics
within qualitative inquiry. By presenting social semiotics as a viable alternative
to structural semiotics, by describing in clear pedagogical fashion how
social semiotics can be used as a research strategy, and by exposing its potential
for applicability, this article attempts to bring sociosemiotic ethnography
to the forefront of contemporary qualitative inquiry.

Semiotic Composition: Shared Transcendent Principles of Nattiez and Lachenmann

by Otto Muller

Presented at the College Music Society Northeast Chapter Conference
University of Vermont, March 2010

Current trends in both composition and in the analysis of existing music demonstrate a sustained interest in the... more Current trends in both composition and in the analysis of existing music demonstrate a sustained interest in the ability of musical materials to carry socially encoded meanings.  The potential of this analytic work to support more informed and effective treatments of referential material in new music, however, remains in a large part unexplored.  This paper proposes a prescriptive compositional application of Jean-Jacques Nattiez’s semiology of music by identifying the affinities that exist between the underlying principles of Nattiez’s analysis and Helmut Lachenmann’s compositional practice.

What symbols

by Dmitry Misyurov

This article contains 12 questions about the symbols. What are your thoughts in response? This article contains 12 questions about the symbols. What are your thoughts in response?

Visual identity and Indigenous tourism: power, authenticity, hybridity and the Osoyoos Indian Band's Nk'Mip Desert Cultural Centre

by Katie Bresner

Masters Thesis

The tourism industry is particularly reliant on the use of imagery to create a brand for a destination or attraction... more The tourism industry is particularly reliant on the use of imagery to create a brand for a destination or attraction in order to effectively market its product. In the case of Indigenous tourism, a paradox often exists between maintaining a level of recognition and familiarity that mirror the expectations of the public imagination, and conveying a representation that is locally meaningful and emblematic. Investigation into the visual representation and communication of identity through tourism is a means to illustrate three overlapping issues that are prevalent throughout the literature on Indigenous tourism. These are: control, authenticity, and hybridity. This research project addresses these issues through an extensive review of anthropological and tourism-related literature and its application to the specific case study of one Indigenous tourism business, the Nk’Mip Desert Cultural Centre (NDCC), owned and operated by the Osoyoos Indian Band (OIB) in Osoyoos, British Columbia (BC), Canada. Semiotic and visual analyses are used to elucidate the messages about OIB identity communicated through the Centre’s visuals, in order to bring the example of the OIB and NDCC into conversation with the larger issues found within Indigenous tourism.

Læsningens og betydningsdannelsens forvandling i senhistorisk perspektiv

by John Thobo-Carlsen

Published in Dominique Bouchet (ed.): Forandringer af betydning. Ørbæk: Forlaget Afveje 2009

Book Review: "Peirce and the Threat of Nominalism" by Paul Forster. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2011

by Vitaly Kiryushchenko

Peirce's semiotics and Russian formalism: The story of Oedipus Rex

by Vitaly Kiryushchenko

It is widely held nowadays that Saussurean semiology and the Peircean theory of signs are two major semiotic schools... more It is widely held nowadays that Saussurean semiology and the Peircean theory of signs are two major semiotic schools that, although they have certain theoretical and historical background in common, are incommensurable.

However, it appears that numerous — and evidently strong — points of incongruence between Saussurean (and post-Saussurean) semiology and Peirce's semiotics do not prevent the possibility of some important theoretical intuitions common to both traditions. In particular, this claim finds support in light of Russian formalism — essentially a Saussurean-type semiotic school that gained wide acclaim in mid-twentieth century Europe alongside French structuralism. Without challenging the truth of the obvious differences between the two schools, this paper undertakes to reinterpret some of the late formalist concepts on the problem of continuity in terms of Peirce's semiotics. The brief account this paper presents has a double objective: (1) to give a particular example of how some basic formalist analytical categories may be placed in the wider context of Peirce's semiotics, thus making the purely structural aspect of meaning a particular case of Peirce's theory of signs, and (2) to show the possibility of building a case in which Peirce's semiotic ideas might actually be applied as efficient tools in the examination of different traditional discourses. This objective is accomplished by way of a sample analysis of Vladimir Propp's “Oedipus in Light of Folklore” in terms of Peirce's “On a New List of Categories.”

Keywords:: continuity; history; formalism; semiotics; narrative function; interpretant