SEMIOTICS:SIGNS & SYMBOLS

Catalog description

Semiotics is the study of signs. A sign is defined as anything that can stand for or represent something - therefore it can be a word, a symbol, a picture, a sound, a gesture, body language etc. Semiotics is therefore the study of making meaning (both "encoding" and "decoding") in its widest possible sense. Semiotics is fundamental to the process of communication and the production of meaning. In this course we will focus on the work of semioticians in the areas of advertising, photography, film, television, myth and sub-culture, and consider how semiotic concepts and methods can be used to analyze a variety of cultural products, from fashion to television news to advertising to other forms of communication.