B8813 - Semiotics of New Digital Media (1) (LM)

Learning outcomes

The course addresses with semiotic methodology some relevant phenomena of the contemporary consumption of goods, services and contents on today’s most widespread digital media (from the Web to social media), relating them to the overall media system. At the end of the course, students: - understand the main logics of the communication on digital media; - know how to analyse and interpret with semiotic methodology digital texts of different kinds (verbal, visual, sound, audio-visual), placing them within the framework of their production and reception; - know how to apply a critical gaze to the languages of digital media.

Course contents

After outlining the possibilities for dialogue between semiotics, experiential and digital marketing, the course critically and analytically explores a fundamental constant around which— for over forty years—brands, in shaping their marketing and communication strategies, have directed consumers’ desires and lifestyles in order to influence their purchasing practices: the (visual and audiovisual) representation of an ideal model of a slim, toned, and youthful human body.

The course reconstructs contemporary stereotypes of the slim, toned, and youthful body, adopting a notion of “stereotype” drawn from the social sciences, but analyzed in semiotic terms and applied to concrete case studies, ranging from advertising and social campaigns to audiovisual content and images circulating on social media (especially Instagram and TikTok).

The methodology and theoretical perspective are interdisciplinary: insights from semiotics are integrated with those from experiential and digital marketing, consumer sociology, and social psychology.

Readings/Bibliography

The course assumes some basic knowledge of semiotics. If you have not taken any semiotics exams during your undergraduate studies, you are required to study at least the following textbook: M.P. Pozzato, Capire la semiotica, Rome, Carocci, 2013.

Required Readings

G. Cosenza, J. Colombari, E. Gasparri, “How Italian Advertising Represents Women and Men. Towards a Methodology for the Semiotic Analysis of Stereotypes”, gender/sexuality/italy, 4, pp. 190-217. Available for download here.

G. Cosenza, "Stereotipi e pregiudizi. Dalle scienze sociali alla semiotica", E/C. Rivista dell'AISS, 2023, 37, pp. 243-257. Available for download here.

G. Cosenza, "Semiotica per campagne di digital marketing", Ocula, 2024, Vol. 25, n. 29, pp. 36-58. Available for download here.

Kotler, Ph., Kartajaya, H., Setiawan, I., Marketing 6.0. The Future is Immersive, John Wiley and Sons, Hoboken (NJ), 2023.

B. Mazzara, Stereotipi e pregiudizi, Il Mulino, Bologna, 1997.

 

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Optional and Supplementary Readings

To expand and strengthen your foundations in semiotics:

C. Marmo, Segni, linguaggi e testi: semiotica per la comunicazione, Bologna, Bononia University Press, 2015, second revised edition.

To expand and strengthen your foundations in experiential marketing:

Schmitt, B., Experiential Marketing: How to Get Customers to Sense, Feel, Think, Act, Relate, Simon & Schuster, New York, 2000.

The latest updated book by Ph. Kotler & co.:

Kotler, Ph., Kartajaya, H., Setiawan, I., Marketing 7.0. A Guide for Thinking Marketers in the Age of AI, John Wiley and Sons, Hoboken (NJ), 2026.

To expand and strengthen the relationship between semiotics and digital marketing:

G. Cosenza, Semiotica dell'innovazione digitale, Rome–Bari, Laterza, 2026.

P. Odoardi, Strumenti semiotici nel digitale. Strategie per la comunicazione e il marketing, FrancoAngeli, Milan, 2026.

Teaching methods

The lectures will mainly be used to collectively analyse images, commercials, reels, viral videos.

Given the eminently practical nature of the course, regular attendance is strongly recommended.

Assessment methods

The exam will consist of a 15-to-20-page paper (2000 characters per page). The topic of the paper has to be agreed upon with the professor either in person or via email. During lessons the professor will give several suggestions for possible research topics.

The paper will be agreed upon with the professor (at the end of the lectures or during the student hours, for those not attending) and will result in a written paper (term paper) of a maximum of 20 pages long of 2,000 characters each, for a total of 40,000 characters (including spaces, titles and bibliography, Appendix excluded). In the case of group work, the paper will have a multiple number of pages of the number of members of the group (2 people 80,000 characters, 3 people 120,000, and so on).

NOTE. The paper must absolutely follow  the "Directions for writing the Master thesis," which can be found in a PDF downloadable from HERE.

 

USE OF GENERATIVE AI

In the appendix of each paper (beyond the character count), you must state which generative AI tools were used for brainstorming, drafting, or summarizing.

The following points must be clearly specified:

• description of the prompts;
• strengths and weaknesses of the output;
• errors, gaps, and biases;
• verification of claims with sources;
• original contributions.
  
  

Students with disabilities and Specific Learning Disorders (SLD)
Students with disabilities or Specific Learning Disorders are entitled to special adjustments according to their condition, subject to assessment by the University Service for Students with Disabilities and SLD. Please do not contact teachers or Department staff, but make an appointment with the Service. The Service will then determine what adjustments are specifically appropriate, and get in touch with the teacher. For more information, please visit the page:

https://site.unibo.it/studenti-con-disabilita-e-dsa/en/for-students

Teaching tools

During lessons the professor will use the multimedia tools of the University, in order to show and analyze images and audiovisual products (especially commercials and reels), and to browse the Web.

The professor will publish her lecture notes and PowerPoint presentations on the Virtuale platform.

Office hours

See the website of Giovanna Cosenza