67007 - Analysis Methodologies (2) (LM)

Learning outcomes

The course aims to further explore the theoretical, methodological, and applied aspects of semiotic studies, continuing the work undertaken in Methodologies of Analysis (1).

Course contents

The course revisits key aspects of semiotic theory and methodology in order to question and refine their current developments. After a critical update on the classical axes of enunciation—spatiality, temporality, and actoriality—the course focuses on the different levels of pertinence in semiotic analysis and on the criteria for constructing corpora.

While drawing on insights from post-Greimassian semiotics, the course also explores the possibility of convergence among various internal traditions of the discipline. It emphasizes the translatability of concepts developed by different schools and the recognition of multiple descriptive objectives that, despite their diversity, may be integrated. The course concludes with a synthesis framed within a semiotic ecology of cultures.

The course aims to develop the ability to initiate and conduct semiotic research, taking into account the diversity of analytical levels, the researcher’s position, the constitution of the object of inquiry, and the critical access to data, including the management of complexity and potential heterogeneity. Among the skills to be acquired is the competence to construct and investigate corpora in order to carry out contrastive characterizations of semiotic phenomena—for example, through diachronic or diatopic perspectives.

Readings/Bibliography

In addition to two mandatory core texts (see below), students may choose one of the three proposed paths of complementary readings. These reading requirements apply equally to attending and non-attending students.

Core readings:

1. Jacques Fontanille, Pratiche semiotiche, Pisa, ETS, 2010.

2. François Rastier, La misura e la grana, Pisa, ETS, 2012.

 

Complementary reading paths (choose one):

1. Claude Zilberberg, Giardini e altri terreni sensibili, Roma, Aracne, 2019.

2. Pierluigi Basso Fossali, La promozione dei valori. Semiotica della comunicazione e dei consumi, Milano, FrancoAngeli, chapters 1, 2, 3, 4, 9, 10, 11, 12.

3. (3.1) Pierluigi Basso Fossali, “Semiotic mediations and complexity management. Paradoxes and regulative principles”, in K. Lund et al. (eds.), Language is a complex adaptive system. Explorations and evidences, Berlin, Language Science Press, 2022, pp. 9–22; (3.2) One additional essay of your choice from the same volume (available online: https://langsci-press.org/catalog/book/334 ); (3.3) Pierluigi Basso Fossali, “Institutions as double agents: programming discourses and modal adjustments”, in Isabella Pezzini (ed.), Paolo Fabbri. Unfolding semiotics, pp. 35–48, Punctum (available online: https://punctum.gr/download/paolo-fabbri-unfolding-semiotics )

 

Recommended reading (especially for non-attending students):

Denis Bertrand, Basi di semiotica letteraria, Roma, Meltemi, 2002.

Teaching methods

The course will include lectures, analysis workshops, and guided readings.

Students with Disabilities and Specific Learning Disorders (SLD)

Students with disabilities or Specific Learning Disorders are entitled to appropriate adjustments in relation to their condition, as assessed by the University’s Service for Students with Disabilities and SLD. Students should not contact the instructor directly, but schedule an appointment with the Service, which will determine the adjustments to be implemented.

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

Assessment methods

The exam consists of an oral discussion with the professor. It is divided into two parts:

– a discussion based on the texts selected from the syllabus;

– a brief exercise in setting up a semiotic analysis (the professor will present either a specific object of study or a concrete methodological issue).

Evaluation criteria for the oral exam include:

– the level of disciplinary knowledge (40%);

– the ability to apply this knowledge critically in an analytical framework (40%);

– the quality of expression, particularly terminological precision and argumentative clarity (20%).

At least six exam sessions will be held during the academic year 2025/2026, in the following months: January, March, May, June, September, December.

Teaching tools

Multimedia materials will be used throughout the course. All materials will be made available on the Virtuale e-learning platform. Students who wish to take the exam must register on the platform in order to access these materials, which are considered an integral part of the syllabus.

Office hours

See the website of Pierluigi Basso