B4970 - Semiotics and Philosophy of Languages(1)

Learning outcomes

This course aims to outline the foundations of Semiotics, rooted, on one hand, in American pragmatist philosophy and, on the other, in Saussurian linguistics and the inheritance of structuralism as a whole. By the end of the course, the student will acquire an updated framework of key concepts in semiotics, in dialogue with the evolution of contemporary philosophical and linguistic thought. The main objective is to analyze the ways in which meaning is articulated through the mediation of languages in various discursive domains (arts, sciences, literature, audiovisual, etc.) and the logics through which it manifests in social and cultural phenomena.

Course contents

The course aims to illustrate the emergence and development of semiotics as an autonomous disciplinary field, capable of offering an original philosophical perspective on the study of meaning and processes of signification. Although reflection on signs and meaning runs throughout the history of philosophy, albeit discontinuously and subject to various forms of exclusion, it is with the American pragmatist Charles Sanders Peirce (1839–1914) and the Genevan linguist Ferdinand de Saussure (1857–1913) that a specifically semiotic mode of thought begins to take shape, distinct from other philosophies of language.

From the 1970s onwards, the works of these two “founding fathers” were taken up and further developed by scholars such as Umberto Eco, Algirdas Julien Greimas, Roman Jakobson, Jurij Lotman, and many others, contributing to the definition and consolidation of semiotics as a scientific project. This “dual origin”—philosophical and pragmatist on the one hand, linguistic and structuralist on the other—will provide the key to introducing the epistemology, main theoretical concepts, and empirical-analytical vocation of semiotics in the study of languages and signifying systems.

The course will also examine some of the subsequent developments of the discipline, with particular reference to the theories proposed by Greimas, Eco, and Lotman. The different approaches will be compared in order to show how semiotics analyses the processes through which meaning is produced, organized, communicated, and interpreted.

Topics covered will include:

• semiotics, communication, and signification;
• the notion of the sign in the Saussurean and Peircean traditions;
• structuralism and structuralist epistemology;
• from code to the Encyclopedia;
• text, discourse, and narrativity;
• elements of narrative semiotics;
• enunciation, débrayage, and embrayage;
• interpretation, textual cooperation, and the Model Reader;
• signs, texts, and practices in social and cultural phenomena;
• elements of visual and audiovisual semiotics;
• culture, translation, and the semiosphere.

Readings/Bibliography

Required Textbook

Volli, Ugo (2003), Manuale di semiotica, Rome-Bari: Laterza.

This volume is the main textbook for the preparation of the examination.

Further Reading

During the course, selected passages and chapters from the following works will also be used:

Eco, Umberto (1984), Semiotica e filosofia del linguaggio, Turin: Einaudi, Chapters 1, 2, and 5.

Greimas, Algirdas Julien (1970), Del senso, Milan: Bompiani, particularly the essays “Considerazioni sul linguaggio,” “La struttura semantica,” “Per una semiotica del mondo naturale,” and “Per una sociologia del senso comune.”

Fabbri, Paolo and Gianfranco Marrone, eds. (2001), Semiotica in nuce, I. I fondamenti e l’epistemologia strutturale, Rome: Meltemi, particularly:

• Part Two, “L’epistemologia strutturalista,” including essays by Ferdinand de Saussure, Louis Hjelmslev, Jean-Marie Floch, Roland Barthes, Umberto Eco, and Gilles Deleuze;
• Part Four, “Senso e significazione,” including essays by Louis Hjelmslev, Algirdas Julien Greimas, François Rastier, and Roman Jakobson.

Lotman, Jurij M. (1985), La semiosfera. L’asimmetria e il dialogo nelle strutture pensanti, Venice: Marsilio, particularly the chapter devoted to the semiosphere.

Peirce, Charles Sanders, “Una nuova lista di categorie,” CP 1.545–559; “Pensiero-segno-uomo,” CP 5.264–317; and “L’interpretante logico finale,” CP 5.464–494, in Opere, edited by Massimo A. Bonfantini, Milan: Bompiani.

These texts will be used to explore in greater depth specific authors, concepts, and theoretical issues addressed in the textbook and during the classes. During the course, the lecturer will indicate which sections are to be read and explain how these readings will contribute to the preparation of the examination.

Additional texts may be recommended during the classes and indicated in the teaching materials made available on the Virtuale platform.

Teaching methods

The course will include lectures, the reading and discussion of theoretical texts, class discussions, and exercises devoted to the application of the discipline’s main concepts.

During the classes, examples drawn from different discursive and cultural domains will be analysed, including literature, art, media communication, advertising, and audiovisual languages.

Given the importance of theoretical discussion and the analysis of examples, in-person attendance is strongly recommended.

Assessment methods

Assessment will consist of an oral examination.

The examination is intended to assess:

• knowledge of the main concepts and models of semiotics;
• understanding of the differences and relationships between the main theoretical traditions addressed during the course;
• knowledge of the foundations of semiotic pragmatism and structuralism;
• the ability to use the discipline’s metalanguage correctly;
• the ability to establish connections between authors, theories, and concepts;
• the ability to apply semiotic categories to the analysis of simple textual, communicative, and cultural examples.

The examination will cover the required textbook, the topics addressed during the classes, and any materials indicated by the lecturer as an integral part of the course programme.

There will normally be two examination dates for each examination period, indicatively in January, March, June, July, September, and November, preferably during periods in which teaching activities are suspended.

Assessment Criteria

A grade of 30 with honours will be awarded to examinations demonstrating exceptional command of the subject and of semiotic metalanguage, accompanied by an outstanding capacity for critical reflection and the original application of analytical tools.

Grades indicating excellent achievement, from 28 to 30, will be awarded to examinations demonstrating an excellent command of the subject and of semiotic metalanguage, accompanied by a strong capacity for critical reflection and the original application of analytical tools.

Grades indicating good achievement, from 24 to 27, will be awarded to examinations demonstrating good knowledge of the subject and the ability to apply its analytical tools.

Grades indicating satisfactory achievement, from 18 to 23, will be awarded to examinations demonstrating basic knowledge of the subject and a basic ability to apply the relevant theories and analytical methods.

Gaps in preparation, the absence of appropriate specialist terminology, and the inability to apply analytical tools will result in an insufficient grade.

Students with Disabilities and Specific Learning Disabilities

Students with disabilities or specific learning disabilities are entitled to special accommodations appropriate to their condition, following assessment by the University Service for Students with Disabilities and Specific Learning Disabilities.

Students are requested not to contact the lecturer directly, but to arrange an appointment with the relevant Service. The Service will determine the appropriate accommodations and communicate them to the lecturer.

Further information is available at:

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

Teaching tools

Multimedial equipment of the class.

Slides and other teaching materials will be available on the dedicated section of "Virtuale" platform.

Office hours

See the website of Francesco Mazzucchelli