Lectures 14 and 15 - Semiotics

Semiotics - The science of studying signs

• If we can unravel meaning in language by understanding the written and spoken material, we can also unravel meaning in cultural practices.
• Fashion is a communication system
• Codes: Conventions, expectations, narrative
• Looking at conformity and the destruction of it and how it contributes to comedy.
• Codes are found in all forms of cultural practice
• In order to make sense of cultural artifacts, we need to understand their codes

Ferdinand Sesseur

• Signifier - sound image
• Signified - Mental concept
• Both are SIGNS
• Sign - Anything that conveys meaning in a cultural code

Signifier

• Written 'Dog'
• Spoken 'Dog'
• Barking by a Dog
• Picture of a Dog

 Signified

• The mental concept of a Dog

There is no logical relationship between the signifier and the signified in language, it is whatever has been culturally decided. 

 _____________________

 

 Signifier -

  

  

 

Signified -

 

___________

 

 

 

 

 Laswell's Maxim: Who says what in what channel to whom with what effect?

 

• Noise, cultural jamming - Interruption in communication
• Redundancy - Low predictability, high information
• Entropy - A set of signs from which one is to be chosen
• Syntagm - The mesage into which the chosen signs are combined according to pre existing conditions 

All messages involve selection from a paradigm and combination into a syntagm 

• Units in paradigm must have something in common
• Syntagm - combination of signs (outfits, words etc.. )
• Signs are arranged in a syntagmatic relationships chosen from paradigms

Codes:

• Signifying systems
• Number of units to choose from and paradignamic dimensoin
• All codes convey meaning