| CODE | MCS1130 | ||||||||
| TITLE | Cultural Theory and Semiotics | ||||||||
| UM LEVEL | 01 - Year 1 in Modular Undergraduate Course | ||||||||
| MQF LEVEL | 5 | ||||||||
| ECTS CREDITS | 4 | ||||||||
| DEPARTMENT | Media and Communications | ||||||||
| DESCRIPTION | This study-unit introduces students to the study of visual culture, semiotics, and cultural theory. Drawing on anthropology, psychology, literary and cultural theory, and visual research methods, students will analyse how meaning is constructed and communicated through contemporary visual media. This study-unit focuses on the role of images in society, and thus students will be encouraged to critically approach any item of visual culture as a sign that needs to be thoroughly questioned and investigated. This is a methodological and theoretical study-unit that introduces students to the fundamental conceptual frameworks around cultural theory, semiotics and visual analysis. Apart from delving into the texts of key cultural theorists such as Ferdinand De Saussure, Charles Saunders Peirce, Stuart Hall, Umberto Eco, Jean Baudrillard, Matthew Arnold, Julia Kristeva, Jacques Derrida, and Roland Barthes amongst others, students will be given the necessary skills and tools to deconstruct signs, texts and codes. Students will engage in practical semiotic exercises, case studies, and group discussions analysing contemporary media and cultural artefacts. Visual culture is a term that refers to the tangible expressions of a group of people and is not necessarily limited to the most obvious and direct forms of cultural expression. It studies the ways in which images and media shape and reflect societal values, ideologies, and identities. Key topics include culture, sub-culture and genre, Saussurean and Peircean semiotics, binary oppositions, intertextuality, ideology, knowledge and power, representation and postcolonial theory, hyperreality, authorship in the digital age, performativity and gender identity, and applied semiotic analysis as a qualitative research method. The structure of the course balances theory, readings, and practical applications. Study-Unit Aims: The primary aim of this study-unit is to introduce students to the fields of visual culture, semiotics and cultural theory. Students will not only explore the historical development of these theoretical and methodological approaches, but by the end of the study-unit, they will be able to effectively decode any sign or system of signs. They will also be able to understand the impact that context and ideology have on the creation, dissemination and understanding of cultural texts. The study-unit also emphasises the application of semiotics as a visual research method in various domains, including branding, advertising, film, political communication, performing arts and digital media. Learning Outcomes: 1. Knowledge & Understanding: By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: The key objective of the study-unit is to equip the students with seminal cultural, social, and ideological theories and to apply these approaches towards the decoding of cultural texts. Important secondary objectives will be to encourage students to: - Intelligently critique and reflect on items of contemporary visual culture (music videos, advertisements, movies, theatre, fashion, etc.); - Evaluate the strengths and limitations of semiotics as a visual research method in media and cultural studies; - Analyse the processes of encoding and decoding in media texts, applying Stuart Hall鈥檚 model of communication; - Understand the role of context for both sender and receiver; - Use the appropriate theory and models to decode and interpret multiple readings of a media text. 2. Skills: By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - Identify signifiers within a system of signs and infer their signified meanings using semiotic tools and techniques; - Conduct semiotic and cultural analyses of contemporary visual texts, presenting findings in written and visual formats; - Recognise the impact of ideology and representation; - Critically assess the role of branding, marketing, and political messaging in shaping public perception through semiotics; - Deconstruct a system of signs into syntagmatic and paradigmatic relationships. Main Text/s and any supplementary readings: Main Texts: - Crow, David (2010). Visible Signs: An Introduction to Semiotics in the Visual Arts (2nd ed.). Lausanne: AVA Publishing. - Danesi, Marcel (2017). The Quest for Meaning: A Guide to Semiotic Theory and Practice. Toronto: University of Toronto Press. - Sless, David & Shrensky, Ruth (2023). A New Semiotics: An Introductory Guide for Students. London: Routledge. Supplementary Readings: - Barthes, Roland (1977). Image, Music, Text. London: Fontana Press. - Baudrillard, Jean (1994). Simulacra and Simulation. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press. - Boylan, Alexis L. (2020). Visual Culture. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press. - Berger, Arthur Asa (2010). The Objects of Affection: Semiotics and Consumer Culture. London: Palgrave Macmillan. - Chandler, Daniel (2022). Semiotics: The Basics (3rd ed.). London: Routledge. - Eco, Umberto (1976). A Theory of Semiotics. Bloomington: Indiana University Press. - Hall, Stuart (2013). Representation: Cultural Representations and Signifying Practices. London: Sage. - Kristeva, Julia (1980). Desire in Language: A Semiotic Approach to Literature and Art. New York: Columbia University Press. - Mirzoeff, Nicholas (2015). How to See the World. London: Pelican. - Sebeok, Thomas A. (2001). Signs: An Introduction to Semiotics (2nd ed.). Toronto: University of Toronto Press. - Van Leeuwen, Theo (2005). Introducing Social Semiotics. London: Routledge. |
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| ADDITIONAL NOTES | Co-requisite Study-unit: MCS1040 | ||||||||
| STUDY-UNIT TYPE | Lecture | ||||||||
| METHOD OF ASSESSMENT |
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| LECTURER/S | Malcolm Bonello |
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The University makes every effort to ensure that the published Courses Plans, Programmes of Study and Study-Unit information are complete and up-to-date at the time of publication. The University reserves the right to make changes in case errors are detected after publication.
The availability of optional units may be subject to timetabling constraints. Units not attracting a sufficient number of registrations may be withdrawn without notice. It should be noted that all the information in the description above applies to study-units available during the academic year 2025/6. It may be subject to change in subsequent years. |
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