Semiotics of Communication
Code: 103042 ECTS Credits: 6| Degree | Type | Year |
|---|---|---|
| Journalism | OT | 3 |
| Journalism | OT | 4 |
Contact
- Name:
- Maria Rosario Lacalle Zalduendo
- Email:
- rosario.lacalle@uab.cat
Teachers
- Jesús Martínez Fernández
Teaching groups languages
You can view this information at the end of this document.
Prerequisites
None
Objectives and Contextualisation
The objective of the course is to develop the necessary skills to work efficiently self-learning and self-demanding. Semiotics is a discipline that helps us to understand the world and, therefore, cultural phenomena, from an analytical and critical perspective. So it is a very useful tool in the construction of storytelling (journalistic, political, fiction) , etc.) as well as in its interpretation.
The approach to the subject is theoretical and methodological (learning of the concepts / instruments and application). It aims to provide students with the theorical bases and tools to analyze the discourses of media and to understand the strategies underlying the communication processes of the products of the cultural industries. At the same time, it shows them how to articulate the deep meaning of social representations and the values transmitted. The context where social discourses are produced and consumed is also included in the analysis.
The different parts of the program are articulated around some of the main contributions of structuralism semiotics (Ferdinand de Saussure, Roland Barthes, Algirdas J. Greimas, etc.) and interpretive semiotics (Charles S. Peirce, Umberto Eco).
Gender approach
Semiotics arises from the need to know and understand cultural facts, as well as the need to transform them. The richness of its theoretical concepts and its tools of analysis make it a very fruitful discipline for the study of social representations and, particularly, of those elements involved in the construction of meaning. Consistently with the critical vocation of this discipline, special attention will be devoted to the (de)construction of stereotypes and the study of the underlying mechanisms on which the stories are made, told and settled on the social imaginary.
Competences
- Journalism
- Act with ethical responsibility and respect for fundamental rights and duties, diversity and democratic values.
- Demonstrate a critical and self-critical capacity.
- Differentiate the discipline's main theories, its fields, conceptual developments, theoretical frameworks and approaches that underpin knowledge of the subject and its different areas and sub-areas, and acquire systematic knowledge of the media's structure.
- Disseminate the area's knowledge and innovations.
- Introduce changes in the methods and processes of the field of knowledge to provide innovative responses to the needs and demands of society.
- Students can apply the knowledge to their own work or vocation in a professional manner and have the powers generally demonstrated by preparing and defending arguments and solving problems within their area of study.
- Students must be capable of collecting and interpreting relevant data (usually within their area of study) in order to make statements that reflect social, scientific or ethical relevant issues.
- Students must be capable of communicating information, ideas, problems and solutions to both specialised and non-specialised audiences.
- Students must develop the necessary learning skills in order to undertake further training with a high degree of autonomy.
- Take sex- or gender-based inequalities into consideration when operating within one's own area of knowledge.
Learning Outcomes
- Analyse the sex- or gender-based inequalities and the gender biases present in one's own area of knowledge.
- Apply theoretical principles to the analysis of audiovisual processes.
- Appraise the social impacts of technological mediation in modern communication.
- Critically analyse the principles, values and procedures that govern the exercise of the profession.
- Demonstrate a critical and self-critical capacity.
- Disseminate the area's knowledge and innovations.
- Explain the explicit or implicit code of practice of one's own area of knowledge.
- Identify phenomena and consider theoretical problems regarding audiovisual communication.
- Identify the theoretical principles of audiovisual production and consumption.
- Lay the foundations for modern semiotic trends and apply them to communication and journalism.
- Propose new ways to measure the success or failure of the implementation of innovative proposals or ideas.
- Propose projects and actions that incorporate the gender perspective.
- Students can apply the knowledge to their own work or vocation in a professional manner and have the powers generally demonstrated by preparing and defending arguments and solving problems within their area of study.
- Students must be capable of collecting and interpreting relevant data (usually within their area of study) in order to make statements that reflect social, scientific or ethical relevant issues.
- Students must be capable of communicating information, ideas, problems and solutions to both specialised and non-specialised audiences.
- Students must develop the necessary learning skills in order to undertake further training with a high degree of autonomy.
Content
1. Foundations and applications of structuralism
1.1. Semiotics paradigms
1.2. Key concepts of Stucturalism
1.3. Connotation and social myths
2. Storytelling
2.1. Origins of narrative
2.2. The morphology of the folktale
2.3. Introduction to the structural analysis
2.4. Narratology and storytelling
3. French structuralism
3.1. The narrative theory of A. J. Greimas
3.2. Axiology
3.3. Narrative structure
3.4. Enunciation and point of view
3.5. Representations
4. Interpretation of texts
4.1. Foundations of interpretative semiotics
4.2. Theory of the interpretation of Umberto Eco
4.3. Interpretation and cultural resignification
Activities and Methodology
| Title | Hours | ECTS | Learning Outcomes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Type: Directed | |||
| Lectures, seminars, readings | 50 | 2 | 6, 10, 3 |
| Readings, audiovisual viewing, assignments | 82.5 | 3.3 | 6, 10 |
| Type: Supervised | |||
| Tutorials | 10 | 0.4 | 6 |
The course will be carried out through different activities, as indicated in the table.
During one of the classes, the teacher will provide students 15 minutes to answer the surveys on the teaching performance and the subject or module.
Annotation: Within the schedule set by the centre or degree programme, 15 minutes of one class will be reserved for students to evaluate their lecturers and their courses or modules through questionnaires.
Assessment
Continous Assessment Activities
| Title | Weighting | Hours | ECTS | Learning Outcomes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Assignments | 30% | 3.5 | 0.14 | 4, 1, 2, 5, 6, 7, 10, 8, 9, 11, 12, 16, 15, 13, 14 |
| Exams, tests | 50% | 2 | 0.08 | 5, 6, 10, 8, 9, 16 |
| Readings, participation | 20% | 2 | 0.08 | 4, 1, 2, 5, 6, 7, 10, 12, 13, 14, 3 |
Continued evaluation
This course combines different types of assessment:
1. Two exams of the different parts that make up the syllabus (50% of the total score). It will be compulsory to pass this part of the assessment (4.9 or higher) in order to pass the subject. Students who cannot do an exam for objective and documented reasons, will have the option to make it up on the day of January fixed for the re-evaluation.
2. Final course work (30%).
3. Readings, discussions and exercises carried out in the seminars (20%). The final grade of this part of the evaluation (readings, debats and exercises) will be obtained by performing the arithmetic mean.
Unjustifiable absences will be scored with a 0. The students who cannot perform the test for objective and documentary justified reasons, will have the option to make the test on the January yreevaluation day.
Works delivered after the scheduled dates will not be accepted. Undelivered works will be scored as 0.
The final grade will be the result of the weighted average of the three parts that integrate the evaluation.
The calendar will be available on the first day of class. Students will find information on the Virtual Campus about the description of the activities, teaching materials, etc. In case of a change of teaching modality for health reasons, teachers will make readjustments in the schedule and methodologies.
Re-assessment
According to regulations, in order to be able to participate in the recovery process, students must have previously been assessed for at least 2/3 of the total assessable activities of the subject.
In the period for the reassessment, failed exams may be repeated if the average of the four tests is not less than 3.5 (unrealized tests score 0 in the calculation of the mean). If the average of the exams is at least 5, it will not benecessaryto repeat the failed ones.
The final assignment of the course is an assessable task that cannot be reassigned in case of failure. The reason is that completing a task of this nature is practically impossible within the time available during the reassignment period.
The readings, debates, and exercises are linked to the in-class work, so they also cannot be reassigned.
The readings, discussions andexercises carried out inthe seminars are linked to work in the classroom, so they can’t be re-assessed.
Assignments and exercises that have not been previously agreed upon with the course coordinator or that do not follow the established guidelines will be considered NON-ASSESSABLE.
In the case of a second enrolment, students can do a single assignment. The grading of the subject will correspond to the grade of the synthesis exam/assignment.
Single evaluation
1. 50% Written examt. It will be essential to pass (5 points out of 10 or more) to pass the subject.
2. 20% Exercices of solving 4 case studies or communication challenges.
3. 30% Delivery of a research and conceptualization work. Review of scientific papers about the same topic (facilitated by the teacher), relate concepts highlight the most significant aspects, reflect on the topics discussed and suggest possible lines of research based on the most relevant contributions.
Recuperation: single evaluation
According to regulations, in order to be able to participate in the recovery process, students must have previously been assessed for at least 2/3 of the total assessable activities of the subject.
The reassessments and the review of the final grade will also follow the same procedure as for the continuous assessment.
Other informations
The student who makes any irregularity (copy, plagiarism,identity theft ...) will be rated with 0 this act of evaluation. In the event of a second irregularity, the final grade for the course will be 0.
The professor may indicate to the students that, for the correct development of the class and to guarantee good coexistence in the classroom, it is highly recommended not to use electronic devices or screens during the class, except when indicated the opposite for some specific teaching situation.
For this course, the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies is permitted exclusively for specify tasks, such as bibliographic or information searches, text correction, or translation. Teachers will eventually indicate other specific uses of technology in due course. As for the students, they must clearly identify any parts generated with these technologies, specify the tools used, and include a critical reflection on how AI has influenced the process and outcome of the assignment. Failure to disclose the use of AI in this assessed activity will be considered a breach of academic integrity and may result in a partial or total penalty to the assignment grade, or more serious sanctions in severe cases.
Bibliography
The texts marked with an * indicate the basic bibliography of the course; the rest of them indicate the complementary bibliography.
- References of the first theme
BARTHES, Roland (1986[1964]) "Retórica de la imagen". Lo obvio y lo obtuso, Paidós.
BARTHES, Roland (1994 [1957]) "El mito hoy". Mitologías. Siglo XXI.
BERTETTI, Paolo (2015) "Capítulo I. Semiótica, audiovisual, historia, texto". La historia audiovisual. Las teorías y herramientas semióticas, UOC.
CHANDLER, Daniel (2022) “The Saussurian Model” (pp. 13-29). Semiotics. The basics. Rouledge (4th edition revised).
COBLEY, Paul; Litza Jansz (2010) Introducign Semiotics. A graphic guide (Apartats: Ferdinand de Saussure, Saussure and Semiology, The Structure of Myth, Structure and Mythemes, Structuralism). Icon Books.
DANESI, Marcel (2017) “Emoji grammar”. The Semiotics of Emoji (77-94). Bloomsbury.
HALL, Sean (2012). “Signs ans signing”. This Means This, This Means That: A User's Guide to Semiotics (21-28). Laurence King Publishing, 2ond edition.
HALL, Sean (2012). “Ways of meaning”. This Means This, This Means That: A User's Guide to Semiotics (149-168). Laurence King Publishing, 2ond edition.
LAGOPOULOS, Alexandros; BLOKUND-LAGOPULOU, Karin (2020). “The basic concepts of langue”. Theory and Methodology of Semiotics: The Tradition of Ferdinand de Saussure (pp. 25-89). De Gruyter.
Lorusso, Anna Maria (2015) "The Structuralist Perspective" (pp. 21-66). Cultural Semiotics. For a Cultural Perspective in Semiotics. Palgrave Macmillan.
MEUNIER, Jean-Guy (2021) “The complexity of semiotics”(1-16). Computational Semiotics. Bloomsbury.
- References of the second theme
BARTHES, Roland (1993[1966]) "Introducción al análisis estructural delrelato". La aventura semiológica. Paidós.
BERTETTI, Paolo. (2015[2012]) "La historia como un contenido narrativo". La historia audiovisual. Las teorías y herramientas semióticas. UOC.
*CHATMAN, Seymour (2013[1978]) “Historia: sucesos”; “Historia: existentes”. Historia y discurso, RBA Libros.
GENETTE, G. (1989[1972]) “La estructura del relato”. Figuras III. Lumen.
*HALL, Sean (2012). ““Framing meaning”This Means This, This Means That: A User's Guide to Semiotics (149-168). Laurence King Publishing, 2ond edition.
PROPP, Vladimir, (1928), La morfología del cuento. Fundamentos.
RODRÍGUEZ ALMODÓVAR, A. (2007[1989]) Breve descripción de los estudios más importantes de la escuela rusa, y sus críticos. En Los cuentos populares o la tentativa de un texto infinito. Biblioteca virtual Miguel de Cervantes. http://www.cervantesvirtual.com/obra-visor/los-cuentos-populares-o-la-tentativa-de-un-texto-infinito-0/html/013093d4-82b2-11df-acc7-002185ce6064_20.html#I_9_ (resumen deLa Morfología del cuento).
TOMASEVSKIJ, Boris (2012[(1928]) "Temática". Tzvetan Todorov, Teoría de la literatura de los formalistas rusos. Siglo XXI.
VALLÉS CALATRAVA, Jose Rafael (2002) Diccionario de la teoría de la narrativa. Alhulia.
- References of the third theme
BERTETTI, Paolo. (2015) "La historia como enunciación". La historia audiovisual. Las teorías y herramientas semióticas. UOC.
CALABRESE, Omar (1995), "La información y el espectador". O. Calabrese, A. Silva y U. Volli, Los juegos de la imagen. Instituto Italiano di Cultura, págs. 129-143.
CASETTI, Francesco - DI CHIO, Federico (1991[1990]) "Elanàlisis de la comunicación" and "Elanàlisis de la narración". Cómo analizar un film. Paidós.
COURTÉS, Josep, (1997[1991]) Análisis semiótico del discurso. Gredos (chapters 2, 3 y 4).
FLOCH, Jean-Marie (1993[1991]) "Muertos en el cascarón". Semiótica, marketing, comunicación. Paidós.
GREIMAS, Algirdas S. -COURTES, Josep (1979[1983] & 1986[1987]) Semiótica. Diccionario razonado sobre la teoría del lenguaje (1 & 2). Gredos.
*LACALLE, Charo (2022) (In)dignidades mediáticas en la sociedad digital. Cátedra (pp. 93-138).
LACALLE, Charo (2023) “Cartografiando las subculturas de la manosfera española. Entre Forocoches y Burbuja.info”. En Y. Franco y A. Bernárdez Rodal (eds.) Misoginia online: la cultura de la manosfera en el contexto español (pp. 115-134).
*LAGOPOULOS, Alexandros; BLOKUND-LAGOPULOU, Karin (2020). “Paradigmatic analysis: Isotopies, qualitative approach”. Theory and Methodology of Semiotics: The Tradition of Ferdinand de Saussure (pp. 130-139). De Gruyter.
*LAGOPOULOS, Alexandros; BLOKUND-LAGOPULOU, Karin (2020). “Syntagmatic analysis: Narrative theory”. Theory and Methodology of Semiotics: The Tradition of Ferdinand de Saussure (93-129). De Gruyter.
PESSOA DE BARROS, Diana Luz (2017) "La narratividad en Semiótica". Tópicos del seminario, 37. http://www.scielo.org.mx/pdf/tods/n37/1665-1200-tods-37-00025.pdf
WHITE, HYDEN. (1990). “The value of narrativity in the representation of reality”. The content of the form: Narrative discourse and historical representation. Johns Hopkins University Press.
- References of the fourth theme
*CHANDLER, Daniel (2022) “The Peircean Model” (pp. 30-39). Semiotics. The basics. Rouledge (4th edition revised).
*COBLEY, Paul; Litza Jansz (2010) Introducign Semiotics. A graphic guide (Apartat: Charles Sanders Peirce). Icon Books.
ECO, Umberto (2000[1975]), Tratado de semiótica general, Lumen (0.5.2; 2.1.4; 2.7). Els punts assenyalats constitueixen un complement als apunts sobre la semiòtica interpretativa de Charles S. Peirce.
____(1993[1979]) Lector in fabula, Lumen (capítol 2 dedicat al signe de Ch. S. Peirce y capítol 3 dedicat al lector model).
____(1989) “Cuernos, cascos, zapatos: Algunas hipòtesis sobre tres tipus de abducción”, a Umberto Eco i Thomas Albert Sebeok (ed.) El signo delos tres. Dupin. Holmes, Peirce. Lumen.
____(2010[1990]) Els límits de la interpretació, Destino, 1991 (1.4; 1.5; 3.1.3; 3.1.4; 3.1.5; 3.5). Pincipis i exemples de interpretació textual.
____(1996[1994]) Seispaseos por los bosques narrativos, Lumen (Eco resumeix la seva teoria de la interpretació, que vs impartir a un curs de la Universidad de Harvard en 1992).
INNIS, Robert E. (2022). "Semiotics". V. P. Glăveanu (ed.) The Palgrave Encyclopedia of the Possible. Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 1469-1479.
LORUSSO, Anna Maria (2015). Interpretation and Culture: Umberto Eco’s Theory (pp. 117-158). Cultural Semiotics. For a Cultural Perspective in Semiotics. Palgrave Macmillan.
MOURA DE OLIVEIRA, Felipe (2018). Reflexión final: más allá delacrisis, a La semiosis de la noticia (pp. 103-176). UOC.
Software
No specific
Groups and Languages
Please note that this information is provisional until 30 November 2025. You can check it through this link. To consult the language you will need to enter the CODE of the subject.
| Name | Group | Language | Semester | Turn |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| (SEM) Seminars | 11 | Catalan/Spanish | first semester | morning-mixed |
| (SEM) Seminars | 12 | Catalan/Spanish | first semester | morning-mixed |
| (TE) Theory | 1 | Catalan/Spanish | first semester | morning-mixed |