| Module Identifier | TF33320 | ||
| Module Title | MEDIA SEMIOTICS | ||
| Academic Year | 2000/2001 | ||
| Co-ordinator | Dr Daniel Chandler | ||
| Semester | Semester 2 | ||
| Pre-Requisite | TF10210 | ||
| Course delivery | Seminars / Tutorials | 20 Hours | |
Aims
- to outline fundamental principles of semiotic textual analysis
- to examine semiotic approaches to the analysis of mass media texts
Learning Outcomes:
Typically, upon completion of this module, a student will be able to:
- to apply semiotic approaches to the analysis of mass media texts;
- to assess the usefulness and limitations of such approaches.
Content:
What is semiotics? Models of the sign. Modality and representation. Syntagm and paradigm. Denotation, connotation and myth. Rhetorical tropes. Codes. Modes of address. Encoding/decoding. Intertextuality. Criticisms and strengths. Students are offered a practical introduction to the application of semiotics to the study of the mass media and are also assisted in interpreting media theorists who have adopted semiotic approaches. They are encouraged to adopt a critical approach to semiotic theories and applications.
Reading Lists
Books
** Recommended Text
Bignell, Jonathan. (1997)
Media Semiotics: An Introduction. Manchester University Press
Allen, Robert C. (Ed.). (1992)
Channels of Discourse, Reassembled. Routledge
Chandler, Daniel. ((in press))
Semiotics: The Basics. Routledge
Hartley, John. (1982)
Understanding News. Methuen
Jensen, Klaus Bruhn. (1995)
The Social Semiotics of Mass Communication. London. Sage
Lapsley, Robert & Michael Westlake. (1988)
Film Theory: An Introduction, (Chapter 2, 'Semiotics'). Manchester University Press
Nichols, Bill. (1981)
Ideology and the Image. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press
Thwaites, Tony, Lloyd Davis & Warwick Mules. (1994)
Tools for Cultural Studies: An Introduction. South Melbourne: Macmillan
Tolson, Andrew. (1996)
Mediations: Text and Discourse in Media Studies. Arnold
Strinati, Dominic. (1995)
An Introduction to Theories of Popular Culture. Routledge
Messaris, Paul. (1994)
Visual Literacy: Image, Mind & Reality. Boulder, CO: Westview Press
Kress, Gunther & Theo van Leeuwen. (1996)
Reading Images: The Grammar of Visual Design. Routledge
Hodge, Robert & David Tripp. (1986)
Children and Television: A Semiotic Approach. Polity Press
Fiske, John & John Hartley. (1978)
Reading Television. Methuen
Online version at: http://www.aber.ac.uk/media/Documents/S4B/.