COMN 1000 Lecture Notes - Lecture 4: Frankfurt School, Hypodermic Needle Model, Consumer Sovereignty

• School: York University
• Department: Communication Studies
• Course: COMN 1000
• Professor: David Skinner

Document Summary

Signification - the process of creating signs (anything that you can read meaning into) Semiology or semiotics: the study of signs and sign systems. Signifier -- and what the thing you see (hear, feel, etc. ) stands for -- signified; (also referent ) 3 kinds of signs icon: looks like the thing (photo, map) index: associated with its object (smoke, animal droppings) symbol: arbitrary/abstract relationship (language) Text: any collection of signs from which meaning is made. (book, tv show, film, radio, sky, map, etc. ) Mix and match signifiers to create signs with new/different meaning (eg. underwear; beer ad) The struggle over how to signify different people and events can have strong consequences. (who"s a terrorist?) Literary criticism (auteur theory) emphasis on the role of the author, (ideas in the story or text originate with the author) Structuralism, semiotics, and post-structuralism: emphasis not on the personal, but on the larger social context/structure (history)