Course program
1. Introduction to Semiotics
The first part aims to provide the basic theories, concepts and tools of Semiotics, with particular attention to their historical development and their links with philosophy, linguistics and rhetoric.
Main issues of the first part:
• Origins and meaning of semiotics
• Sign and symbol
• Meaning and communication
• Linguistic foundation of the theory of signs
• Semiotics of human language
• Expression / Content
• Signification and Communication
• Cooperation and Interpretation
• Dictionary / Encyclopedia
2. Semiotic transformation of kantian philosophy
The second part focuses on a fundamental theoretical turning point in semiotic reflection, which matured in the confrontation with Kant's philosophy. The elaboration of a linguistic-semiotic critique of the Kantian model, originally associated with the names of Johann Gottfried Herder and Wilhelm von Humboldt, took shape in the twentieth century, particularly in Ernst Cassirer's (1874-1945) philosophy of symbolic forms. The aim of this part is to reconstruct the lines of development of a semiotics of culture based on language which Cassirer develops in close dialogue with the empirical sciences of his time: linguistics, psychology and anthropology.
Main issues of this part:
- The concept of symbolic form and the foundations of a philosophy of culture
- The "animal symbolicum": a semiotic question
- The history of linguistic thought according to Cassirer: the importance of J.G. Herder and W. v. Humboldt
- The Phenomenology of Linguistic Form: From Gesture to Word
- Language and the Genesis of the Forms of Space and Time
- Language and subjectivity
Prerequisites
Language and argumentation skills acquired in the secondary school education.
Books
1) Tullio De Mauro, Prima lezione sul linguaggio, Roma-Bari, Laterza, 2002
2) Umberto Eco, Semiotica e filosofia del linguaggio, Torino, Einaudi, 1984 (pp. 1-140)
3) S. Traini, Le basi della semiotica, Milano, Bompiani, 2013 e seguenti edizioni (pp. 11-76; 159-243)
4) Ernst Cassirer, Filosofia delle forme simboliche, vol. I: Il linguaggio, Firenze, La Nuova Italia (rist. PiQuadro) (pp. 1-216; 251-293)
5) Ernst Cassirer, Simbolismo e filosofia del linguaggio. Seminario di Yale 1941-1942, a cura di G. Borbone, Mimesis, 2022
6) Teaching materials from the electronic Classroom of teaching
Frequency
Attendance is therefore strongly recommended.
Exam mode
Assessment of the expected learning outcomes will be oral.
Full marks will be awarded to students who have actively participated in class discussions and who demonstrate: a) a thorough knowledge of the main theories of contemporary semiotics, their origins and developments; b) the ability to use appropriate terminology clearly; b) the ability to write an essay on an agreed topic.
The pass mark will be awarded to the student who demonstrates at least a working knowledge of the main theories and main tools of contemporary semiotics.
Lesson mode
The course is based on lectures designed to introduce students to the basic concepts and tools of Semiotics. Open discussions will be held to improve students' communication and reflection skills. The second part will be more seminar-based, attendance is therefore strongly recommended.
