Anthropology 579

About this course

This course takes the rubric “semiotic” in the broadest sense, as the study of representation in general, the sign in particular. Our special concern is with in the impact that theories of the sign have had on social and cultural theory, asking What are the questions to which semiotics seeks to provide answers? What further questions might semiotics in turn raise? What is it about social life that makes representations and signs central to our understanding of it? How do different concepts of representation and models of the sign change our understanding of culture? Given the role of representations in society as theorized, what are the implications for the empirical study of society, culture, and politics? Is culture still a viable concept? What are the implications for our understanding of agency, power, and ideology? What is the place of language in social life, and what is that of materiality? This course offers a close reading of selected writings in social theory and some recent ethnographies that attempt to combine abstract theory with concrete empirical research. Students from any department who are interested in theories of culture, meaning, interpretation, and related topics are welcome.

Requirements

This is a seminar, and full participation in discussions is expected. Each member of the seminar will lead one class discussion, to be arranged near the beginning of the semester. In addition, each week students will submit brief commentaries or questions in response to the readings. These are no be no more than a single page, may be informal, and are meant to focus and support the discussions. A listserve will be set up early in the term for this purpose. There will also be a final paper on a topic negotiated between students and teacher, in conversations that should begin very soon after the semester starts.