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Semiotics

Grazia BASILE Semiotics

4312200026
DEPARTMENT OF HUMANISTIC STUDIES
EQF6
FOREIGN LANGUAGES AND CULTURES
2024/2025

YEAR OF COURSE 2
YEAR OF DIDACTIC SYSTEM 2016
AUTUMN SEMESTER
CFUHOURSACTIVITY
636LESSONS
GRAZIA BASILE T Curriculum
ExamDate
APPELLO FEBBRAIO12/02/2025 - 14:30
APPELLO FEBBRAIO12/02/2025 - 14:30
Objectives
GENERAL OBJECTIVE: THE COURSE AIMS TO INTRODUCE STUDENTS TO ACQUIRING THE MAIN THEORETICAL NOTIONS, TOOLS, AND METHODOLOGIES NECESSARY TO ORIENT THEMSELVES IN SEMIOTIC STUDIES.

KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING: THE COURSE AIMS TO ACCOMPANY STUDENTS IN THE GRADUAL DEVELOPMENT OF A SOLID THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK ENABLING THEM TO:
- MASTER THE FUNDAMENTAL NOTIONS OF 'SIGN' AND 'CODE';
- RECOGNISE THE CONSTITUTIVE CHARACTERISTICS OF A SEMIOLOGICAL CODE AND THE VARIETY OF SUCH CODES;
- RECOGNISE AS A PECULIAR SEMIOLOGICAL CODE A NATURAL-HISTORICAL LANGUAGE AND ANALYSE ITS MAIN FEATURES;
- TAKE A COMPLEX AND DYNAMIC VIEW OF VERBAL LANGUAGE AND LANGUAGE CREATIVITY;
- TAKE A COMPLEX AND DYNAMIC VIEW OF COMMUNICATIVE PROCESSES, PARTICULARLY THOSE BASED ON VERBAL LANGUAGE;
- BE ABLE TO INTERWEAVE THE GENERAL SEMIOTIC FEATURES OF LANGUAGES WITH THE ANALYSIS OF THE COGNITIVE AND INTERACTION PURPOSES THEY FULFILL;
- BECOME FAMILIAR WITH THE BASIC ELEMENTS OF TEXT LINGUISTICS AND THE STUDY OF THE CONCRETE REALISATIONS OF VERBAL LANGUAGE.

ABILITY TO APPLY KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING: THE COURSE AIMS TO DEVELOP STUDENTS’ ABILITY TO ORIENT THEMSELVES IN THE VAST WORLD OF SEMIOTICS; IN PARTICULAR, STUDENTS WILL BE ABLE TO:
- EXAMINE THE FUNDAMENTAL THEORETICAL ISSUES OF SEMIOTICS AND CRITICALLY PLACE THEM IN THEIR HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT;
- IDENTIFY THE POSSIBLE APPLICATIONS OF SEMIOTICS, FROM THE NARRATIVE TEXT TO THE AUDIOVISUAL TEXT, TO THE HORIZONS OPENED UP BY NEW TECHNOLOGIES;
- ELABORATE THE ACQUIRED THEORETICAL NOTIONS TO ORIENT THEMSELVES IN THE COMPLEX AND VARIED UNIVERSE OF THE CONCRETE REALISATIONS OF VERBAL LANGUAGE.

AUTONOMY OF JUDGMENT: THE COURSE AIMS TO DEVELOP STUDENTS' ABILITY TO:
- FORMULATE HYPOTHESES, MAKE LOGICAL CONNECTIONS, ARGUE, COMPARE, AND EVALUATE DIFFERENT TYPES OF SEMIOLOGICAL CODES;
- CRITICALLY SELECT THE SOURCES OF INFORMATION (BIBLIOGRAPHIC AND MULTIMEDIA) FOR THE COMPARATIVE STUDY OF DIFFERENT SEMIOTIC CODES;
- RELATE AND CONSIDER SEMIOTIC PHENOMENA TO CULTURAL AND SPATIAL CONTEXTS OF REFERENCE AND TO THEIR DEVELOPMENT OVER TIME;
- BE ABLE TO ORGANISE AND CRITICALLY EVALUATE COURSE CONTENT.

COMMUNICATION SKILLS: THE COURSE AIMS TO DEVELOP STUDENTS' ABILITY TO:
- MAKE APPROPRIATE USE OF THE META-LANGUAGE OF THE SUBJECT;
- DEVELOP AN AWARENESS OF LANGUAGES AS THE PRIMARY MEANS OF COMMUNICATION IN HUMAN COMMUNITIES;
- PRESENT AND COMMUNICATE THE RESULTS OF THEIR RESEARCH OR ELABORATION IN THE FORM OF TEXTS OR VIRTUAL TOOLS.

LEARNING ABILITY: THE COURSE AIMS TO DEVELOP THE STUDENT'S ABILITY TO:
- USE TRADITIONAL BIBLIOGRAPHIC AND INFORMATIONAL TOOLS FOR THE PURPOSES OF ANALYSIS AND ARCHIVING;
- CARRY OUT RESEARCH ACTIVITIES, UNDERSTAND AND INTERPRET COMPLEX TEXTS OF DIFFERENT TYPES, LITERARY, INSTITUTIONAL, JOURNALISTIC, ETC;
- TO CONSTANTLY UPDATE THEIR KNOWLEDGE USING TECHNICAL AND SCIENTIFIC LITERATURE.




Prerequisites
THE SEMIOTICS COURSE DOES NOT HAVE ANY PREREQUISITES. A BASIC KNOWLEDGE OF GENERAL LINGUISTICS WOULD BE USEFUL BUT NOT ESSENTIAL.
Contents
THE COURSE IS 6 CFU AND COMPRISES 36 HOURS OF LECTURES. IT HAS AN INSTITUTIONAL CHARACTER AND IS A FUNDAMENTAL COURSE FOR THOSE WISHING TO PURSUE INTERESTS IN THE AREA OF LANGUAGE AND COMMUNICATION. IT COVERS THE FOLLOWING TOPICS:

(I) THE OBJECT OF SEMIOTICS AND ITS RELATION TO THE PHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE = 4 HOURS;
(II) OUTLINES OF THE HISTORY OF THE SEMIOTIC APPROACH FROM ANTIQUITY TO THE MODERN AGE = 4 HOURS;
(III) TERMINOLOGY AND BASIC CONCEPTUAL NOTIONS (SIGN, SIGNIFIER, SIGNIFIED, SYSTEM, CODE, ARBITRARINESS, ICONICITY, (TYPES OF) SEMIOTIC CREATIVITY, ARTICULATENESS, ETC.) = 4 HOURS;
(IV) BIOLOGICAL BASES AND EVOLUTION OF SEMIOSIS = 4 HOURS;
(V) SEMIOSIS AND THOUGHT FORMATION = 4 HOURS;
(VI) OUTLINES OF ZOOSEMIOTICS = 4 HOURS;
(VII) RECENT "EXPANSION" OF SEMIOTICS (SEMIOTICS OF PASSIONS, SOCIOSEMIOTICS, SEMIOTICS, AND COGNITIVE SCIENCE) = 4 HOURS;
(VIII) PRINCIPLES OF TEXT SEMIOTICS = 4 HOURS;
(IX) APPLIED SEMIOTICS (SEMIOTICS OF LITERATURE, FILM, MUSIC, ETC.) = 4 HOURS.
Teaching Methods
THE COURSE TAKES PLACE IN THE FIRST SEMESTER AND INCLUDES 36 HOURS OF LECTURES AND MOMENTS OF ACTIVE PARTICIPATION BY STUDENTS IN THE CLASSROOM. COURSE ATTENDANCE IS NOT OBLIGATORY BUT STRONGLY RECOMMENDED. DURING THE LECTURES, STUDENTS WILL BE INVITED TO ACTIVELY INTERVENE AND DEEPEN SOME KEY ISSUES BY READING TEXTS BY AUTHORS IMPORTANT IN THE PROPOSED SEMIOTIC PATHWAY AND TO EXPOUND ON THEM IN CLASS.
THE IN-DEPTH TEXTS WILL BE PROVIDED BY THE PROFESSOR AND THE CLASSROOM EXPOSITIONS WILL BE TAKEN INTO ACCOUNT IN THE ASSESSMENT.
Verification of learning
THE ACHIEVEMENT OF THE TEACHING OBJECTIVES IS CERTIFIED BY PASSING A WRITTEN EXAMINATION WITH A GRADE IN THIRTIETHS. BOTH ATTENDING AND NON-ATTENDING STUDENTS WILL HAVE TO TAKE A WRITTEN EXAM (LASTING ONE HOUR AND A HALF HOURS) WITH OPEN QUESTIONS ABOUT THE TOPICS COVERED DURING THE COURSE. THERE WILL BE 6 QUESTIONS IN TOTAL AND EACH QUESTION WILL BE GIVEN A MARK FROM 0 TO 5. HONOURS WILL BE AT THE TEACHER’S DISCRETION.
EVALUATION CRITERIA FOR THE FINAL WRITTEN EXAM WILL BE:
1) ABILITY TO ARTICULATE A WELL-STRUCTURED TEXT;
2) ABILITY TO ESTABLISH LINKS BETWEEN THE TOPICS ADDRESSED;
3) ABILITY TO EXPRESS ONESELF CLEARLY AND USING AN APPROPRIATE LEXICON RELATED TO THE DISCIPLINE IN QUESTION.


IN PARTICULAR, THE OVERALL SCORE WILL TAKE INTO ACCOUNT THE FOLLOWING CRITERIA:
- 18/30 TO 23/30: THE CANDIDATE MUST DEMONSTRATE THE ATTAINMENT OF THE BASIC OBJECTIVES AND BASIC KNOWLEDGE OF THE TOPICS ENVISAGED IN THE SYLLABUS, WITH SUFFICIENT AND COHERENT LINGUISTIC-COMMUNICATIVE EXPRESSION ABILITY;
- 24/30 TO 26/30: THE CANDIDATE MUST DEMONSTRATE THE ACQUISITION OF A ROBUST KNOWLEDGE OF THE TOPICS FORESEEN IN THE SYLLABUS AS WELL AS THE ABILITY TO MAKE LOGICAL CONNECTIONS AND EXPLAIN THEM WITH A CERTAIN LINGUISTIC FLUENCY AND DISCREET TERMINOLOGICAL APPROPRIATENESS;
- 27/30 TO 29/30: THE CANDIDATE MUST POSSESS ADEQUATE SUBJECT-SPECIFIC TERMINOLOGICAL APPROPRIATENESS. HE/SHE MUST DEMONSTRATE A GOOD DEGREE OF THEORETICAL REFLECTION ON THE TOPICS STUDIED AND A GOOD LEVEL OF WRITTEN EXPOSITION;
- 30/30 AND 30/30 WITH HONOURS: THE CANDIDATE MUST SHOW THAT HE/SHE HAS BRILLIANTLY ATTAINED THE OBJECTIVES SET, FULL KNOWLEDGE OF THE TOPICS, AND AN EXCELLENT ABILITY TO LINK THE SKILLS ACQUIRED; HE/SHE MUST ALSO SHOW A RELEVANT DEGREE OF EXPRESSION, WITH A CAPACITY FOR METALINGUISTIC REFLECTION AND CONSIDERABLE ATTENTION TO DETAIL.
Texts
ATTENDING AND NON-ATTENDING STUDENTS:
S. GENSINI (2018), ELEMENTI DI SEMIOTICA, ROMA, CAROCCI EDITORE (ANOTHER EDITION IS ALSO ACCEPTED)
A. BERNARDELLI, E. GRILLO (2014), SEMIOTICA. STORIA, CONTESTI E METODI, ROMA, CAROCCI EDITORE.
MATERIAL PROVIDED BY THE PROFESSOR (UPLOADED ON THE WEBPAGE).
More Information

STUDENTS WHO CANNOT ATTEND ARE ENCOURAGED TO CONTACT THE PROFESSOR DURING OFFICE HOURS FOR ANY EXPLANATIONS AND/OR SOLUTIONS TO DOUBTS. THE PROFESSOR CAN BE CONTACTED BY E-MAIL AT GBASILE@UNISA.IT.

LECTURES WILL TAKE PLACE DURING THE FIRST SIX-MONTH PERIOD.

Lessons Timetable

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