engaging culture session03

basic slides

Module number: 6741 & 7741title: Engaging Culture

session: 3

So glad to see you again. Parting was such sweet sorrow ...

Opening prayerThe grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with youAnd also with you.

God, help us to listen;and in our listening to hear You.

God, be in our thinking:and renew our minds.

God, we will speak together:let our conversations be words in the Word.

What we're looking at today ... The questions of cultures and meaning: semiotics and social dimensions.

Could be a bit 'bitty': various things to get you started but not necessarily all joined up at this point.

How we're learning ... Discussion Some exercisesintrospection, reflection on experience, Listening Reading ...

Why we're learning this ...

much of today's stuff is to help us begin to engage with some of the basics of the debates that could help to resource our own exploration and analysis of texts and artefacts.

Link to assessment; the tools are the kind of things that students may want to use for their assessment.

How come humans have culture?

What do you reckon? (Next slide?)

Next slide has further prompting questions.Mention: social natureLanguagemimesis

Note pragmatics of shared projects: requires assumptions to be shared; communication involves shared assumptions and perspectives.

Evolutionary perspectives: group selection ...

Possibly note theological issue about social nature, cultural mandate,

How come humans have culture?

Do ants have culture?

What's the relationship between 'culture' and society?

Do chimpanzees have culture?

What's the relationship between 'culture' and 'biology'?

and theologically?

Mention: social natureLanguagemimesis

Note pragmatics of shared projects: requires assumptions to be shared; communication involves shared assumptions and perspectives.

Evolutionary perspectives: group selection ...

Possibly note theological issue about social nature, cultural mandate,

Language!

The next slide has a dialogue, gradually revealed.

Your task is to work out what they're on about .

We'll discuss a bit with each reveal.

Are you sitting comfortably?

then I'll begin.

A: I saw a blick earlier today.

Z: Blicks are quite common at this time of the year.

A: Yeah. Is this the blick breeding season or something?.

A: They must store them somewhere in the winter.

Z: Heh heh. You'd think so... I guess that spring is the time to start outdoor public works.

Z: The Highways Agency must have stores all over the place.

Questions to ask during the discussion would be 'what makes this hard to interpret?'How are we working out what is being talked about?What are the implications we are drawing on and where do they come from?

At the end address:How did we work out what a blick is? What do we know and what do we not know yet?Where was the information?What assumptions did we make, draw on or notice?

Point: we use context and implication to find meanting. In fact 'blick' is a word made up by linguisticians to 'not mean anything'. We however, assume it must mean, so we go to wark on it on that basis. Why do we assume it must mean something?NB

Colourless green ideas sleep furiously

Your task is to come up with a way to make sense of this sentence ....

... compose not more than 100 words of prose, or 14 lines of verse, in which this sentence described as grammatically acceptable but without meaning did, in the event, become meaningful.

Another lingustics toy. Chomsky, trying to separate out syntactic (grammatical) issues from lexical issues came up with this tautologous sentence. Meaningless because bits of the meanings of each word contradicted the others, yet the sentence is grammatically well-formed.

Pause for reaction and comment.

Then bring up tatsk: to come up with a way to be able to interpret the sentence meaningfully. ...


In the early 80's there was a competition run at MIT. And the winner ....

It can only be the thought of verdure to come, which prompts us in the autumn to buy these dormant white lumps of vegetable matter covered by a brown papery skin, and lovingly to plant them and care for them. It is a marvel to me that under this cover they are labouring unseen at such a rate within to give us the sudden awesome beauty of spring flowering bulbs. While winter reigns the earth reposes but these colourless green ideas sleep furiously.CM Street



Then bring up tatsk: to come up with a way to be able to interpret the sentence meaningfully. ...(This develops further one of last week's exercises)


And another attempt to give meaning elsewhere...

if green is understood to mean "newly-formed" and sleep can be used to figuratively express mental or verbal dormancy. An equivalent sentence would be "Newly formed bland ideas are inexpressible in an infuriating way."



Then bring up tatsk: to come up with a way to be able to interpret the sentence meaningfully. ...


Debrief...

What kinds of things have you /we done in order to find or construct meaning out of that sentence?

A chance here to note the way that we reframe using contexts, implications, connotations, figurative and metaphorical meanings.

Indicating that meaning is potentially quite wide or multiplex: polysemy reigns; that context and 'framing' helps us to decode; that the presumption of meaningful intent encourages us to try out different strategies to identify meaning (we are meaning-making creatures).

Supposewe have a linguistic explorer and a native guide: a rabbit runs past and the native exclaims 'Gavagai!' The linguist forms the reasonable hypothesis that 'Gavagai' means 'rabbit', but howcan she be sure?

Prabably going to add to the list to ask questions of the exclaimer.Note there is a handout with this (and the Colourless green ideas ...) on.

Important to note that there is nearly always some ambiguity going to be left....the native's tendency to agree may be influenced by extraneous factors - he may have seen a rabbit a few minutes before and hence be prepared to accept a mere rustling in the grass as sufficient evidence. Or he may observe a characteristic 'rabbit fly' unknown to the linguist which betokens the prescence of a rabbit even in the absence of any other evidence. Or perhaps he dissents, not because he thinks there isn't a rabbit, but because he presumes the linguist to be a hunter and there isn't at the moment a clear shot available. ... The native may use the word in exactly those situations in which the linguist would use the word 'rabbit', but it could still mean something different: 'temporal section of a rabbit' or 'set of undetached rabbit parts'. For that matter, it could mean 'rabbit or dalek' or 'rabbit before the year 3000 and bear after that'.

So what have we observed-perthaps even learnt-about meaning ?

Prabably going to add to the list to ask questions of the exclaimer.Note there is a handout with this (and the Colourless green ideas ...) on.

Important to note that there is nearly always some ambiguity going to be left....the native's tendency to agree may be influenced by extraneous factors - he may have seen a rabbit a few minutes before and hence be prepared to accept a mere rustling in the grass as sufficient evidence. Or he may observe a characteristic 'rabbit fly' unknown to the linguist which betokens the prescence of a rabbit even in the absence of any other evidence. Or perhaps he dissents, not because he thinks there isn't a rabbit, but because he presumes the linguist to be a hunter and there isn't at the moment a clear shot available. ... The native may use the word in exactly those situations in which the linguist would use the word 'rabbit', but it could still mean something different: 'temporal section of a rabbit' or 'set of undetached rabbit parts'. For that matter, it could mean 'rabbit or dalek' or 'rabbit before the year 3000 and bear after that'.

A label approach to meaning ...

CarwindowbridgeFor everyday purposes this may work well enough. But .... (next slides present a difficulty)

This is mainly to amuse but also to introduce the idea that actually, labelling isn't so simple. Move quickly on, however, to the next slides as they raise that issue more seriously.

May be worth mentioning that my wife and I argue over what is turquoise and the boundary between green and blue ... not to mention pink and purple.

Add to which, there is some evidence that men and women really do have different sensory capacities in regard to colour; we see colour differently (relates to more men being colour-blind).

Is there any truth in this?

This is mainly to amuse but also to introduce the idea that actually, labelling isn't so simple. Move quickly on, however, to the next slides as they raise that issue more seriously.

May be worth mentioning that my wife and I argue over what is turquoise and the boundary between green and blue ... not to mention pink and purple.

Add to which, there is some evidence that men and women really do have different sensory capacities in regard to colour; we see colour differently (relates to more men being colour-blind).

(Disclaimer: I'm still working out how to do the colours, so these are notional rather than exact.)

Just note that the colour scheme isn't totally okay. Make sure that people 'get' what is deing showed: that the labels for various shade of colour are not universally equivalent.

May be worth noting that over the whole world, different languages have a variety of different colour terms. Some with only two or three basic terms which may be more about light and dark or one end of the spectrum or the other etc ...

What does this kind of thing mean for the label approach to meaning?

Meaning of colour(s) varies between languages. Russian has two main words for blue; you can't say 'blue' you have to specify a word meaning 'light blue' or 'dark blue'.Labelling actually depends on having an agreed way to 'divvy up' the world (mention 'Rukha' in Russian, for example). So labelling seems unproblematic until you realise that it relies on prior judgements about what an object actually is and how it's classified (eg pointing at a marine mammal and saying 'fish').

Same principle: different word (!). The idea is that translations aren't exact because in each language the way that the world is divvied up is slightly (or more) different and the associated meanings may be different.

Relates to culture because ... ask the question ... (the words are part of culture and the associations are cultural too)

A triadic approach to meaning

Note: indirect relationshipSo ...

Note that the explanatory box with the pointer is another click to reveal.

We need to be conscious of the indirect relationship between the sign we use and the thing we are referring to. The 'concept' mediates. This is picked up on the next slide (De Saussure: sign)

Ferdinand De Saussure: from Cours de Linguistique Gnrale

E

Sign

The thing to note is that Saussure was dealing with verbal signs but recognised that the principle could be extended to other kinds of cummunication. This laid the foundation for the discipline of Semiotics to get underway.

Reason to introduce this is that this is a major reference point for a lot of cultural analysis academically. Semiotics in the modern era starts here, in many ways.

Here are the most frequently-used terms (in semiotic rather than linguistic mode) ...

Note that is linguistic terms the 'signifier' is usually a verbal pattern (whether part of a word, a word, a sentence ...)

In semiotic terms a signifier is much wider: (might ask for people to come up with suggestions): an item of clothing (eg a football shirt indicating support of a team, what else ... ?)A flag ... a logo .... further examples

You'll also find these variants on the theme ...

This is using 'sound pattern' but the words are used for other signifers than words also.

Signs can be 'motivated' or 'arbitrary'

I.e. the meaning is intrinsic to the signifierIe what is signified is extrinsic to the signifierMotivated signs egsmoke -a signifier of fire, putting my coat on -a signifier of my intention to go out, a footprint -a signifier of there having been a footprinter, etc (name a few more ....?)

Aribtrary signs egmost language is arbitrary (exceptions ?onomatopoeia, BSL etc), the cenventions for road signs (blue disks, red triangles etc),

Of course the interesting thing is how these interact in our 'decoding' of signs in culture.Eg a big house: motivated sign of wealth, arbitrary sign of goodness or 'worthiness' ....

choose a 'something', Then tell your neighbour;What's the signified, the signifer and the sign ..

Let's see if we've got that ...

Motivated signs egsmoke -a signifier of fire, putting my coat on -a signifier of my intention to go out, a footprint -a signifier of there having been a footprinter, etc (name a few more ....?)

Aribtrary signs egmost language is arbitrary (exceptions ?onomatopoeia, BSL etc), the cenventions for road signs (blue disks, red triangles etc),

Of course the interesting thing is how these interact in our 'decoding' of signs in culture.Eg a big house: motivated sign of wealth, arbitrary sign of goodness or 'worthiness' ....

Signifier may be used 'habitually' in certain contextsAnd so pick up connotations from that syntactic or life-setting associationThe signified picks up further meaning 'around the edges' or 'in the background'; emotional colour; evaluative resonances ....signifiedConnotative meaning is quite important.

Think about it in language: ... next slide eg

Some examples ?Connotative meaning is quite important.

Think about it in language: ... next slide eg

Connotative meaning -Compare / contrast:lady woman girl wench lass dame ....Buzz and plenarise ....

lady &/vs woman etc.Most of these could be used to refer to the same person.

Buzz-pairs > whole group discussion....

Why would the different words be chosen? What might they imply or what might be the connotations ?

Note the recursion of the tripartite pattern: the sign can itself become a signifier in a 'meta sign' that is, here, a myth.

Pattern of recursion works on lots of levels: a book comes to 'stand for' a status or a statement on your shelves derived from but more than the words and arguments or stories within it .... (discuss?)

What was Barthes saying about this image?

What was he getting at?

Find bit in the handout to look over.

What analysis does Barthes give of this imge?What forces does he identify at work and how?Do we agree or disagree, a bit of both?How do we respond as Christians?

A lot of writing on signs /semiotics tends to focus on an individual interpreter.

Barthes draws our attention to social (and therefore political) dimensions of meaning; notably mythologies.

This leads into definition of myth: handout.

Later looking at hegemony and ideology.But first ....

Myth. /m/ n.... Myths can be seen as extended metaphors. Like metaphors, myths help us to make sense of our experiences within a culture. They express and serve to organize shared ways of conceptualizing something within a culture. ... to make dominant cultural and historical values, attitudes and beliefs seem entirely 'natural', 'normal', self-evident, timeless, obvious 'common-sense' - and thus objective and 'true' reflections of 'the way things are'.

In this case, we need to extend things with further examples. If time in buzz groups and plenarise.

What myths can we identify 'embodide' in artefacts or texts in our culture? (Potentially, try some out).'My' possibles: ... cars and the myth of individual freedom (cf Top Gear). Jeans (cf the Jeaning of America) relating to the Am West, freedom, individualism, Remembrance Sunday ... military and national self justification etc? (cf Runcie and Falklands remembrance). (cf ANZAC day - April)

Pick up from the definition of 'myth';

... shared ways of conceptualizing something within a culture

'Our' conceptB's conceptD'sconceptC's conceptCould refer back to Gavagai and Blick.

Actually nearly all meaning is socially constructed if to be shared (vs Humpty Dumpty in Alice) and therefore negotiated. The diagram shows overlap and we are constantly calibrating our usage and understanding against the implications of other people's usage. ...

... shared ways of conceptualizing something within a culture therefore involves (usually by connotative meaning) ....

'Our' concept:negotiated (better:negotiating) between sign usersPower and resistanceSolidarity and group identityPlay, pleasure,entertainmentLook (again) at Vanhoozer's 10 principles ...

Therefore issues of power, influence, resistance etc come into negotiations (fashion's 20% of trend leaders ..., )

Eg's of this in sociolinguistics ... pronouns of solidarity and power ..

Tu / Vous tu/vosotros/usted(es) du /ihr /Siehistorically Thou in English. (Quakers, also 'would his majesty core to ..r' etc)

Hegemony. /hmni/ or /hdmni/ n ....

...the predominance of one social class over others ... political and economic control,... the ability of the dominant class to project its own way of seeing the world so that those who are subordinated by it accept it as 'common sense' and 'natural'.

May be a new term to some (?)

Ask for any comments or questions.

Note Marxist origins esp Gramsci. Note the importance of the 'velvet glove' version of exercise of power.

Cf pronouns of solidarity etc; some cultural analysis is attempting to trace the contours of power relations in the use and meanings of cultural texts and artefacts.

ideology. /adildi/ n ....

... a system of ideas and beliefs. ... closely tied to the concept of power ... "shared ideas or beliefs which serve to justify the interests of dominant groups" ... it legitimises the differential power that groups hold and as such it distorts the real situation that people find themselves in.

I think that this definition shows its origins in Marxist discourse. I think that ideologies can operate among the marginalisde and dispossessed in countering that of a dominant group....

It could be seen in relation to justifications for states of affairs.

Relates to Marxist ideas of 'false consciousness'

For tomorrow ...

Reading relating to the main area for next time: Chapter from Fiske 'Reading the Popular', on shopping centres.

Revisit and add to or rework your cultural artefact (or choose another, if you wish) to talk about it in the light of the things we have looked at today.

And finally ....

Handout for intersessional reading: should be Fiske and/or Hebdige on seiotic guerilla warfare.

engaging culture session03

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