With the classic semiotician Roland Barthes' ground-breaking research of semiotics, symbols are liberated from linguistics and extended to media research, which makes semiotics increasingly important especially in the present-day world dominated by new media.
In this book, the author offers an in-depth critique of the key theorizations of classic semiotics and clarifies some esoteric terminologies such as connotateur, isology, the metalanguage mechanism, the naturalization mechanism, etc. More importantly, combining semiotics with communication studies, the author proposes a number of innovative ideas, such as the leveraging communication, the collaborative communication, the rich variety of signifiers, etc. Besides, this book adds a practical dimension to semiotics studies by investigating diverse patterns of symbolic communication in the real world practices. It will help readers gain insights into the complexity of our life and society which depend on symbols for exchange and communication.
This book will appeal to scholars and students of semiotics and communication. Readers who are interested in symbolic communication will also benefit from it.
List of figures. Symbolization and Symbolic Communication Are Everywhere Around Us Chapter 1: Socialization of Symbols: Evolution of the Relationship between the Signifier and the Signified Chapter 2: How Connotation and Metalanguage Construct and Disseminate Meaning Chapter 3: The Nature of Connotateurs: the Mode of Leveraging Communication Chapter 4: Correspondence between Connotation and Metaphor and between Metalanguage and Metonymy Chapter 5: The Sign's Mechanisms of Producing and Communicating Mythologies Chapter 6: The Media's Mechanism of Producing Opinion by Means of Symbols Chapter 7: The Richness of Signifiers: the Mode of Selective Communication Chapter 8: Isology: the Mode of Hegemony-Oriented Manipulative Communication Conclusion. Postscript. Bibliography. Index
Biography
Sui Yan is a professor of School of Journalism and Communication, Communication University of China. His main research fields include semiotic theories of communication, Internet communication and media culture
