Course: Semiotics of Culture

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Course title Semiotics of Culture
Course code KFI/SKEN
Organizational form of instruction Seminar
Level of course Master
Year of study not specified
Semester Winter and summer
Number of ECTS credits 3
Language of instruction Czech
Status of course Compulsory-optional
Form of instruction Face-to-face
Work placements This is not an internship
Recommended optional programme components None
Lecturer(s)
  • Gvoždiak Vít, Mgr. Ph.D.
Course content
1. Culture and its definition 2. Semiotics as a cultural critique 3. Roland Barthes, mythology and limits of semiotic analysis 4. Yuri Lotman and Tartu School 5. Dan Sperber and epidemiology of representation 6. Culture and Communication 7. Censorship 8. Culture and Cognition 9. Language and culture, linguistic relativity 10. Culture and Media 11. Formal methods of cultural analysis 12. Czech National Revival (as a cultural type) 13. Mythology of socialist Czechoslovakia

Learning activities and teaching methods
Students' portfolio, Individual study, Textual studies, Seminar
  • Contact hours - 26 hours per semester
  • Presentation preparation (report) (1-10) - 10 hours per semester
  • Preparation for an examination (30-60) - 42 hours per semester
prerequisite
Knowledge
Course requires no special prior knowledge and skills.
learning outcomes
In close link with the knowledge they have acquired in related, philosophically oriented subjects, students are able to use (basic) semiotic tools for the analysis of different genres and historical cultural phenomena and gain practical experience with tools for data processing.
teaching methods
Lecture
Textual studies
Individual study
Students' portfolio
assessment methods
Oral exam
Test
Skills demonstration during practicum
Seminar work
Individual presentation at a seminar
Recommended literature
  • Exotika. výbor z prací tartuské školy. Brno: Host, 2003.
  • On-line katalogy knihoven.
  • Barthes, Roland. Mytologie. Praha : Dokořán, 2004. ISBN 80-86569-73-X.
  • Eco, Umberto. Skeptikové a těšitelé. Vyd. 2., v Argu 1. Praha : Argo, 2007. ISBN 80-7203-706-4.
  • Eco, Umberto. Teorie sémiotiky. Vyd. 2., V Argu 1. Praha : Argo, 2009. ISBN 978-80-257-0157-7.
  • Geertz, Clifford. Interpretace kultur : vybrané eseje. Praha : Sociologické nakladatelství, 2000. ISBN 80-85850-89-3.
  • Hall, Stuart - Du Gay, Paul (eds.). Questions of Cultural Identity. London: SAGE, 2003.
  • Jameson, Fredric. The Cultural Turn. London New York: Verso, 1998.
  • Jenkins, Henry. Convergence culture : where old and new media collide. New York : New York University Press, 2006. ISBN 0-8147-4281-5.
  • Lotman, Jurij. Kultura a exploze. Brno: Host, 2013.
  • Macura, Vladimír. Šťastný věk (a jiné studie o socialistické kultuře). Praha: Academia, 2008.
  • Macura, Vladimír. Znamení zrodu a české sny. Praha: Academia, 2015.
  • Moretti, Franco. Grafy, mapy, stromy. Praha: Karolinum, 2014.
  • Oswell, David. Culture and Society. London: SAGE, 2006.
  • Sperber, Dan. Expaining culture : a naturalistic approach. Oxford : Blackwell, 1999. ISBN 0-631-20045-2.
  • Todorov, Tzvetan. Strach z barbarů : kulturní rozmanitost, identita a střet civilizací. Vyd. 1. Praha ; Paseka, 2011. ISBN 978-80-7432-111-5.
  • Tomasello, Michael. The Cultural Origins of Human Cognition. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1999.


Study plans that include the course
Faculty Study plan (Version) Category of Branch/Specialization Recommended year of study Recommended semester
Faculty: Faculty of Arts Study plan (Version): European Cultural Studies (17-4) Category: Philosophy, theology 1 Recommended year of study:1, Recommended semester: Summer
Faculty: Faculty of Arts Study plan (Version): European Cultural Studies (17-4) Category: Philosophy, theology 1 Recommended year of study:1, Recommended semester: Summer