CMN2160 Lecture 5: Structuralism and cultural studies
2 Mar 2017
School
Department
Course
Professor
Document Summary
Structuralism: theoretical perspective that seeks to understand how systems work to structure their individual parts at any given moment in time. Linguistic looks at: patterns/ rules that make language possible. Anti-humanist: takes the focus away from humans. Diachronic: a system of language as it forms over time, dominant perspective at the time. Nomenclature: things have names because they naturally have this label. Synchronic: freezes language at a given moment in time, how all the different words in a language create meaning. Argues words are arbitrary and do not have meaning outside the system of language. Langue: the language that exists in a speech community, the system (grammar, punctuation, etc. Parole: the choices you make within the system itself. Language (signs): do not naturally represent reality, but construct our reality. Totally arbitrary, no connection between the sound of the word and the idea of the object.
