This course examines meaning construction and social representation through American popular media such as literature, film, television shows, news publications, and podcasts. The central interest of this class is in deconstructing—or carefully examining and understanding—humor. Humorous expression often references “insider” knowledge, so we have difficulty understanding humor from other social groups or cultures. This difficulty happens even between related cultures, such as American and British, which share the same language. Such difficulty can also happen between people with generational or class differences.
We will use semiotic analyses to understand how media influences us and learn how to manipulate media to our own benefit. Semiotics is the study of how we construct meaning in the world; we transmit meaning not
only through language, but also through body language, images, and action.
You will lead class discussions. You will learn basic semiotics and social theory, as well as develop research skills. You will: 1) improve your ability to interpret English media; 2) think critically about social issues; and 3) improve your writing and communication skills.
冗談の記号論
ジョージ先生授業風景
