Class Semiotics and Image Analysis

This course unit studies the processes of production, interpretation and circulation of signs across different systems of representation, with a particular focus on image analysis. It addresses fundamental concepts of semiotics and applies them to the critical reading of images in various media, artistic and cultural contexts. It examines the construction of visual meanings and the relationship between text, image and context. The unit contributes to a deeper understanding of language as a system of communication and meaning-making, while developing skills in semiotic analysis, visual interpretation and critical reflection on representational practices in contemporary society.

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1. Image and representation  1.1. What is the image?  1.2. The image as a sign;  1.3. The constitution of the sign in F. Saussure and C.S. Peirce;  1.4. The icon, the index and the symbol;  2. The visual interpretation 2.1. Denotation versus connotation: the associative mechanisms; 2.2. Visual codes; 2.3. Formal elements and technical knowledge; 2.4. The image and the text: "anchoring" and "link"; 2.5. The rhetoric of images. 3. The image and Mankind 3.1 The image and vision in Western culture; 3.3. Image, technique and "technical image": definition and specificities; 3.3. The belief in the photographic: «photography and truth».

Not applicable.

BARTHES, Roland (1984), «Retórica da imagem» em O óbvio e o obtuso, Lisboa, Edições 70  BELTING, Hans (2011), A verdadeira imagem, Lisboa, Dafne Editora.  CHANDLER, Daniel (2022), Semiotics: The Basics. 4th ed. London: Routledge. DUBOIS, Philippe (1991), O acto fotográfico, Lisboa, Vega.  GERVEREAU, Laurent, Ver, compreender, analisar as imagens , Lisboa, Ed. 70, 2007  JENKS, Chris (1995), Visual Culture, Londres e Nova Iorque, Routledge.  JOLY, Martine (1999), Introdução à análise de imagem, Lisboa, Edições 70  JOLY, Martine (2003), A imagem e a sua interpretação , Lisboa, Edições 70  JOLY, Martine (2005), A imagem e os signos, Lisboa, Edições 70  LISTER, Martin (1995), The photographic image in digital culture , Londres, Routledge.  ROSE, Gillian (2022), Visual Methodologies. An Introduction to the Interpretation of Visual Materials (5th Ed.), Londres, Sage.