Advanced Topics in Anthropology (Half-Term): Pragmatic Semiotic Anthropology

This graduate seminar is a systematic multidisciplinary study of the theory and technique of semiotic analysis of cultural phenomena. The course explores semiotics and its elaborations in philosophy, anthropology, linguistics, communication studies, science and technology studies, and cultural studies. By focusing on pragmatic applications of semiotic theories, the students learn to approach the messiness of social, material, affective, and more-than-human lives and the complex inter-actions of signs in and through society. The students learn to apply semiotics and experiment with its potential for designing their research projects.