160158 PS Moving Meanings, Moving Images: Sociolinguistic Theory and the Analysis of Moving Images (2022S)

This course introduces students to innovations within sociolinguistic and linguistic anthropological semiotic theory and discourse analysis as they are applicable to the ethnographic analysis of moving images, be they in narrative film, video animations, social media, and so on. Images are an increasingly prevalent mediator of social life, yet sociolinguists and linguistic anthropologists have largely not included the multimodal study of image-texts within their studies, even as we often do, indeed, work with images. How can we bring to bear analytic concepts such as indexicality, metapragmatics, entextualization, voicing, enregisterment, performativity to the study of moving images? And in so doing how might we begin to differently conceptualize the image itself, not in opposition to language (as is so common) but as operative within, that is, as the very form of discourse? Drawing on key issues in film and visual studies, in this course, students will gain familiarity with basic concepts within linguistic anthropology and sociolinguistics learn to apply them to the study of moving images; topics will include: filmic deixis and metapragmatic regimentation; textuality and the poetic structure of imagistic meaning; voicing, footing, and looking structures; performativity and the pragmatic "force" of images; rigid designation, identity, and celebrity; and enregisterment and visual style.This course will involve 2 three-hour meetings a week for 3 weeks, with a final class at the end of the third week reserved for student presentations. Readings will be assigned as the basis for the lecture and/or seminar discussion. Students are expected to do the readings and come to class prepared to discuss the texts. In addition, students are encouraged to circulate and bring examples of moving image-texts as relate to the specific topics under discussion. Finally, students will have a final written assignment and associated presentation. Students will pick a short media-text and, using concepts from the course of their choosing, provide an analysis of their selected text. On the final class meeting, students will present their analysis for group discussion. By the end of the course, students should have facility with using the semiotic concepts from linguistic anthropology to analyse moving image-texts.