Skip to content
Licensed Unlicensed Requires Authentication Published by De Gruyter Mouton October 31, 2018

Discursive representation: Semiotics, theory, and method

  • Pablo Matus EMAIL logo
From the journal Semiotica

Abstract

Although representation may be a recurrent theme in research on journalism and advertising, as well as in studies of other social discourses, there may be less clarity regarding its epistemological and methodological aspects. One example is the frequent use of Social Representations Theory (Moscovici), despite its research object is a cognitive phenomenon. Beginning with a literature review in which I examine several sources (for example, sign theory, the philosophy of language, and rhetoric), the following article presents a theory of discursive representation, as well as associated semiotic, epistemological, and methodological theories. My aim is to provide a conceptual framework to help guide and prompt further research in this area.


A preliminary version of this article, entitled “Hacia una teoría de la representación discursiva” (Towards a theory of discursive representation), was presented at the 9th International Chilean Congress of Semiotics, Pucón, Chile (October 2015).


References

Adam, Jean-Michel. 1992. Les textes: types et prototypes. Paris: Nathan.Search in Google Scholar

Angenot, Marc. 2010. El discurso social. Los límites históricos de lo pensable y lo decible. Buenos Aires: Siglo XXI.Search in Google Scholar

Arango, Ana Lucía. 2003. El papel del lenguaje en la propuesta hermenéutica de Gadamer. Páginas 66. 40–52.Search in Google Scholar

Aristotle,. 1974. Poética. Madrid: Gredos.Search in Google Scholar

Augustine of Hippo. 1957. De la doctrina cristiana. In Balbino Marín (ed.), Obras de San Agustín, 54–349. Madrid: La Editorial Católica.Search in Google Scholar

Austin, John. 1990. Cómo hacer cosas con palabras. Barcelona: Paidós Ibérica.Search in Google Scholar

Bakhtin, Mikhail. 1982. El problema de los géneros discursivos. In Mikhail Bakhtin, Estética de la creación verbal, 248–293. Mexico City: Siglo XXI.Search in Google Scholar

Baldwin, Elaine, Brian Longhurst, Scott McCracken, Miles Ogborn & Greg Smith. 1999. Introducing cultural studies. Athens, GA: University of Georgia.Search in Google Scholar

Barthes, Roland. 1971. Elementos de semiología. Madrid: Alberto Corazón.Search in Google Scholar

Bateson, Gregory. 1987. A theory of plan and fantasy. In Gregory Bateson, Steps to an ecology of mind, 138–148. Northvale, NJ: Jason Aronson.Search in Google Scholar

Bellenger, Lionel. 1992. L’argumentation: Principes et méthodes, 4th edn. Paris: ESF.Search in Google Scholar

Benveniste, Émile. 1999. El aparato formal de la enunciación. In Émile Benveniste, Problemas de lingüística general II, 82–91. Mexico City: Siglo XXI.Search in Google Scholar

Berganza, María Rosa & Mercedes del Hoyo. 2006. La mujer y el hombre en la publicidad televisiva: imágenes y estereotipos. Zer 21. 161–175.Search in Google Scholar

Beristáin, Helena. 1995. Diccionario de retórica y poética, 7th edn. Mexico City: Porrúa.Search in Google Scholar

Bernstein, Alina. 2002. Representation, identity, and the media. In Chris Newbold, Oliver Boyd-Barrett & Hilde van den Bulck (eds.), The media book, 259–317. London: Arnold.Search in Google Scholar

Brown, Gillian & George Yule. 1983. Discourse analysis. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.10.1017/CBO9780511805226Search in Google Scholar

Brown, Rodrigo, Víctor Silva & Ricardo Baessolo. 2010. Periodismo intercultural: Representación peruana y boliviana en la prensa chilena. Comunicar 35. 85–93.Search in Google Scholar

Bühler, Karl. 1950. Teoría del lenguaje. Madrid: Revista de Occidente.Search in Google Scholar

Cáceres, María Dolores & Paloma Díaz. 2008. La representación del cuerpo de la mujer en la publicidad de revistas femeninas. Estudios sobre el Mensaje Periodístico 14. 309–327.Search in Google Scholar

Calsamiglia, Helena & Amparo Tusón. 1999. Las cosas del decir: Manual de análisis del discurso. Barcelona: Ariel.Search in Google Scholar

Castoriadis, Cornelius. 1983. La institución imaginaria de la sociedad (Marxismo y teoría revolucionaria 1). Barcelona: Tusquets.Search in Google Scholar

Chillón, Albert. 1999. Literatura y periodismo: Una tradición de relaciones promiscuas. Barcelona: Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona.Search in Google Scholar

Christidou, Vasilia, Kostas Dimopoulos & Vasilis Koulaidis. 2004. Constructing social representations of science and technology: The role of metaphors in the press and the popular scientific magazines. Public Understanding of Science 13. 347–362.10.1177/0963662504044108Search in Google Scholar

Collin, Ross. 2012. Genre in discourse, discourse in genre: A new approach to the study of literary practice. Journal of Literacy Research 44(1). 76–96.10.1177/1086296X11431627Search in Google Scholar

Cox, Andrew. 2009. Visual representations of gender and computing in consumer and professional magazines. New Technology, Work and Employment 24(1). 89–106.10.1111/j.1468-005X.2008.00220.xSearch in Google Scholar

Cuddon, John Anthony. 1998. The Penguin dictionary of literary terms and literary theory. London: Penguin.Search in Google Scholar

Dijk, Teun van. 1999. Ideología: Una aproximación multidisciplinaria. Barcelona: Gedisa.Search in Google Scholar

Dijk, Teun van. 2000a. El discurso como interacción en la sociedad. In Teun van Dijk (ed.), El discurso como interacción social, 19–66. Barcelona: Gedisa.Search in Google Scholar

Dijk, Teun van. 2000b. El estudio del discurso. In Teun van Dijk (ed.), El discurso como estructura y proceso, 21–65. Barcelona: Gedisa.Search in Google Scholar

Dijk, Teun van. 2011. Sociedad y discurso. Cómo influyen los contextos sociales sobre el texto y la conversación. Barcelona: Gedisa.Search in Google Scholar

Du Gay, Paul, Stuart Hall, Linda Janes, Hugh Mackay & Keith Negus. 1997. Doing cultural studies: The story of the Sony Walkman. London: Sage.Search in Google Scholar

Duranti, Alessandro. 1997. Linguistic anthropology. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.10.1017/CBO9780511810190Search in Google Scholar

Eemeren, Frans van & Rob Grootendorst. 2002. Argumentación, comunicación y falacias: Una perspectiva pragma-dialéctica. Santiago: Universidad Católica de Chile.Search in Google Scholar

Fairclough, Norman. 2003. Analyzing discourse: Textual analysis for social research. London: Routledge.10.4324/9780203697078Search in Google Scholar

Farr, Robert M. & Serge Moscovici (eds.). 1984. Social representations. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Search in Google Scholar

Fillmore, Charles. 1971. Santa Cruz lectures on deixis. Bloomington: Indiana University Linguistics Club.Search in Google Scholar

Fillmore, Charles. 1982. Frame semantics. In The Linguistic Society of Korea (eds.), Linguistics in the morning calm, 111–137. Seoul: Hanshin.Search in Google Scholar

Foucault, Michel. 1970. La arqueología del saber. Mexico City: Siglo XXI.Search in Google Scholar

Fürsich, Elfriede. 2010. Media and the representation of others. International Social Science Journal 61(199). 113–130.10.1111/j.1468-2451.2010.01751.xSearch in Google Scholar

Gadamer, Hans-Georg. 1993. La cultura y la palabra. In Hans-Georg Gadamer, Elogio de la teoría: Discursos y artículos, 9–21. Barcelona, Spain: Península.Search in Google Scholar

Gadamer, Hans-Georg. 2004. Truth and method, 2nd edn. London: Continuum.Search in Google Scholar

García Barrientos, José Luis. 2000. Las figuras retóricas. Madrid: Arco.Search in Google Scholar

Gee, James Paul. 2011. How to do discourse analysis: A toolkit. Abingdon: Routledge.10.4324/9780203850992Search in Google Scholar

Genette, Gérard. 1989a. Discurso del relato. In Gérard Genette, Figuras III, 75–336. Barcelona: Lumen.Search in Google Scholar

Genette, Gérard. 1989b. Palimpsestos: La literatura en segundo grado. Madrid: Taurus.Search in Google Scholar

Greimas, Algirdas Julien. 1973. En torno al sentido: Ensayos semióticos. Madrid: Fragua.Search in Google Scholar

Greimas, Algirdas Julien. 1987. Semántica estructural: Investigación metodológica. Madrid: Gredos.Search in Google Scholar

Greimas, Algirdas Julien & Joseph Courtés. 1991. Semiótica: Diccionario razonado de la teoría del lenguaje. Tomo II. Madrid: Gredos.Search in Google Scholar

Gumperz, John & Stephen Levinson. 1996. Introduction: Linguistic relativity re-examined. In John Gumperz & Stephen Levinson (eds.), Rethinking linguistic relativity, 1–18. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Search in Google Scholar

Hall, Stuart (ed.). 1997a. Representation: Cultural representations and signifying practices. London: Sage.Search in Google Scholar

Hall, Stuart. 1997b. Introduction. In Stuart Hall (ed.), Representation: Cultural representations and signifying practices, 1–11. London: Sage.Search in Google Scholar

Hall, Stuart. 1997c. The work of representation. In Stuart Hall (ed.), Representation: Cultural representations and signifying practices, 13–64. London: Sage.Search in Google Scholar

Hamblin, Charles Leonard. 1970. Fallacies. London: Methuen.Search in Google Scholar

Harris, Judith. 2009. The nurture assumption: Why children turn out the way they do. New York: Free Press.Search in Google Scholar

Heidegger, Martin. 1987. De camino al habla. Barcelona: Del Serbal-Guitard.Search in Google Scholar

Hjelmslev, Louis. 1980. Prolegómenos a una teoría del lenguaje. Madrid: Gredos.Search in Google Scholar

Holt, Elizabeth. 1996. Reporting on talk: The use of direct reported speech in conversation. Research on Language and Social Interaction 29(3). 219–245.10.1207/s15327973rlsi2903_2Search in Google Scholar

Innis, Robert. 1982. Karl Bühler: Semiotic foundations of language theory. New York: Springer Science.10.1007/978-1-4757-0923-0Search in Google Scholar

Jakobson, Roman. 1981. Lingüística y poética. In Roman Jakobson, Ensayos de lingüística general, 347–395. Barcelona: Seix Barral.Search in Google Scholar

Jodelet, Denise. 1986. La representación social: fenómenos, concepto y teoría. In Serge Moscovici (ed.), Psicología social (Pensamiento y vida social; Psicología social y problemas sociales 2), 469–494. Buenos Aires: Paidós.Search in Google Scholar

Johnstone, Barbara. 2008. Discourse analysis, 2nd edn. Oxford: Blackwell.Search in Google Scholar

Kerbrat-Orecchioni, Catherine. 1993. La enunciación: De la subjetividad en el lenguaje. Buenos Aires: Edicial.Search in Google Scholar

Klinkenberg, Jean-Marie. 2006. Manual de semiótica general. Bogotá: Universidad de Bogotá.10.2307/j.ctv2175px2Search in Google Scholar

Korzybski, Alfred. 1994. Science and sanity: An introduction to non-Aristotelian systems and general semantics, 5th edn. Brooklyn: Institute of General Semantics.Search in Google Scholar

Kristeva, Julia. 1981. Semiótica 1. Madrid: Fundamentos.Search in Google Scholar

Lagos-Olivero, Claudio. 2015. Postales de Santiago de Chile. Representaciones de la ciudad del diario La Tercera. Revista Internacional de la Imagen 2(1). 39–50.10.37467/gka-revvisual.v2.649Search in Google Scholar

Lakoff, George. 2004. Don’t think of an elephant! Know your values and frame the debate. White River Junction, VT: Chelsea Green.Search in Google Scholar

Leeuwen, Theo van. 2008. Discourse and practice: New tools for critical discourse analysis. New York: Oxford University Press.10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195323306.001.0001Search in Google Scholar

Lotman, Yuri. 1988. Estructura del texto artístico. Madrid: Istmo.Search in Google Scholar

Lozano, Jorge, Cristina Peña-Marín & Gonzalo Abril. 1997. Análisis del discurso: Hacia una semiótica de la interacción textual, 2nd edn. Madrid: Cátedra.Search in Google Scholar

Luhmann, Niklas. 1998. Sistemas sociales: Lineamientos para una teoría general. Barcelona: Anthropos.Search in Google Scholar

Luhmann, Niklas. 2006. La sociedad de la sociedad. Mexico City: Herder.Search in Google Scholar

Lyons, John. 1984. Introducción al lenguaje y a la lingüística. Barcelona: Teide.Search in Google Scholar

Magariños de Morentin, Juan. 2002. Los fundamentos lógicos de la semiótica y su práctica. Buenos Aires: Edicial.Search in Google Scholar

Maingueneau, Dominique. 2008. Términos clave del análisis del discurso. Buenos Aires: Nueva Visión.Search in Google Scholar

Marin, Louis. 2001. On representation. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.Search in Google Scholar

Martin, Bronwen & Felizitas Ringham. 2000. Dictionary of semiotics. London: Cassell.Search in Google Scholar

Martínez, Esther, Miguel Ángel Nicolás & Álvaro Salas. 2013. Gender representation in advertising of toys in the Christmas period (2009–2012). Comunicar 21(41). 187–194.10.3916/C41-2013-18Search in Google Scholar

Mastro, Dana & Susannah Stern. 2003. Representations of race in television commercials: A content analysis of prime-time advertising. Journal of Broadcasting and Electronic Media 47(4). 638–647.10.1207/s15506878jobem4704_9Search in Google Scholar

Mates, Benson. 1985. La lógica de los estoicos. Madrid: Tecnos.Search in Google Scholar

McKinlay, Andrew & Jonathan Potter. 1987. Social representations: A conceptual critique. Journal for the Theory of Social Behavior 17(4). 471–487.10.1111/j.1468-5914.1987.tb00109.xSearch in Google Scholar

Meister, Jan Cristoph. 2009. Narratology. In Peter Hühn, John Pier, Wolf Schmid & Jörg Schönert (eds.), Handbook of narratology, 329–350. Berlin: Walter de Gruyter.Search in Google Scholar

Morris, Charles. 1985. Fundamentos de la teoría de los signos. Barcelona: Paidós.Search in Google Scholar

Moscovici, Serge. 1979. El psicoanálisis, su imagen y su público. Buenos Aires: Huemul.Search in Google Scholar

Moscovici, Serge. 1984. The phenomenon of social representations. In Robert M Farr & Serge Moscovici (eds.), Social representations, 3–69. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Search in Google Scholar

Peirce, Charles Sanders. 1986. Fundamento, objeto e interpretante. In Charles Sanders Peirce, La ciencia de la semiótica [Selection by Armando Sercovich], 21–23. Buenos Aires: Nueva Visión.Search in Google Scholar

Peirce, Charles Sanders. 1986. Una segunda tricotomía de los signos. In Charles Sanders Peirce, La ciencia de la semiótica [Selection by Armando Sercovich], 30–31. Buenos Aires: Nueva Visión.Search in Google Scholar

Perelman, Chaïm & Lucie Olbrechts-Tyteca. 1994. Tratado de la argumentación: La nueva retórica. Madrid: Gredos.Search in Google Scholar

Pérez, Mónica & Olly Vega. 2002. Enseñanza del discurso argumentativo: La argumentación por valores. Onomazein 7. 403–411.10.7764/onomazein.7.19Search in Google Scholar

Phillips, Barbara & Edward McQuarrie. 2004. Beyond visual metaphor: A new typology of visual rhetoric in advertising. Marketing Theory 4(1/2). 113–136.10.1177/1470593104044089Search in Google Scholar

Piñeiro, María Teresa. 2010. Mujeres mayores en la publicidad radiofónica: Una presencia silenciada. Comunicación y Medios 22. 43–59.10.5354/0716-3991.2010.25712Search in Google Scholar

Poole, Elizabeth. 2002. Reporting Islam: Media representations of British Muslims. London: I. B. Tauris.10.5040/9780755604579Search in Google Scholar

Potter, Jonathan. 1998. La representación de la realidad: Discurso, retórica y construcción social. Barcelona: Paidós.Search in Google Scholar

Potter, Jonathan & Derek Edwards. 1999. Social representations and discursive psychology: From cognition to action. Culture and Psychology 5(4). 447–458.10.1177/1354067X9954004Search in Google Scholar

Prieler, Michael & Dave Centeno. 2013. Gender representation in Phillipine television advertisements. Sex Roles 69(5–6). 276–288.10.1007/s11199-013-0301-4Search in Google Scholar

Raiter, Alejandro. 2002. Representaciones sociales. In Alejandro Raiter, Julia Zullo, Karina Sánchez, Mariana Szretter Noste, Marcela Basch, Valeria Belloro, Sara Isabel Pérez & Paula García (eds.), Representaciones sociales, 11–29. Buenos Aires: Eudeba.Search in Google Scholar

Renkema, Jan. 1999. Introducción a los estudios sobre el discurso. Barcelona: Gedisa.Search in Google Scholar

Ryan, Marie-Laure. 2006. Avatars of story. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota.Search in Google Scholar

Saussure, Ferdinand de. 1945. Curso de lingüística general. Buenos Aires: Losada.Search in Google Scholar

Searle, John Rogers. 1976. A classification of illocutionary acts. Language in Society 5(1). 1–23.10.1017/S0047404500006837Search in Google Scholar

Searle, John Rogers. 1997. La construcción de la realidad social. Barcelona: Paidós.Search in Google Scholar

Smith, P. T. 1997. Thought and language. In Peter Lamarque (ed.), Concise encyclopedia of philosophy of language, 85–91. Oxford: Elsevier Science.Search in Google Scholar

Talbot, Mary. 2007. Media discourse: Representation and interaction. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.10.1515/9780748630073Search in Google Scholar

Tomachevski, Boris. 1982. Teoría de la literatura. Madrid: Akal.Search in Google Scholar

Tsai, Wanhsiu Sunny. 2010. Family man in advertising? A content analysis of male domesticity and fatherhood in Taiwanese commercials. Asian Journal of Communication 20(4). 423–439.10.1080/01292986.2010.496860Search in Google Scholar

Vasilachis de Gialdino, Irene. 1997. Discurso político y prensa escrita: La construcción de representaciones sociales. Barcelona: Gedisa.Search in Google Scholar

Vasilachis de Gialdino, Irene. 2003. Pobres, pobreza, identidad y representaciones sociales. Barcelona: Gedisa.Search in Google Scholar

Vasilachis de Gialdino, Irene. 2015. Work and social representations: Sociological and linguistic analysis of a legislative creation process. Discourse and Communication 9(3). 331–353.10.1177/1750481315571180Search in Google Scholar

Vergara, Enrique & Ana Vergara. 2012. Representation of childhood in advertising discourse in Chile. Comunicar 19(38). 167–173.10.3916/C38-2012-03-08Search in Google Scholar

Victoriano, Felipe & Claudia Darrigrandi. 2009. Representación. In Mónica Szurmuk & Robert McKee Irwin (eds.), Diccionario de estudios culturales latinoamericanos, 249–254. Mexico City: Siglo XXI.Search in Google Scholar

Webb, Jen. 2009. Understanding representation. London: Sage.10.4135/9781446213131Search in Google Scholar

Werner, Oswald. 1997. Sapir-Whorf hypothesis. In Peter Lamarque (ed.), Concise encyclopedia of philosophy of language, 76–83. Oxford: Elsevier Science.Search in Google Scholar

Wiggins, Sally & Jonathan Potter. 2010. Discursive psychology. In Carla Willig & Wendy Stainton-Rogers (eds.), The Sage handbook of qualitative research in psychology, 73–90. London: Sage.10.4135/9781848607927.n5Search in Google Scholar

Wittgenstein, Ludwig. 2005. Tractatus logico-philosophicus. Madrid: Alianza.Search in Google Scholar

Zecchetto, Victorino. 2002. La danza de los signos: Nociones de semiótica general. Quito: Abya-Yala.Search in Google Scholar


Article note:

Translator of the article: Nick Charlesworth.


Published Online: 2018-10-31
Published in Print: 2018-11-06

© 2018 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston

Downloaded on 30.4.2024 from https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/sem-2017-0019/html
Scroll to top button