ABSTRACT

Semiotic Theory of Learning asks what learning is and what brings it about, challenging the hegemony of psychological and sociological constructions of learning in order to develop a burgeoning literature in semiotics as an educational foundation.  Drawing on theoretical research and its application in empirical studies, the book attempts to avoid the problematization of the distinction between theory and practice in semiotics. It covers topics such as signs, significance and semiosis; the ontology of learning; the limits of learning; ecosemiotics; ecology and sexuality.

The book is written by five of the key figures in the semiotics field, each committed to the belief that living is a process of interaction through acts of signification with a signifying environment. While the authors are agreed on the value of semiotic frameworks, the book aims not to present an entirely coherent line in every respect, but rather to reflect ongoing scholarship and debates in the area. In light of this, the book offers a range of possible interpretations of major semiotic theorists, unsettling assumptions while offering a fresh, and still developing, series of perspectives on learning from academics grounded in semiotics.

Semiotic Theory of Learning is a timely and valuable text that will be of great interest to academics, researchers and postgraduates working in the fields of educational studies, semiotics, psychology, philosophy, applied linguistics and media studies.

section I|47 pages

Andrew Stables

chapter 1|14 pages

The limits of learning

chapter 2|19 pages

The semiotic encounter

chapter 3|12 pages

Semiosis, education and society

Affecting encounters

section II|44 pages

Winfried Nöth

section III|42 pages

Alin Olteanu

section IV|46 pages

Sébastien Pesce

chapter 10|13 pages

From comprehensive research to semiotic approaches to education

A subjective genealogy of educational semiotics

chapter 11|16 pages

Signs, significance and semioses in the classroom

Multimodality, narrativity, dialogism and rhetoric as cornerstones of a fully semiotic perspective on teaching and learning

chapter 12|15 pages

Training semiotically wise teachers

Rhetoric of inquiry, epistemology of action and habit change

section V|39 pages

Eetu Pikkarainen

chapter 13|10 pages

Learning and semiotic theory

chapter 15|13 pages

Human learning

Education and Bildung