Study-Unit Description

Study-Unit Description


CODE TRS1303

 
TITLE The Semiotics of Food

 
UM LEVEL 01 - Year 1 in Modular Undergraduate Course

 
MQF LEVEL Not Applicable

 
ECTS CREDITS 4

 
DEPARTMENT Institute for Tourism, Travel and Culture

 
DESCRIPTION The main objective of the study-unit is to develop theoretical and methodological instruments for the semiotic analysis of gastronomic texts (journalism/advertising). The unit will therefore review basic concepts of semiotics, and apply them to contexts related to the study of food. Bearing in mind the historical view, an updated toolkit is also developed to use in critical analysis of contemporary media communications.

Study-unit Aims:

The study-unit aims to discuss three broad themes:

1. Semiotics and narrative. This section aims to provide some basic evaluation of the main concepts of narrative theory through the application of narrative models to text analysis of advertising productions with the intention to recognise narrative programmes, manipulation strategies, etc.

2. Semiotics and gastronomy: Food and Taste.

3. Semiotics and gastronomy: Wine and Taste. This section aims to provide some notions of basic oppositions and narrative programmes in wine appreciation through the application of narrative models to text analysis of wine evaluations.

Learning Outcomes:

1. Knowledge & Understanding:

By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to:
- Describe the basic concepts of semiotics;
- Demonstrate the understanding of these concepts by applying them to specific contexts related to the study of food;
- Analyse basic oppositions in the categorization of food (sweet/salty, sweet/bitter, etc);
- Analyse and list basic oppositions and narrative programmes in wine appreciation through the application of narrative models to text analysis of wine evaluations.

2. Skills:

By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to:

- Recognise narrative programmes, manipulation strategies which are used in media in relation to food and gastronomy;
- Compare gastronomic categories in particular cultural systems.

Main Text/s and any supplementary readings:

Main Text:

- Umberto Eco, Six Walks in the Fictional Woods, Cambridge, Mass. & London, Harvard University Press, 1994.

Supplementary Readings:

- Jean-Marie Floch, Visual Identities, London & New York, Continuum International Publishing Group, 2005 (esp. chapter 3).
- Jean-Marie Floch, Semiotics, Marketing and Communication. Beneath the Signs, the Strategies, Basingstoke, Palgrave, 2001.
- Jacques Fontanille, The Semiotics of Discourse (Berkeley Insights in Linguistics and Semiotics) Peter Lang Pub, 2006.
- Roberto Grandi (ed.), I mass media fra testo e contesto, Milano, Lupetti, 1994.
- Eric Landowski & José Luiz Fiorin, Gusti e disgusti: sociosemiotica del quotidiano, Testo & Immagine, Torino, 2000.
- Patrizia Magli, Semiotica. Teoria, metodo, analisi, Venezia, Marsilio, 2004.
- Lev Manovich, The Language of New Media, Boston, The MIT Press, 2002.

 
STUDY-UNIT TYPE Lecture

 
METHOD OF ASSESSMENT
Assessment Component/s Sept. Asst Session Weighting
Presentation (10 Minutes) No 25%
Assignment Yes 75%

 
LECTURER/S Carmenrita Bugeja

 

 
The University makes every effort to ensure that the published Courses Plans, Programmes of Study and Study-Unit information are complete and up-to-date at the time of publication. The University reserves the right to make changes in case errors are detected after publication.
The availability of optional units may be subject to timetabling constraints.
Units not attracting a sufficient number of registrations may be withdrawn without notice.
It should be noted that all the information in the description above applies to study-units available during the academic year 2023/4. It may be subject to change in subsequent years.

https://www.um.edu.mt/course/studyunit