Lotman’s semiotic theory of culture or Laclau’s political ontology?
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Janar Mihkelsaar
Abstract
The present article concentrates on the main discrepancies that should arise in the discussion between Lotman’s semiotics of culture and Laclau’s discursive theory of hegemony. Some significant – but still abstract – commonalities conceal fundamental disagreements which I would group around four topics. Firstly, Lotman’s semiotic method is at odds with Laclau’s ontological way of thinking. Secondly, although both Lotman and Laclau subscribe to the openness of signification, it is impossible to incorporate their accounts of this openness without loose ends. In order to substantiate this claim, I examine Lotman’s concept of “boundary” and Laclau’s concept of the “limit.” Thirdly, we should avoid reading too much into Lotman and Laclau’s agreement on the similar – but still formal – model of a self-signification. And finally, Laclau’s valorization of social antagonism is in conflict with Lotman’s appraisal of dialogue. Confronted with these discrepancies, we are enforced to decide whether to endorse Lotman’s cultural semiotics or Laclau’s political ontology.
Acknowledgements
This research was supported by the KONE Foundation.
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- Frontmatter
- Transmedia branding: Brands, narrative worlds, and the mcwhopper peace agreement
- Translating iconicities of classical Chinese poetry
- Lexical trends in Facebook and Twitter texts of selected Nigerian Pentecostal churches: A stylistic inquiry
- Approach to the new videographies analysis: Case study of immigrant representations in the Social Innovation Laboratory videos (SIL UBIQA)
- A report on the reports of the stanford literary lab: A reason why the digital humanities may find it difficult to change literary history
- Lotman’s semiotic theory of culture or Laclau’s political ontology?
- Peirce’s resonances on Deleuze’s concept of sign: Triadic relations, habit and relation as semiotic features
- Iconically modeling a demolition process in the photobook Palast Der Republik
- Rethinking Milton Singer’s semiotic anthropology: A reconnaissance
- Representing indigenous lifeways and beliefs in U.S.-Mexico border indigenous activist discourse
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- “Language” and “discourse”: Two perspectives on linguistic philosophy
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- Review Article
- Embodied X Figures and Forms of Thought
