Review of Stuart Hall's "Introduction,"
Representation: Cultural Representations and Signifying Practices

To say something, in essence 'to speak,' . . . 
spoken languages use _______________;
written languages use _______________;
musical language uses _______________;
body language or 'language of the body' uses ______________;
fashion industry uses _____________________;
language of facial expression uses __________________;
television uses ___________________________;
and a traffic signal uses ____________________?

Historically, before the 'cultural' or 'linguistic turn,' what was the conventional perspective (p. 5, bottom)?

Why, then, historically was representation, the act of representation, a process of secondary importance?



What has since changed with the "cultural/linguistic turn" in the humanities and social sciences? Specifically, what does it mean to assert that meaning is produced or constructed?



Semiotics and Discursive Approaches: Two Versions of Constructionism
(p. 6, middle) The semiotic approach is largely concerned with the "how" of representation, with how language produces meaning,

whereas

the discursive approach is more focused on the effects and consequences of representation, or its politics and ideology.

Stuart Hall refers to the "work of representation" - - why? Why the "work of" and not merely "the act of" representation? How does representation appear less transparent a practice than it seems upon first glance? 

Making Connections: The Work of Representation and Exhibitions/Museums and Cultural-National Identity
How can an exhibition or display in a museum or gallery be thought of as being "like a language"?



Last Updated: Wednesday, March 27, 2002