Introduction
The general theme of the lectures is the emerging field of cognitive semiotics (CS), which combines methods and theories from cognitive science, semiotics and linguistics in investigations of the multifaceted concept of meaning. A general ambition of CS is to address long-lasting problems related to “mind and body”, “nature and culture”, “individual and society” and thus to contribute to mending the gap between natural science and the humanities, without attempting to reduce one to the other.
Course Outline
- Lecture 1: What is Cognitive Semiotics?
- Lecture 2: The ladder of meaning: life, Consciousness, Culture, Signs and language
- Lecture 3: The evolution of human sociality
- Lecture 4: The evolution of language: From bodily mimesis to grammar
The following four lectures are based on a course given in October 2013 at the University of Roma Tree (Italy).
- Lecture 5: Bodily mimesis in ontogenetic development
- Lecture 6: Mimetic schemas and children`s gestures
- Lecture 7: Non – actual motion in experience and language
- Lecture 8: Sound symbolism and cross – modal iconicity in language