Dr William Robert Da Silva: Born in Mangalore taught at Mangalore University, Goa University, University of Hamburg, and Osnabruck, Germany, Manipal Institute of Communication, Manipal. His academic and research work spans over Theology, Philosophy, Sociology, Anthropology, Literature, Linguistics, Gender Studies, Translation, Communication and Media. He has written and translated over 24 books. The Konkanni Bible translated from original Hebrew and Greek is his magnum opus. It happens to be the only Bible translated from original tongues in Konkanni language. He has a rare distinction of working in many languages. Currently he is the Director of Sandesha Bharati, School of Konkanni Studies, Mangalore, Senior Professor, Dept of Communication (PG), Christ College, Bangalore, and Visiting Professor, Osnabruck University, Germany.

Semiotics Syllabus/Course Plan

DEPARTMENT OF MEDIA STUDIES

Christ College, Bangalore 560029

CERTIFICATE COURSE IN SEMIOTICS

Course convenor: Dr. William R. Da Silva

Course co-ordinator:Anil Pinto

60 hours, weekly 2.5 hours

3 credits

Time: Thursdays, 16-18.30

Place: Room No. 109, Main Block

Minimum: 10

INTRODUCTION

This course will be useful for all working in communication, theatre and media studies; language, literature and media. In media it will be useful for analysis of subtexts, myths and ideologies in communication (ads, films, photo-magazines, television, internet etc.)

MODULES

01. What is semiotics or semiology? The transition: comparative philology to semiology; philosophy of language and historical and social linguistics to linguistics.

02. Ferdinand de Saussure: Semiology; sign, system, structure; the science of the system of signs in society (semiologie).

03. Charles S. Peirce: Philosophy of sign; communicative sign; index, icon and symbol; unlimited semiosis.

04. Claude Levi-Strauss: Structuralism and cultural anthropology (Structural linguistics, Marxism and psychoanalysis).

05. Vladimir V. Propp: Functional semiotics or morphology of a folktale.

06. Roman Jakobson: Structuralism and models of communication.

07. Structural linguistics: Robert Gleason, Noam A. Chomsky.

08. Marxism and Structuralism: Louis Althusser.

09. Structuralism and Psychoanalysis: Jacques Lacan, Michel Foucault.

10. Post-structuralism: Roland Barthes; post-modernism: Jean Beaudrillard.

11. Deconstruction: Jacques Derrida.

12. Philosophy of semiotics: Umberto Eco.

WORKSHOP & PRACTICUM

Applied semiotics: (structuralism, post-structuralism, post-modernism, deconstruction) language, discourse, oral and literary narratives; folk rituals, religious and political-cultural rituals, theatre and other performances; advertisements, illustrated magazines, photo printing, films, television, Internet.

Every participant in the Course is required to apply the semiotics method (alone or in combination with other methods, explained above, or with post-modernism of Jean-Francois Lyotard and Jean Beaudrillard) to any area of communication and media and prepare a research paper of 8-10 (A4 size) pages in three stages: research proposal, first draft and final paper.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Daniel Chandler, Semiotics for Beginners, London: Routledge, 1995. (The book is available online with rich hypertext references, and may be downloaded. This text will be made available to participants in the college on CD as desired). A paperback edition too is available with Routledge, London. (In India agents in Chennai; in Bangalore: Foundation Books.)

Chandler has an exhaustive bibliography on semiotics and related topics. Other books will be introduced in the active sessions of the course.

I FEP One Act Plays

Department of Media Studies

Christ College, Bangalore

I FEP

One-Act Plays

Reg Nos	Lecturers in-charge	Play
06D2201 - 215	Soloman Rees	Refund: Fritz Karinthy
06D2216 - 230	Felix	The Monkey's Paw: WW Jacobs
06D2231 - 245	Deepa	The Stone Idols: KS Sreenath
06D2246 - 260	Padma Kumar	Before the Flood: AA Milne
06D2261 - 276	Anil Pinto	Lithuania: Rupert Brooke

Guidelines:

Ø You should direct, act, produce and get the audience for your play. The role of the lectures concerned will be that of observers and evaluators. However, you may approach them for any guidance or clarification.

Ø Practice for the play should happen either before or after the class hours.

Ø You are free to edit the plays.

Ø Use minimum stage property and keep the expenses minimal. All the expenses towards the play are to be borne by the respective groups.

Ø Do not take any help from people other than your group members during the production. However, for music you may seek the help of your friends in other sections of the College.

Ø All the plays should be staged on 17, 18, and 19 of July 2006 for the department for scrutiny.

Ø The final production of the play will be from 24 July to 28 July 2006 in the Mini Auditorium (tentative) in the Main Block after 4 pm. The order in which the plays are to be staged will be announced in the third week of July.

Ø The process of the production of the play is more important than the final production. Hence, you will be evaluated based on your commitment and contribution to the group, involvement, and creativity. You will be assessed out of 20 marks as part of Continuous Internal Assessment 2a and class work.

Ø Each group is requested to maintain a diary of the progress on daily basis and show it to the lecturers concerned regularly.

Ø For any clarification please feel free to approach your teachers-in-charge, Felix or me, either personally or through email.

Ø All the best

27 June 2006 Anil Pinto

ajpinto42 at yahoo dot co dot in

III PSEng, FEP, PSEng V Semester Course Plan 2006

Department of Media Studies

Christ College, Bangalore

III PSEng, FEP, PSEng V Semester Course Plan 2006

Optional English

Names of the Teachers : Anil Pinto

Semester : V

Total No of hours : 24

Subject : Optional English

Paper : European and Non-European Writing: An Introduction and The Literatures of India: An Introduction

1. Modernism; postmodernism; What Postmodernism Means

Reference: The Scream Edward Munch (1893), Guernica Picasso (1937), Modern Times Chaplin, Metropolis Fritz Lang (1927), Waste Land, A Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock TS Eliot; The Fontana Post-modern Reader, Walter Truett Anderson; Postmodernism for Beginners Jim Powell; Art for Beginners Dani Cavallaro

No of Hours: 13

Dates: June and July

2. Feminism

Reference: Fire: Meera Nair; Dweepa: Girish Kasaravalli; Father, Son and Holy War: Anand Patwardhan

No of Hours: five

Dates: August

3. Marxist Criticism

Reference: Marxist Literary Criticism: Terry Eagleton

No of Hours: Three

Dates: September: Week I, II

4. Women Writing in India: 600 BC to the Present

No of Hours: Two

Dates: September Week III

5. The Politics of Failure

No of Hours: one

Dates: September Week IV

I FEP I Sem Course Plan 2006

Names of the Teachers : Anil Pinto and Felix
Semester : I
Total No of hours : 54
Subject : Functional English
Paper : II (Applied Phonetics and Communication Skills)

1.Spelling and Pronunciation; English Consonants and Vowels No of Hours; 5; Dates: June 23 – June 30

2.The Syllable; Word Accent; Morphemes; Assimilation and Elision; Rhythm, Intonation; Accents, US, UK and Australian, English in India; No of Hours; 8; Dates: July 1 – July 17; Class test: 17 July

3.Choral Behaviour and Group Think; The English Empire and the Politics of World Englishes; No of Hours; 2; Dates: July 21, 22

4.Public Speaking; Types of Speeches; Platform Speeches, Platform Roles; No of Hours; 15; Dates: 24 July – 14 Aug; One-act Plays to be staged in the fourth week

5.Intellectual Assemblies and Artists Assemblies; Bilingualism, Multilingualism, Code Switching; No of Hours; 4; Dates: 25 Aug – 28 Aug

6.Telephonic Conversation, GD, Situational Conversations, Interviewing, Effective Listening; No of Hours; 10; Dates: 1 Sept - 16 Sept

7.News Reading for Radio, TV; Speech in Theatre, Radio, TV and Cinema; No of Hours; 10; Dates: 18 Sept - 29 Sept

8.Review/Feedback; Date : 29 Sept

One-Act Play Production:
You will be divided into five groups of 15. Each group will direct, act and produce a given play in the Fourth week of July. The practice will have to be done after or before the class hours or during free time. The entire exercise carries 20 marks based on your involvement in and contribution towards the play.

Methodology:
Almost all the classes will be practice oriented and exercise based, with only necessary theoretical inputs.

Continuous Internal Assessment:
CIA II a: One-act Play Production (Fourth week of July)
CIA II b: Class test (17 July)
CIA III: A 600 word write up on recent trends in
a) Platform speeches and platform roles; or
b) Any one of the intellectual assemblies

Guidelines for Submission:
·The written assignment should be based on your field research. The typed assignment should adhere to the following specifications: A4 size paper, 12 font size, 11/2 line space, font: Times New Roman, Book Antiqua, or Garamond
·Assignment details - your name, reg. no, class, batch, assignment code, name of the College, name of the teacher in-charge and date of submission- should be mentioned on the top right-hand side of the first page
·You are free to take the assignment beyond the expected criteria. Such efforts will be appreciated
·Those who are going to be out of town can submit the assignment online
·No late submission is entertained
·Plagiarism may amount to rejection of assignment
·Remember to give the reference at the end of your assignment of the books, articles and websites that you have referred to. The following pattern may be followed: Author’s name with the last name first, a period, name of the book underlined, a period, Place of Publication, colon, name of publication, year of publication, page no
oE.g.: Gandhi, Mohandas Karamchand, My Experiments with Truth, New Delhi: Penguin, 1998.
oIn case of a website give the complete URL of the site referred to along with the above details
oIf you are directly lifting some lines quote them. If you are using some idea write it in your words but acknowledge it

Mid-semester Practical Exam
1.Listening to words and transcribing – 10 words given
2.Reading sentences - 10 sentences to be given

Evaluation Criteria: knowledge of phonemes and desired pronunciation of sounds, knowledge and use of stress, rhythm and intonation.

End-semester Practical Exam
1.Group discussion (Evaluation Criteria: Communicative skills and knowledge of the subject)
2.Staging programme on a given situation (Evaluation Criteria: Organisation skills, communication skills, crisis management, teamwork)
Note:
ØAttendance is compulsory for all the sessions. Please be punctual
ØAll the sessions will be of two hours
ØListen to local, national, and international TV or Radio news channels regularly to widen your knowledge as well as for the language exposure. Do attend plays in English and other languages around the city to be exposed to the theatre culture
ØPlease feel free to clarify your doubts, ask questions or give feedback in the class, department or through email.
ØWhile emailing please mention your name, class and batch
ØVisit the blog for notices and announcements regularly
ØAll the best. Let us grow together

Anil Pinto,
Email: ajpinto42@yahoo.co.in
Blog: http://anilpinto.blogspot.com

Felix
Email: joseph_felix@rediffmail.com

Cyber culture workshop - concept note

Workshop on Cyberculture
6, 7, 8 April 2006

Concept Note

(Don't be scarred by this abstract note, the workshop is going to be more concrete and fun )

Cybercultures is a term that lends itself too easily to a superficial understanding of a set of practices which are associated with the words techie, geek, gadgets and gizmos. However, cybercultures is not necessarily only about the people who produce it. Looked upon as a site upon which forces of economic and cultural globalization, political governance and geographical boundaries are actively interacting with each other, cybercultures needs to be understood as the ethos of our times within which all of us, directly or indirectly, through inclusion or exclusion, through presence or absence, are implicated within. The three day workshop in cybercultures looks at three main concerns of identity, community and culture and how the new technological proliferation of cyberspace shapes our understanding of these three domains. Spread across three days, for a period of four hours each, the cybercultures workshop, through discussions, exercises and presentations, seeks to question how each one of us becomes a cyborg and how it changes our notions of who we are, where we belong and what we do.

Workshop on Cyber culture

Department of Media Studies
Christ College, Bangalore

Announces

Workshop on Cyberculture

By
Nishant Shah
(CSCS, ex-cultural consultant, Yahoo

Dates : 6, 7, 8 April 2006
(Thursday- Saturday

Time : 02.00-06.00
Venue : Christ College
Fee : Christites: Rs 100, Others Rs 150

Vacancies: 25

For more Details Contact: Anil Pinto, Dept of Media Studies, 9886627416

BBM question paper pattern

HI guys
I have not been able to meet Mr Sudhamshu. The moment I am able to get in touch with him I shall post the question paper pattern on the blog.

All the best!

I BBM ‘A’ CIA 2 Assignment

I BBM ‘A’ CIA 2 Assignment

Group Presentation Topics

Group I 05D1201-08 : Christ College hangouts

Group II 209-16 : Forum

Group III 217-24 : Eva Moll

Group IV 225-32 : Garuda Mall

Group V 233- 40: Bollywood

Group VI 241-48 : Plurality at Christ College

Group VII 249-56 : Newspapers in Bangalore

Group VIII 257-64 : Advertisements

Group I 265-74 : Life at Night in Bangalore

Evaluation Criteria: Based on individual contribution to the group, team work, research done, creativity.
Presentation date: 8 march 2006