look at these last few sentences

The purpose of this passage (and in the conclusion as a whole) is to review the ideas and concepts that were covered but to make clear that their "ideas in an unfinished project" making it clear that the theories are just a basis of initially understanding the various approaches of representation, and not something to completely adopt at "face value."

Hall indicates how he wants the reader to go about absorbing the information from the various theorists he includes.

Hall points out deliberate writing choices he made that might have gone unnoticed to the reader.

pointing out his purpose of making the audience familiar with the theories, enough to "apply them"

reminding the reader of the terms discussed, to jog their memory.

Hall here is directly speaking to his audience. He directs them of where to find the indicated information if more clarification is needed.

This is addressing how the different theorists added and challenged what representation is.

Language contributes the formation of culture, by connecting our shared thoughts with others through forms of communication.

Questions set up what is going to said

Bringing back terms mentioned as a way of confirming the audiences understanding if it

reiteration that orients the reader once again.

another example to illustrate (context ?)

The discourse, referring to the composition of the painting which, by nature, caused the viewer/spectator to be a 'subject' that is being looked at from the point of view of the figures in the painting, requires the spectator(the veiwer of the painting) to allow themselves to be subjected to the painting.

not a fixed meaning.

regardless of the fact that everything that is painted in the painting stays the same, the way that it's being looked at contributes to it's meaning. "it keeps us in the state of suspension."

maybe the composition is how it is painted in a way that either the subject of the painting is the sitter (the thing that everyone is looking at ie the two people in the mirror) or it's the infanta that is the direct centre and thing that draws attention. This is the discourse that is "forcing us" to waver between the two subjects.

From this, we can assume the discourse represents the composition of the picture. But what exactly is composition referring to here?

the painter and the scene is shown but what is being painted is a mystery

question that introduces to the reader what the topic/matter being addressed is

Everything that Hall says here can be observed by the reader but he still writes up everything that can be seen in the painting. The whole point of Hall thoroughly explaining what is going on in the painting is to simply state the topic, the thing that is being discussed and structurally set up the analysis that's about to follow.

all this is contextual background on the painting. Shows that its not just a random painting, but the histiry behind it

Purpose

explanation/orienting the reader

Just like discourse, a subject is tied to it's historical time period

a principled system of understanding; scientific knowledge.

this is a reference to power/knowledge-- the person who says the idea will have the upper hand in terms of having the most understanding.

What is the subject referring to here, is it the person who speaks?

chocot says youre not stable or autonomous if youre opinion is being imacted by some other form of power.

I dont quite understand this passage.

not sure I understand this point.

come back to this for examples of hall contextualixing

Hall addressing a interpretive problem

Hall not only includes an example but also goes into deep analysis on it.

contextuality

Contextual example

the literal or primary meaning of a word, in contrast to the feelings or ideas that the word suggests

This set of signs is, like most signs arbitrary. However, it's accepted among a large cultural group.

The study of signs in culture

Barthes sees wrestling as a form of cultural representation. Wrestling was composed of signs and meaning. The gestures of the fight etc

introduction to topic/ context

The author must abide to the rules of language in order to be understood by others. exemplifies 'social phenomenon'

It may be much more difficult, but maybe I think certain aspects of it could still be studies (ex. comparing the parole of different families within a culture etc.)

He was called this because he primarily liked to study the structure (of rules and codes) of language.

The problem is, if the meaning of something is constantly changing and evolving over history, then determining the meaning requires a certain level of interpretation. Furthermore, because the meaning of something is always left up to interpretation, it leaves a lot of room for inconsistency within language as a whole. As a result, the person who reads/views something is likely to get a different takeaway, in terms of meaning, than others would and even differently than how the author intended. Additionally, It would be very difficult to express something meaningful without the effects of all the meanings from previous eras influencing it;There's no way of completely erasing the knowledge of all those previous meanings, and therefore, they can very possibly distort the meaning which is trying to be conveyed. For example, the word 'Black' has certain negative connotations that would be hard to competently ignore when reading the headline,'WEDNESDAY-- A BLACK DAY ON THE STOCK EXCHANGE'. Even if this headline is meant to convey the word 'Black' positively, it's hard to do this because of the associated negative meanings that came before. When a person wants to express meaning in something, that meaning now becomes altered due to the other inescapable meanings which influence or overshadow your idea. Furthermore, because interpretation is so crucial here, the reader is equally as important as the writer when giving something meaning. If a sign has not been interpreted in an intelligent way, it is not considered 'meaningful'.

Halls response/argument to Saussures approach.

This example shows how meaning is not fixed. At first the sign 'Black' signified one thing and then through time and perspective it changed to a different one.

Not sure I completely understand this.

Both elements (the signifier and signified) are two parts of the term sign, two signs of the same coin.

Ethos

Contextual background of who Saussure was. Orients the reader.

page 29 passage 1:

"codes are crucial for meaning and representation." Codes are crucial in our culture because they are part of "our shared 'maps of meaning' -- which is learned unconsciously as one becomes a part of a culture.

To a constructionist, the meaning is determined based on the direct relation of a sign and concept.

although the colors (in terms of language) red and green are arbitrary, it is intention within this system that they are chosen because they can be differentiated between each other

passage 1: Discusses 'the language of colors' how we identify or label different colors (red, yellow, green) whereas other cultures that speak different colors will use their language to identify them.

passage 2: Colors dont have 'true' inherent meanings to them (red doesnt mean stop any more than green means go) but these are meanings that have meen assigned to them. Its arbitrary. This 'language code' is a complete mystery to anyone who does not know it

3 approaches:

reflective- language acts like a mirror to reflect the true meaning as it already exists in the world. this theory is 'Mimetic"

Intentional- words mean what the author intends they should mean. The flaw is that we can't be the sole meanings of source in language-- would make it private languages. 'The essence of language is communication" so it must be shared.

Constructionist - "neither the things in themselves or the individuals users of language can fix meaning." Its the system we use to represent our concepts.

page 24 passage 1 "Social and linguistic conventions do change over time"

This is true and very much so with social media and terms that teenagers create (ex. slang words)

Hall provides us with context by including this table of words that are used to mean snow in a different culture

different cultures may have a wider 'language' for things when it comes to something that is prevalent in that culture. For example, the amount of words for snow that Inuit have.

Ethos

Hall uses Logos here to illustrate the importance of the terms he is discussing (meaning, language and representation) within the topic of culture.

Over time a person learns, not born with it.

again Hall reiterates-- remembering that linguistic doesn't simply mean written or spoken language but in an even broader sense.

There becomes a direct correlation that we associate with the idea or image of a tree and the word tree.

we don't think twice about using certain words to represent things it feels natural.

Iconic signs are visual signs that bear some level of resemblance to the thing referenced ( ex. photo of a tree)

*Indexical signs** don't show any obvious resemblance to the thing (ex. letters T,R,E,E don't look like a tree)

1.1 page 18/19 last passage: Hall reiterates that the term 'Language' is used "in a very broad and inclusive way", not just in the classical linguistic sense but in other ways as well. ex. Facial expressions, gestures, fashion, clothes, traffic lights.

1.1 passage 2 page 18 On the one hand a persons conceptual map is unique and individual, however, we are still able to communicate with each other because we broadly share the same conceptual maps and thus are able to understand eachother.

Meaning is personalized to the specific person and the objects, people, events etc. that they will carry inside their heads. This can be different depending the person

Hall engages with his audience here by making us an active participant in understanding the ideas discussed.

Here, Hall engages with his audience by having them be an active participant in terms of understanding his idea. Rather than just explaining it he has us do the action. This also provides some Pathos as a way of connecting with the audience.

Analysis explaining the two definitions provided.

1.1 passage 1: Hall gives two definitions of the word representation as a reference to give understanding for further use of the word in his writing.

Stuart Hall offers a definition of the term representation but also addresses its complexity and that there's more to it. This is a way of showing purpose in that his is trying to educate/inform and also introduces that topic.

Hall states his purpose

page 5 passage 1 summary: defining what he means by the term 'language'... "languages work through representation" not just something that is spoken or written-- something that communicates/expresses a thought, idea, or concept (ex. music has musical notes, fashion has clothes etc.)

page 5 passage 2 summary: a list of examples are given to help illustrate different forms of 'language' and how it is used as a way of representation. Some included are: photography, exhibition/display in a museum, music.

Hall also gives the example of even getting decked out in sports attire with body paint and signs-- saying its a way of expression to the idea of belonging to a national culture. Possibly using Pathos by tailoring to a specific audience that might resonate with the idea of having sport team pride and understand this experience in specific.

page 4 passage 2 Summary: people within a culture must have consistency with their language and be able to understand one another

Hall references/ quotes other scholars as sources from their writings as a way of showing ethos and giving his ideas credibility. (ex. du Gay 1997, Mackay 1997, Thompson 1997)

end of page 3 last passage; Stuart hall uses logos to explain how meaning is being circulated much more and much faster than ever compared in history due to the complex technologies which enable this.

First passage on page 2: The different ways of defining 'culture' is discussed. "High culture versus Popular culture was, for many years, the classic way of framing the debate about culture). This gives some context as to what the definition used to be widely known as. more recent years: Culture is used to refer to whatever is distinctive about the 'way of life' of a people, community, nation or social group-- known as 'anthropological' definition.

The first passage of the introduction introduces the Topic of representation, and highlights language as one of the key components of meaning/ culture.

Second passage starts to introduce more of the topic that will be discussed throughout the text "Representation through language is therefore central to the processes by which meaning is produced"