Semiotics at the Circus

Paul Bouissac

Published by De Gruyter Mouton 2010

Semiotics at the Circus

Paul Bouissac

Volume 3 in the series Semiotics, Communication and Cognition [SCC]

https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110218312

Overview
Contents

About this book

Semiotics is long on theoretical, often obscure discourses, but short on applications that demonstrate with clarity the applicability of its methods. This book confronts a challenging object, the circus, and endeavors to describe its performances in ways that explain how circus acts produce meaning and cause a deep emotional involvement for their audiences. The approach is not top-down, such as would be a method that would dogmatically apply a particular theory to fully explain the phenomena in terms of this theory alone. Epistemologically, this book is an example of the bottom-up strategy, which consists of considering first the objects and heuristically calling upon methodological resources in a broad theoretical array to come to grips with the problems that are encountered. Any circus act is a complex event that has cognitive and emotional dimensions. It is also a part of a history and an institution, and cannot be abstracted from its cultural and sociological contexts. Thus the range of relevant theoretical and methodological approaches must include structural semiotics, biosemiotics, pragmatics, socio-semiotics, cultural anthropology, the cognitive sciences, the psychology and sociology of emotions, to name only the most important. But the ultimate focus of this book is to enable the readers to better understand the meaning of circus performances and to appreciate the skills and creativity of this traditional popular art, which constantly renews itself from generation to generation.

Author / Editor information

Paul Bouissac, University of Toronto, Canada.

Topics

Frontmatter Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	I
Contents Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	VII
Introduction. A semiotician at the circus Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	1
Chapter 1. The production of circus space Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	11
Chapter 2. The time of the circus. Cognitive and emotional dimensions of acrobatics and other circus acts Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	21
Chapter 3. In what sense is a circus animal performing? Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	44
Chapter 4. Horses’ feathers: from tacit knowledge to circus metaphors Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	55
Chapter 5. Circus and cycles Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	68
Chapter 6. The pyramid and the wheel: the visual discourse of circus acrobatics Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	82
Chapter 7. The logic of clown faces Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	103
Chapter 8. Incident, accident, failure: life and death at the circus Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	120
Chapter 9. There’s no business like show business: the marketing of performance Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	149
Chapter 10. The researcher as spectator: the pragmatics of circus performances Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	162
Conclusion. Circus in perspective Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	177
Backmatter Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	185

(Deutsch)

Language: English
Publisher: De Gruyter Mouton
Audience: Students and Researchers of Semiotics, Cultural Studies, the Performing Arts, and Circus Fans
Pages
- Front matter: 9
- Main content: 196
Illustrations
- Illustrations: 6
Keywords: Semiotics; Pragmatics; Communication; Cultural Studies; Performing Arts

eBook

Published: June 17, 2010
ISBN: 9783110218312

Hardcover

Published: June 15, 2010
ISBN: 9783110218299

Paperback

Published: June 16, 2011
ISBN: 9783110218305