Cmns 110 Mid-term

[Gary McCarron <gmccarro@sfu.ca>]

Title: Cmns 110 Mid-term

Hello everyone

One of the students has pointed out to me that the definition for “index” given in the text by Danesi that most of you purchased seems to be different from the definition given in your reading from Chandler and from the definition I offered in class.  In actual fact, Danesi’s definition is the same as the one Chandler (and I) provided, but it is a reworking of the more usual definition found in semiotics texts.  By focusing on the “index” finger as the beginning point of his definition of an indexical sign, Danesi perhaps misleads his readers into thinking that only the literal act of pointing at something counts toward being an index.  But he is really saying the same thing that Chandler argues and that I stated in class.  A footprint “points to” the person who left it and is therefore an indexical sign for both Danesi and Chandler.  Similarly, a sneeze, one could argue, “points to” the presence of a cold or flu.  So although they seem different, they are really the same definition.  In my opinion, Danesi’s text is a bit misleading, however.  

What this means for the exam – should a question on the subject arise – is that you would probably want to rely on Chandler’s definition since his article is an assigned reading and Danesi’s book is more for background information.

To answer another question: You will have the regular class time for the exam, namely one hour and fifty minutes.

cheers

 
Gary McCarron
Graduate Chair
School of Communication
Simon Fraser University
www.sfu.ca/~gmccarro
gmccarro@sfu.ca