Structuralism Summary

Structuralism summary
The 20th century witnessed the emerging of new ideas and theories in all majors of studies. At the
same time, many theories and thoughts have developed in literary studies. Among of these theories
is structuralism.
Structuralism is a collection of notes and lectures of Ferdinand De Saussure which collected by his
students then it has become a theory. Formulating Structuralism was urgent in a time that the
criticism was in a chaos, subjective and unorganized ideas.
Saussure assumes that language should not be studied as words ,it should be studied as a system
with a differentiating between speech(parol) as he called it and (langua) language
For structuralist language is the appropriate object to study and speech only reveals it. Language is
not only a system of organized words it is also a human perception on things for example ( table ) we
perceive it as it is because we are used to this
According to structuralists human perceive things in a binary oppositions like male and female. But
according to Saussure words are not simply refer to an object. A signifier is a “sound-image” (a
mental imprint of a linguistic sound); the signified is the concept to which the signifier refers. Thus, a
word is not merely a sound-image (signifier), nor is it merely a concept (signified). A sound image
becomes a word only when it is linked with a concept.
Saussure’s points of view that the language is a matter of sign through it the signifier (word image)
and signified (content) have emerged. The relationship between the signifier and signified is
arbitrary,
At its simplest, structuralism believed that the nature of every entity in any given situation has no
meaning by itself, and it becomes meaningful when it involved with other elements in the
situation ,The full significance of any entity cannot be perceived unless and until it constitutes a part.
any activity takes place within a system of differences and has meaning only in its relation to other
possible activities within that system, not to some meaning that emanates from nature or the divine.
Structuralism has become more interesting because of its study about speaking of signs practices
where the meaning is the product of structure which available at the outside of human agents2. This
two studies has the opposite ideas in studying language, which traditional linguistic see that
language is analysed based on the philosophy and semantics meanwhile modern linguistic analyzed
based on the structure or formal characteristic of the language itself
Crystal said in his dictionary that structuralism is a term used in linguistics referring to any approach
to the analysis that pays explicit aention to the way in which linguistic features can be described in
terms of structures and systems
Structuralism does, have a more restricted definition, referring to the Bloomfieldian emphasis on the
processes of segmenting and classifying the physical features of u erance7.
Jean Piaget argues that structure can be observed in an arrangement of entities which embodies the
following fundamental ideas: a. The Idea of Wholeness b. The Idea of Transformation c. The Idea of
self-Regulation.
Ferdinand de Saussure said at his book Course in General Linguistics: “A language is a system in
which all the elements fit together, and which the value of any one element depends on the
simultaneous coexistence of all the others8”
Sanders said that the Course was interpreted as blueprint for describing how the structures of our
social and cultural life are constituted, and the way in which once constituted they function as a
system of signs9.
Ferdinand de Saussure is the first person who formulates the way to analyze the language
systematically which also can be used to analyze signs system. He said that language is a system of
signs to express the idea then can be compared with the wri!en record, symbolic ceremony, manner,
etc. Structuralism analyzes how a person thinks from the concept until the appearance of signs and
makes the form a language system.
Post structuralism summary

The term "poststructuralism" refers to a critical movment that emerged during the seventies which has reshaped
structuralism as the common trend in language and textual theory. In order to understand post-structuralism, we
need to examine it in relation to structuralism which states that …Every word/idea considers
meaningful from its relationship to other words/ideas. This interrelated relationship creates
a stable, structure that can be recognnized as a whole.
Derrida (1978, 278) deals with the idea of "structurality of structure". Relying on Claude Lévi-Strauss as a
representative of structuralist theory, Derrida dis agreed on oppositions nature/culture and universal/prescriptive
to show that this structure can no longer accurate: "The incest prohibition is universal; in this sense one could call
it natural. But it is also a prohibition, a system of norms and interdicts; in this sense one could call it cultural"
(Derrida, 1978, 283).And he also refused structuralism, and as a result, the Saussurean project (the
signifier/signified relationship) has been reconstitute.
Ferdinand de Saussure’s concepts of sign, signifier, and signified are at the core of
Structuralism and Deconstruction. These are words Saussure used to explain how language
makes meaning out of abstract concepts.The signified is the concept or idea that a word
refers to .The signifier is the word itself. The sign is the combination of the two – the word
applied to the concept. The study of signs, and how this whole process works, is called
semiotics.
Psychoanalysis Summary
Psychoanalysis considers one of remarkable theories are used in English literature. This theory is
derived from the human’s personalities. And it’s the dynamics of personality which directs
psychoanalysis. The main objective of psychoanalysis was to show that behaviours of people which
was caused by the interaction between unconscious and un-consciousness. Psychoanalysis has been
seen as a form of treatment which aims to cure mental disorders ‘by examining the interplay process
of conscious and unconscious elements in the minds’ of human being. Psychoanalysis tries to search
inside our hidden anxieties and the motifs behind the black side of us
The theory of Psychoanalytic that is used in literature has two interpretations. Firstly, it means a
method of treating mentally patient people. Secondly, it also goes to mean the theories on the mind
of people and its complexities. The latest is in our regard.
Freud assumed that our mind consists of three areas. On the basis of his first discoveries concern the
psychology of psychoneurosis, dreams, jokes and what he called the psychopathology of everyday
life, such as slips of the tongue. The second is a system of pre-conscious and a third a system of
conscious. His ideas were first presented in ‘The interpretation of Dreams .It has often been
suggested that the foundations for these theories derived from his study of dreams. It is the mind in
which all our pleasant and unpleasant experiences are accumulated, and organized.

Structuralism Summary

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Structuralism Summary

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Description:

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Structuralism Summary

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Structuralism summary

Post structuralism summary

You might also like