Structuralism and Semiotics: WTF? Saussure, Lévi-Strauss, Barthes and Structuralism Explained

Structuralism is a form of literary theory which, inspired by semiotics and the linguistics of Ferdinand de Saussure, emerged in France in the 1950s. In this week’s episode of What the Theory?, we take a look at how structuralism and structuralist theory enable us to identify the underlying structures which inform how literature, film, performance, visual art and all other forms of cultural text are created and read.
If you’re look for semiotics and structuralism explained simply and engagingly then, hopefully, this might be the video you’re looking for!
Also, if you’d like to get your hands on a copy of the script to this video with footnotes and references to pour over to your heart’s content then check out my Patreon at [ / tomnicholas ](kzbin.info?q=ht...)
We begin by looking at genre as a form of structuralist analysis before taking a brief overview of Saussure’s notion of diachronic and synchronic linguistics and his suggestion that it is only possible to understand an individual use of language (which he calls parole) by understanding the wider linguistic system of which it is a part (something Saussure calls langue).
We then take a look at how various literary theorists including Claude Levi-Strauss, Roland Barthes, Vladimir Propp and (very briefly) Michel Foucault have taken used structuralist linguistics as a basis for literary and cultural analysis. Distinguishing between “high structuralism” and “low structuralism”, we take a look at poetics and the pursuit of a consistent narrative structure of myth as well as looking at Roland Barthes’ notion of cultural codes and cultural myths as he outlines them in his 1957 book Mythologies.
Further Reading
Structuralism and Semiotics by Terence Hawkes
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Mythologies by Roland Barthes
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Myth and Meaning: Cracking the Code of Culture by Claude Levi-Strauss
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[The above are affiliate links. I receive a small kickback from anything you buy which, in turn, helps to support the channel.]
If you’ve enjoyed this video and would like to see more including my What The Theory? series in which I provide some snappy introductions to key theories in the humanities as well as PhD vlogs in which I talk about some of the challenges of being a PhD student then do consider subscribing.
Thanks for watching!
Twitter: @Tom_Nicholas
Website: www.tomnicholas.com

[@Tom_Nicholas]

Thanks for watching all! A slightly tough topic this week but an important part of literary and cultural theory. As always, if you like my stuff, I’d super appreciate you checking out my Patreon at patreon.com/tomnicholas

[@irenesartika8222]

Is there a video you make about CDA?

[@OjoRojo40]

Great video as usual, but I'm hear to be the pedantic asshole correcting french pronunciation. "Langue" is pronounced as in "Long".

[@mE-zx7pt]

Have you read Camille Pagia's writings? What are your thoughts on her attitude towards Foucault, Lacan & post-structuralism, etc.? Thank you for your videos!

[@firstlast-cs6eg]

12:58 I would expect a cat to hiss at a vacuum cleaner. Cat's aren't fond of loud noises and vacuums are usually pretty loud. They usually just flee them, but it would make sense for a cat to hiss at one too. Comparatively it would be strange for a cat to hiss at a mouse. Cats hiss as a threat, meaning they find what they hiss at, a threat. Mice aren't usually considered threats by cats. Lion would likely be considered a threat and be hissed at. Overall I don't see any bases for this argument of how we read words. We consider the whole meaning of the sentence. For example "He chopped up some bark" One would not expect someone to be chopping bark, but it's still a innocuous statement. "He chopped up some orphans" Similar lack of expectation for this to be the ending, but obviously has a more sinister implication. If with wider context the "orphans" were chickens who's parents are dead (thus orphans) the meaning changes again.

[@OjoRojo40]

@Carlos B I have no idea why did I post that message (now that I read it again). I must have been bored to dead, because indeed it sounds pedantic and stupid. Cheers mate, take care!

[@ndfricano]

As one of my professors once said, the whole structuralist approach could be summarised in one postulate: "the complexity of reality is based upon simple structures"

[@Tom_Nicholas]

That’s an awesome way to phrase it, I wish I had the evolution to come up with turns of phrase like that!

[@butterflymoon6368]

and what did they say about poststructuralism?

[@guteksan]

@@butterflymoon6368 Simple: "The complexity of reality is based upon simple poststructures" ;)

[@drapala97]

Your channel has such a great quality! You have a proffessoral vocation, your explanations are clear, concise and dynamic. The videos are very well edited. Thank you!

[@Tom_Nicholas]

Thank you very much for saying so, that means a lot!

[@drapala97]

My pleasure!

[@DonnaSnyder]

Agreed.

[@bazingacurta2567]

Agreed. I like this guy a lot.

[@jkRatbird]

At one point in this video I got shivers, when it finally fell into place for me how Noam Chomsky’s work as a linguist connects to broader political analysis and activism. Thank you!

[@JohnMoseley]

That's a KZbin video in itself waiting to be made, maybe an essay or a book. I've never seen anyone really try to explain or explore the connection between these two strands of Chomsky's work.

[@MoveOnUpMusicEvan]

Why am I getting major deja vu from this comment lol

[@user-tp7wi4lt2b]

@@JohnMoseley I'm sure there's plenty of work on this subject already, you just have to research a bit

[@JohnMoseley]

@@user-tp7wi4lt2b Maybe, yeah.

[@SquareyCircley]

@@JohnMoseley don't agree with all of it but Chris Knight's "Decoding Chomsky" is interesting

[@laurenbutler3317]

I'm doing my MA in Sociology right now and my lecturer isn't the best at explaining theories so these are VERY helpful. Thank you so much for this!

[@TheOaktownBlogger]

Hope your lecturer doesnt see this...

[@cheikhhamel3782]

بالتوفيق لك

[@dapperman1402]

Just wanted to say how useful this was - really appreciate the effort you've put in!

[@rushingandhi6888]

The energy here is unmatched and my oh my! one of the best explanations out there. Students survive and thrive at times too because such amazing lectures exist.

[@sirlordhenrymortimer6620]

Will be eagerly waiting for you're video on post structuralism

[@Tom_Nicholas]

It’s in the works, don’t worry! Likely to add a third code to my Society of the Spectacle mini-series first but poststructuralism will be up next!

[@rimmstein]

Please, continue making these videos. Not only are they extremely useful for my studies, but also you explain things very well and make the topic even more interesting!

[@astrumsan603]

Hey Tom, thanks so much for this resource! Wanted to let you know that our high school literature teacher assigned this to us to watch when talking about literary theories! I was really surprised but I’m glad that your channel is reaching so many people :)

[@hontaiwangshu1289]

I wish we had you as our college professor. You're really good at explaining complicated concepts effectively. Thank you.

[@JudymayMurphy]

I’m thrilled to have discovered your channel, Tom. Keep up the stellar work! Jmx

[@jacksonkerbs3426]

Hey Tom, would you ever be interested in doing an introduction to Deleuze and Guattari?

[@mateaYertle8]

Bless you for doing this. I have an exam tomorrow and I've just discovered your videos. You describe all of this better than my assigned literature in my native language. Thank you for giving me a chance to pass this class.

[@Tomsdrawings]

Did you pass buddy?

[@LeonCouch]

Excellent summary. I learned these things prior to the internet's popularity and its numerous resources. That is, I read the original texts you cited, and it was hardgoing, because all of this was/is outside my field of study. I appreciate how you summed up everthing in an easily-understood and engaging way.

[@jamesferry1523]

Hi Tom, I feel the need to point out, whenever you use the word "infer," it seems that you mean "imply." Simply put, the text doesn't "infer" anything--we do that. The text only "implies." Same with people. The speaker, producer (or writer of the text) implies, while the listener, recipient, etc., infers. It's a very common error, but fyi.

[@nazilik1786]

This video was EXTREMELY helpful for me to understand and make a presentation about the topic. Thank you so much, I really appreciate the effort you put in.

[@jasonmontoyajr.9197]

Just stumbled upon this video while working on my final. I think that this is easily one of the best informative/teaching type videos ive ever seen. Just as the top comment says, this is a great video. You make great connections which are concise and applicable and this really helped me make some big connections. :) thank you

[@MRoy-lj1hh]

Thank you so much for your lucid and thorough presentations. They really help me in my work. Keep going!

[@JohannaTougu]

Thank you! Im a semiotics and culture theory student from Estonia and this helped me a lot when i started :)

[@Tom_Nicholas]

Really glad to hear it was helpful!

[@singingcatfishagain]

Fascinating! These are theories I'll have to delve deeper into. Thank you for the introduction.

[@breeglasbergen1982]

Tom, this is so easy to digest. Thank you. My textbook on lit theory and my lecturer went on too many tangents for me to grasp the concept well. I really appreciate this video.

[@beyzagokterim8476]

Thank you so much for your videos, Tom. They have helped immensely for my studies of Literary Criticism.

[@hendricka3029]

Thanks for that video ! That is one excellent summary of the ideas of structuralism which gives a nice overview of the subject matter and its key thinkers.

[@Jacob-hk6to]

amazingly thorough, thank you!

[@idaercool]

Thank you for this explanaton! I was really confused from what I read in my textbook but after watching this video, it all now makes great sense

[@frvn6756]

Man. Thanks for this video, it's been super instructive. Well done

[@LaVidaDeSol]

Your content is helping me SO INCREDIBLY MUCH in my first year of cultural studies. I really appreciate the way you present these theories, makes it quite easy to grasp :)

[@aditipatil1447]

Very well explained! Keep up the good work :)

[@osmankaandemirbas1109]

This has helped me a lot.Thanks Mr.Nicholas

[@Mjolkmaestro]

Damn, I appreciate your channel so much!

[@Maria-ieiri-sho]

Very, very useful!! 👏 Waiting for the next one.

[@Tom_Nicholas]

Really glad to hear it!

[@shashankisshere]

totally in love with this channel!!!

[@yaqian7435]

Thanks for sharing! After having lessons on Levi-Strauss and Totemism, haven't really got the idea of what structuralism means. This video helps me understand it better.

[@samiraaboutaleb7662]

THANK YOU !!!! I have been struggeling with this for so long !!

[@Tom_Nicholas]

No worries, glad I was able to help in some way!

[@kseniatuominen7825]

Thank you! It is so well explained!

[@Crocodonkey]

Awesome presenting of the idea🙏

[@stephanielmt]

Tom, I love your channel. Thank you for it. I would love it if you did a video on dyadic pairs within structuralism.

[@albafajula]

I loved this one, it's been fascinating

[@Tom_Nicholas]

Thanks! So glad to hear that. Was slightly worried that I’d returned to the linguistics stuff a bit too often!

[@BizRasam]

Yo Tom, much appreciated. Cheers.

[@ahmedelakrab]

Really great content. I wish you all the best :)

[@antkcuck]

Fantastic this was the clearest resource on the matter I could find

[@chrisgomez8811]

now I want to research the history of Structalism in Psych it frustrates me to no end that literally none of my professors up until this point have mentioned that structalism was a literary theory because they seem to go really hand in hand Love your videos, especially this one! Combing through your catalog (since I've only recently found your channel) has been a blast

[@zizismiles7973]

Your intro style reminds me of CBBC and I'm very much here for it P.s. appreciate what you do. Thank you!

[@arpanchatterjee2559]

Read structuralism from Peter Barry, then watched this video and read Barry again. Felt like an altogether different text. Thanks for these videos, Tom.

[@crisellysdelacruz1482]

Thank you so much for this! Extremely helpful

[@Litagora]

Discovered this channel recently, find your explanation of complex ideas very accessible, think this [apart from other things] makes your videos distinct, please, keep up the good work and videos coming.

[@Tom_Nicholas]

Thank you, really appreciate you saying so!

[@b1g_m00n]

I really like your work!!

[@inesslt367]

thank you so much, this video was so helpful and it can allow to deepen my study on structuralism.

[@aurelia160]

Thank you for the clear explanation! It was very helpful!

[@Mlk-Al-Halabi]

Thanks man ! Great video

[@sourourbenticha8493]

I'm seeing this for my Critical Theories exam tomorrow.. You're a life savior, thank you! 😄

[@AhsanKhan-rb6mh]

well done. Really a great help

[@TheVip113]

I subscribed. Thank you so much! You saved my life!!!

[@udbhavseth799]

gosh, the animal/mineral/vegetable example was fantastic. so intuitive

[@mariyumabid7330]

I have a midterm tomorrow and this really helped me. thanks man

[@ivyghosh6779]

Hey Tom, thank you so much for this video. This is really very helpful for a student like me we have developed love in semiotics just a few days back and want to explore more and more in this field. Thank you ❤️

[@cheikhhamel3782]

بالتوفيق لك

[@sabgerland5298]

Very nice explanation!

[@domsusefulstuff]

Love your videos so much! You’re switching infer and imply, wanted to let you know.

[@austincolucci8303]

amazing content. Thank u so much

[@annecasis1185]

Thank you sir for a comprehensive explanation of Structuralism.

[@emis7272]

Thank you! Most helpful❤️

[@I-mw7fs]

I love your videos! thank you!

[@njm2699]

19:10 and this is a very important concept of Manufacturing Consent :)

[@rafacrisil]

Fascinating, thank you!

[@matt_cummins28]

More video excellent-ness. Cheers. Keep it up. Love your enthusiasm.

[@Tom_Nicholas]

Thanks, glad you liked!

[@useralina]

I'm studying linguistics at the university and we've been talking about Saussure for a month at every single class, starting with our professor saying that He's now our father, mother and lover at the same time. randomly seeing his name again on a youtube video was so weird anyway, great vid! I deeply enjoy your work

[@TeacherAizDumuk]

Thank you for this informative vid.

[@rashijain6319]

I finally made it through this video😭. It took me a long time to fully absorb this but thank u so much for making this.

[@nonsinesole]

I love your videos, super accessible I started watching them under a year ago and go back and forth in the books and the authors you mention You are definately one of my top references/resources on the net Thanks and peace from Montréal

[@Tom_Nicholas]

Thank you, I'm so glad you've found some of what I make useful!

[@Naralux]

Wonderful video, thanks!

[@Tom_Nicholas]

Cheers Ash, hope you enjoyed!

[@jasonstevens3892]

Very digestible, thank you

[@AlejandroMadrid-tn1gp]

Good job!

[@elleiazzam9665]

love your videos and your infos, thank you for that. I must ask what did you study in uni ?

[@francisconolasco8386]

Brilliant Job. When you speak about myths it would be really interesting to mention René Girard, even though he's on a category of its own.

[@JE-ee7cd]

Awesome video BTW. 😃

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I fancy this. Clear and random 😁👍🏾

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You are a life saver!!

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I learned a bunch of this at design college. I have never used it much as a web developer but it was kinda interesting from what I remember of it.

[@lynn4994]

this is great. thanks

[@saras.9698]

My history professor has been discussing Saussure in class but it was mostly incoherent to me. You are much better at explaining stuff. Thank you!

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your videos help me a lot. I would do anything to get to know your channel earlier.

[@LukePalmer]

I appreciate that when you depicted Perseus at 8:43 you included the wang

[@louploup]

I've studied cultural studies for both my BA and MA and now started a phd in STS/history of science. It's shocking how much you forget if you're not actively using these things regularly. Really great videos! They help me refreshing my knowledge on key concepts in an accessible way when I can't bare reading another text. But one thing....why on earth would a cat hiss at a mouse?? ;)

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[@prof.joanaalmeida2074]

You are the best university in the world. Thank you so much !

[@aleksandrahigson8631]

Movie mistake: the cat purred at the mouse. A great addition to my anthropology notes :)

[@debx3330]

thank you again 💕

[@kituyipeninahloyce841]

you are a very intelligent scholar. thanks for the explanation

[@idapida14]

Awesome work! Could you do a video on Social Acceleration according to Hartmut Rosa's theory? Thank you :)

[@felipe2712]

Excellent video. You could have as well added a mention to the works of Greimas and the discoursive (or french) semiotics. Accordinng to François Dosse "semiotics is to linguistics as algebra is to mathematics". Greimas' main work Structural Semantics is focused on how beyond the threshold of the phrase (considered the linguistic unit by Saussure), the text, or discourse also has an underlying structure. His concept of generative course of meaning is central to many works in literary and visual arts analysis. I myself wrote a paper analyzing a computer game, just as might a poem, a tale or a ballet.

[@mansouralmaswari5981]

It s so fruitful academic feast. Thanx indeed

[@TomSmith-hu9eh]

great stuff

[@fartycj7289]

You're a good man. Thank you

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You are amazing!!!

[@johnmiguelking]

YOU ARE AWESOME!

[@HWalla23]

yAaaaaasss, one of these days I'll feel prepared enough to approach Course In General Linguistics

[@Tom_Nicholas]

Haha, I’ve thought about reading it in full occasionally but never have. From the sections I’ve delved into, it’s not that it’s particularly obtusely-written, just that it goes into so much detail that, if you’re not a linguist with a specific interest in the things Saussure talks about, it’s possibly not worth the time.

[@HWalla23]

@@Tom_Nicholas I don't know, my time is basically worthless -- I've just spent the summer plowing through the Standard Edition for no reason.

[@scarlett6252]

Thank you very muuuuuuuuch! :D