The Work of Representation
The Work of Representation
Stuart Hall
Summarize by Jesse Tseng
1 Representation, meaning and language
At first we have to know that：
Representation is an essential part of the process by which meaning is produced and exchanged between members of a culture. It does involve the use of language, of signs and images which stand for or represent things. And surly it is not a simple or straightforward process.
How this article exploring the concept of representation connect meaning and language to culture？
We will be drawing a distinction between three different account or theories：the reflective, the intentional and the constructionist approaches to representation. Most of this text will be exploring the constructionist approach with two major variants or models of the constructionist approach, the semiotic approach- Ferdinand de Saussure and the discursive approach- Michel Foucault. But we have to answer the question first：what does the word representation really mean？
1.1 Making meaning, Representing things
Representation is the production of the meaning of the concepts in our minds through language.
There are two processes, two systems of representation. First, there is the system by which all sort of objects, people and events are correlated with a set of concepts or mental representations which we carry around in our heads.（like chair, table） Second, Language is therefore the second system of representation. (When we say we belong to the same culture, it is because we interpret the world in similar ways. That’s why culture is sometimes defined in terms of shared meaning or shared conceptual maps. However we must also able to represent or exchange meanings and concepts.) The relation between things, concepts and signs lies at the heart of the production of meaning in language. The process which links these three elements together is what we call Representation.
1.2 Language and Representation
As people who belong to same culture must share a broadly
Stuart Hall
Summarize by Jesse Tseng
1 Representation, meaning and language
At first we have to know that：
Representation is an essential part of the process by which meaning is produced and exchanged between members of a culture. It does involve the use of language, of signs and images which stand for or represent things. And surly it is not a simple or straightforward process.
How this article exploring the concept of representation connect meaning and language to culture？
We will be drawing a distinction between three different account or theories：the reflective, the intentional and the constructionist approaches to representation. Most of this text will be exploring the constructionist approach with two major variants or models of the constructionist approach, the semiotic approach- Ferdinand de Saussure and the discursive approach- Michel Foucault. But we have to answer the question first：what does the word representation really mean？
1.1 Making meaning, Representing things
Representation is the production of the meaning of the concepts in our minds through language.
There are two processes, two systems of representation. First, there is the system by which all sort of objects, people and events are correlated with a set of concepts or mental representations which we carry around in our heads.（like chair, table） Second, Language is therefore the second system of representation. (When we say we belong to the same culture, it is because we interpret the world in similar ways. That’s why culture is sometimes defined in terms of shared meaning or shared conceptual maps. However we must also able to represent or exchange meanings and concepts.) The relation between things, concepts and signs lies at the heart of the production of meaning in language. The process which links these three elements together is what we call Representation.
1.2 Language and Representation
As people who belong to same culture must share a broadly