Semiotics

Summary of "Making Sense of Making Meaning, the Semiotic Way: Emotional Journey of a Novice Learner" (Bawa, 2017)https://nsuworks.nova.edu/tqr/vol22/iss1/5/

1. Semiotics and Umwelt:

   • Semiotics explores ideas, emotions, and perceptions in a universal context.

   • Umwelt refers to the subjective universe created by an organism through repeated interactions with its environment.

2. Cognitive and Emotional Reactions:

   • Individual learners have cognitive and emotional reactions creating umwelts.

   • The brain functions akin to a computer, analyzing signals to make sense of the world, with the amygdala playing a significant role.

3. Experimental Ethnography and Autoethnography:

   • Experimental ethnography emphasizes emic constructs, while autoethnography allows understanding cultural experiences.

   • The author combines autoethnography and ethnography to explore internal and external surroundings.

4. Discoveries and Knowledge Systems:

   • Discoveries occur through reflection and introspection, and findings result from deeper investigation.

   • Peirce's doctrine of continuity suggests the universe exists as a continuous whole.

5. Umwelt as Meaning Bubble:

   • Umwelt is a latticework of ontological relations organizing the environment based on inhabitants' needs and desires.

6. Curiosity and Learning Motivation:

   • Curiosity motivates learning, with interest induction (I-type) and deprivation elimination (D-type) curiosity.

   • Fulfillment, linked to curiosity, is a natural outcome and a key motivator for learning.

7. Semiotics and Unstructured Teaching:

   • Semiotics cannot be taught linearly; it requires an unstructured approach.

   • Bawa's life experiences, self-analysis, and cultural aspects influence his understanding.

8. Culture and Emotional Parameters:

   • Culture, learned through social interactions, inspires powerful emotions and affects learning.

   • Emotional parameters of culture include the moral circle encompassing pride, happiness, shame, etc.

9. Hope Theory:

   • Hope theory suggests carrying personal struggles and maintaining hope contributes to empathy and motivation.

   • Agentic thinking, confidence in selecting and staying on a goal-oriented path, is crucial, especially for novice learners.

10. Backfire Effect:

    • The backfire effect indicates resistance to changing opinions despite new knowledge.