The Social Semiotics of Populism

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Dr Sebastián Moreno Barreneche (ORT University of Uruguay, Uruguay) Paul Bouissac (University of Toronto Canada)

The Social Semiotics of Populism

Dr Sebastián Moreno Barreneche (ORT University of Uruguay, Uruguay), Paul Bouissac (University of Toronto Canada)

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English

Bloomsbury Academic
22 August 2024

Sociolinguistics; Semantics; Semiotics & semiology; Political ideologies; Nationalism

Series: Bloomsbury Advances in Semiotics

The concept of ‘populism’ is currently used by scholars, the media and political actors to refer to multiple and disparate manifestations and phenomena from across both the left and the right ends of the political spectrum. As a result, it defies neat definition, as scholarship on the topic has shown over the last 50 years. In this book, Sebastián Moreno Barreneche approaches populism from a semiotic perspective and argues that it constitutes a specific social discourse grounded on a distinctive narrative structure that is brought to life by political actors that are labelled ‘populist’.

Conceiving of populism as a mode of semiotic production that is based on a conception of the social space as divided into two groups, ‘the People’ and ‘the Other’, this book uses semiotic theory to make sense of this political phenomenon. Exploring how the categories of ‘the People’ and ‘the Other’ are discursively constructed by populist political actors through the use of semiotic resources, the ways in which meaning emerges through the oppositions between imagined collective actors is explained.

Drawing on examples from Europe, North America and South America, The Social Semiotics of Populism presents a systematic semiotic approach to this multifaceted political concept and bridges semiotic theory and populism studies in an original manner.

By: Dr Sebastián Moreno Barreneche (ORT University of Uruguay Uruguay)
Edited by: Paul Bouissac (University of Toronto Canada)
Imprint: Bloomsbury Academic
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 234mm, Width: 156mm, Spine: 25mm
Weight: 454g
ISBN: 9781350205437
ISBN 10: 1350205435
Series: Bloomsbury Advances in Semiotics
Pages: 224
Publication Date: 22 August 2024
Audience: College/higher education , Primary
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Forthcoming

1. The Populist Moment 2. What is Populism? 3. Social Semiotics and the Study of ‘Meaning in Action’ 4. Politics as a ‘Contest over Meaning’ 5. ‘The People’ and its Other(s) 6. The Populist Leader 7. Right-Wing Populism 8. Left-Wing Populism Conclusion References Index

Sebastián Moreno Barreneche is Associate Lecturer at the Faculty of Management and Social Sciences of Universidad ORT Uruguay, Uruguay, and an active researcher of Uruguay’s National Research System (SNI).

Reviews for The Social Semiotics of Populism

"""The book provides an innovative approach to the study of populism, mixing social semiotics with political science and discourse analysis. It is the first book adopting a solid semiotic framework to explain the narrative and discursive basis of populist styles of communication."" --Francesco Mazzucchelli, University of Bologna, Italy ""Moreno Barreneche's book tackles populism in a clear, direct and rigorous way. It shows not only what populism is, but also, and more importantly, how it works. Bringing together semiotics and political science, Moreno Barreneche sheds light on a complex and everchanging phenomenon."" --Paolo Demuru, Paulista University, Brazil"