As I’ve mentioned before, I’m in a class called Exploring the Global City. The name of the course is pretty self-explanatory: we spend about half our time out wandering around Dublin, and the other half in a classroom analyzing what we’ve seen and experienced here. Our first big assignment for this class was an essay entitled (as you may have guessed) Semiotics & the City. (Because semiotics is the study of the sign, and the ampersand is a sign, our professor was quite insistent that we not spell out the actual word.)
Anywho, our task was simple enough: we had to include at least 8 photographs, and give a description of what they represent to us about the city. We were to pull from course readings and material, and explain what semiotics was and how it helps us decode and understand the city. This essay was very interesting to me personally because it dealt so closely with the symbolism of photography. It caused me to engage critically with the city around me, and to put a lot of thought into the frames I was creating each time my finger pressed the shudder. I worked my lil butt off on this essay, and though it’s quite long, I included the PDF for your reading pleasure. Enjoy!