Category: New American Studies

Consumer Culture and Naming the Animals, by Alan N. Shapiro

In his famous essay “Myth Today,” published in 1957, Roland Barthes added a second dimension to the semiotic analysis of Ferdinand de Saussure, to the insight of the Swiss linguist that language is a social institution. Barthes added a social theory of culture to the social theory of language.

April 14, 2010
The Revolution will not be Televised, it will be led by Radical Software

Laura Mitchell interviews Alan N. Shapiro Do you play video games? A little, not so much. There’s a blackjack machine that I play a lot, in an offtrack betting parlor where a bunch of semi-addicted male gamblers hang out. I never lose more than 5 Euros at a time, and sometimes I win.

April 13, 2010

Consumer Culture and Naming the Animals, by Alan N. Shapiro