Abstract
Media materiality studies seek to identify a middle path that accommodates both materiality and meaning, and semiotic materiality theory offers important theoretical resources for this endeavor from a semiotic perspective. Semiotic materiality theory originated in the work of Charles Sanders Peirce and in the Bakhtin circle's emphasis on the material properties of signs. It was later further developed within Marxist semiotics and social semiotics, through which it acquired a theoretical orientation grounded in Marxist materialism and social critique. The correspondence between semiotic materiality theory and media materiality studies lies in their comprehensive understanding of the relationship among signs, materiality and society. Specifically, both frameworks maintain that the relationship between materiality and meaning is manifested through their mutual mediation, a process through which human and social interpreters emerge. At the same time, the sign itself should be understood as a material entity that embodies and mediates social reality.
Keywords
semiotic materiality, media materiality, semiotic theory, media theory
First Page
132
Last Page
141
Recommended Citation
Guo, Xudong. 2026. "The Middle Path to Materiality: Exploring the Origins of Semiotic Materiality Theory." Theoretical Studies in Literature and Art 46, (1): pp.132-141. https://tsla.researchcommons.org/journal/vol46/iss1/13
