Publisher's Synopsis
Studying the discursive dimension of the COVID-19 pandemic from a semiotic perspective, this book uses semiotic theory to analyse the meaning-making mechanisms and dynamics that occurred during, and revolved around, the pandemic. Demonstrating the utility of semiotic theory to make sense of discursive phenomena like those triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic, it explores in detail: · the blame-attribution discourses that emerged at the beginning of the pandemic · how the coronavirus was brought to life in plastic and visual manifestations as a monster that poses a threat to humans · how the collective actor 'the healthcare workers' was constructed in discourse and axiologised in positive terms around the globe · the semiotics of the body during the pandemic, with a focus on the face, facemasks, social distancing and the uses of the body in online videoconferences · and the idea of a 'new' normality following the pandemic. Examining in turn different dimensions of the COVID-19 pandemic, the book highlights the importance of its discursive and semiotic nature. To do so, it features examples from Europe, Latin America and the United States, including a wide range of images, texts, practices and objects.
