STRUCTURALISM: THE SAUSSUREAN HERITAGE

New ideas often ignite confused and anti-intellectual reactions and it was true of the reaction which was shown to the theory of structuralism. Structuralism is best thought of as an approach or method rather than as a clearly defined discipline. It is the name that is given to a wide range of discourses that study underlying structures of signification. Signification occurs wherever there is a meaningful event or in the practice of some meaningful action. It looks at the relationships between the various elements within the self-contained, well-organized structure of a text in order to the ways by which the text produces meaning. Since it believes that meaning is the effect of the coming together of elements.