A Barthesian Demythologization of a Colonial Painting

Authors

  • Peter Gonsalves Faculty of the Sciences of Social Communication Salesian University, Rome

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.37693/pjos.2015.6.15294

Abstract

In the year marking the birth centenary of the renowned semiotician Ronald Barthes, the article investigates a painting that was commissioned by the members of the British East India Company and installed in the central hall of their office in London. After establishing its historical context, the text employs Barthesian theory to unravel the cultural, symbolical and hermeneutical myths underpinning the ideology that sustained and promoted the colonial enterprise for more than a century.

Author Biography

Peter Gonsalves, Faculty of the Sciences of Social Communication Salesian University, Rome

Early this year, Peter Gonsalves published the last volume of his Gandhian trilogy entitled, Gandhi and the Popes, From Pius XI to Francis (Peter Lang, 2015). His two previous works are Clothing for Liberation, A Communication Analysis of Gandhi’s Swadesh Revolution (Sage, 2010) and Khadi, Gandhi’s Mega Symbol of Subversion (Sage, 2012). He teaches Media Education, Peace Communication, is in charge of the Doctoral Program and is Dean of the Faculty of the Sciences of Social Communication, at Salesian University, Rome.

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Published

2015-12-22

How to Cite

Gonsalves, P. (2015). A Barthesian Demythologization of a Colonial Painting. Public Journal of Semiotics, 6(2), 43–58. https://doi.org/10.37693/pjos.2015.6.15294

Issue

Vol. 6 No. 2 (2015)

Section

Articles