• AFST 309: Adv Sem in Lang Lit and Arts

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African Studies Graduate School

Annex III, 4th & College Streets, NW Washington, DC 20059

Phone Number

(202) 238-2327

Email Address

[email protected]

Theoretical Framework

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1997+

Representation: Cultural Representations and Signifying Practices
THE WORK OF REPRESENTATION

stuart hall

Construction and Circulation of Meaning
Hall’s encoding/decoding model (1980) provides a critical framework for analyzing the representation of queer African identities across film, photography, and social media. The framework accounts for power relations, institutional constraints, and interpretive processes, and highlights the structures that shape representational practices. Media messages unfold as social processes where meaning is negotiated between producers and audiences, each embedded in particular cultural contexts and social positions. The influence of dominant ideologies on message construction makes this framework especially relevant for examining the historical marginalization and misrepresentation of queer African subjects in visual media. Hall outlines four stages in the circulation of meaning: production (encoding), circulation, consumption (decoding), and reproduction (Hall 1997).

ENCODING

The process begins with encoding, where media producers create their messages and incorporate meanings into them. These meanings reflect the producers’ intentions, cultural backgrounds, and institutional resources, as well as prevailing social ideologies. During this stage, messages are constructed in the form of language, using recognizable codes (linguistic, visual, and cultural) to formulate an idea or event into a significant discourse. However, the encoded message is not always received as intended (Hall 1997).

circulation

Circulation refers to the movement and transformation of encoded meanings as they travel through various channels, including TV broadcasts, newspapers, film screenings, and online platforms. Once media enters new contexts and reaches different audiences, it accumulates additional interpretations unique to the platforms and environments where it appears. The material form of a message depends on its channel. At this point, the message becomes partially detached from its producer and open to diverse public readings (Hall 1997).

decoding

Decoding is the process in which audiences interpret the encoded message, drawing on their own “frameworks of knowledge” (Hall 1997), cultural backgrounds, and life experiences. This process is subjective; each viewer relies on their social context and beliefs to make sense of media messages. The effectiveness of communication depends on the relationship between audience and content, as meaning is completed only through interpretation by diverse individuals and groups (Hall 1997).
DIFFERENT ways audiences interpret media or messages

decoding readings

DOMINANT-HEGEMONIC

The dominant (hegemonic) position describes an audience response in which the viewer fully accepts and shares the preferred meaning encoded within a media message. From this standpoint, individuals interpret the content as intended by its producers, adopting prevailing values, assumptions, and perspectives within the text. The dominant reading aligns closely with mainstream ideologies and affirms the authority of those who produce and circulate media representations.

NEGOTIATED

The negotiated position describes an audience response in which viewers acknowledge the preferred meaning embedded in a media message but do not accept it entirely. Instead, they agree with some aspects while questioning or adapting others according to their own experiences and values. This reading involves compromise, allowing individuals to reinterpret content so it aligns more closely with their particular social circumstances.

OPPOSITIONAL

The oppositional position occurs when the audience recognizes the preferred meaning in a media message but choose not to accept it. Viewers bring their own beliefs and lived experiences to their interpretation, often pointing out flaws or inconsistencies in what is presented. In this way, they challenge the assumptions behind the message and use their perspective to question, critique, or resist the ideas being communicated.