The semiotic issues of mediation: The case of the figure of the Khadjou bridge in Isfahan[Les enjeux sémiotiques de la médiation: Le cas de la figure du pont Khadjou d'Ispahan]
Abstract
Widely exploited in different fields of study and practice in information and communication sciences and discussed in research related to the cultural world (museums, libraries, and cultural centers), the notion of mediation has not ceased to extend, despite its conceptual diversity, to other spheres of the human and social sciences. Considered as a vehicle of the process of semiosis, this notion interposes itself in the heart of the semiotic reflection as an instance in charge of passing on the meaning. This study focuses on the space of the city, its components, and the practices that take place there. It inquires how the bridge as an architectural element in the space of a city is able to function as semiotic mediator by its status, the practices that take place there, and the values that it carries. We will try to show through the study of our object, the Khadjou bridge in Isfahan, Iran, how this mediating role is implanted at the cognitive as well as at the emotional level of its citizens. © 2022 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston.