A post-colonial study, using semiotics, on classic book covers edited in Brazil and the United States

Abstract

The control exercised by the countries of the Global North over the colonized nations is reflected in the cultural and ideological contexts of these societies. One of these reflections is found in classic book covers, which are the object of this research that analyzes how the Global North and Global South are represented in the graphic design of Brazilian and American classic book covers edited in Brazil and the United States. A semiotic analysis of the content and the expression plans was performed on 304 book covers, based on the theory formulated by Jean-Marie Floch. Within the set of works analyzed, we sought to verify the existence of geopolitical elements in the graphic design of book covers, at what level American symbols are reinforced on the covers edited in Brazil, and how the Brazilian symbols appear on the covers edited in the United States. Edward Said’s theory of Orientalism was used as the basis for this verification, and it was observed that Brazilian titles, when published in the United States, are loaded with stereotypes created by the West, while American books, when published in Brazil, reflect the same representations found on the covers of that country.

Keywords:
Postcolonialism; Orientalism; Book cover; Geopolitical elements; Semiotics