Structuralism is the theory that human culture is understood through its interrelations within a larger system, emphasizing a hierarchical structure. Post-structuralism emerged as a critique of structuralism, highlighting the instability of human sciences and rejecting the self-sufficiency of defined structures. The movement is often connected to postmodernism, which shares similar themes of skepticism and interpretation in various fields, including media.

1. Structuralism and Post-
Structuralism

2. Structuralism
Structuralism is the theory that fundamentals of human
culture have to be understood in terms of their
relationship to a larger system or structure.
Simon Blackburn summarised that structuralism is “the
belief that phenomena of human life are not intelligible
except through their interrelations. These relations
could constitute a structure, and behind local variations
in the surface culture, there are constant laws of
abstract culture.” This essentially means that human
life is based around interrelations, which creates a
structure. This structure is often one of hierarchy which
is a system that has been present for many years.

3. Structuralism Summary
Structuralism was developed in Europe in the
mid to late 20th century. In basic terms, it
argued that human culture may be understood
by a means of structure, such as language,
which can be referred to as structural
linguistics.

4. Post - Structuralism
Post – structuralism was formulated by American
academics, but was based on the varied works of
French philosophers who became known in the 1960s
and 70s, such as Claude Levi-Strausse, Michel Foucalt,
Ferdinand de Saussre and Jacques Lacan. Its main
theme is the instability in the human sciences, and it is
essentially a response to structuralism.
Post – structuralist authors all present different
critiques of structuralism, but similarities between
them include the rejection of the self-sufficiency of the
structures defining structuralism, and the
questioningof the binary opposites that constitute
those structures.

5. Post–Structuralism with
Postmodernism
The movement of post – structuralism is closely
related to postmodernism, which is a late 20th
century movement in the arts, architecture and
philosophy, amongst other things, that was the
departure from modernism. Postmodernism
includes sceptical interpretations of all of these
things. The reason why it is associated with post–
structuralism is because its usage as a term
gained significant popularity at the same time as
twentieth century post-structural thought.

6. Structuralism in Media
Structuralism is key in understanding different
forms of media, as it characterises our way of
life, and particularly how we communicate. Its
purpose in media is to help us understand how
signs work because signs follow a structure
which determines the way we understand.