A Semiotic Approach to Russian Military Map Symbology
A SEMIOTIC APPROACH TO RUSSIAN MILITARY MAP SYMBOLOGY AND TERMS A DISSERTATION IN Geosciences and Social Sciences Consortium Presented to the Faculty of the University of Missouri-Kansas City in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY by CHARLES KELLY BARTLES B.A., University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2000 M.A., University of Kansas, 2004 Kansas City, Missouri 2021 i © 2021 CHARLES KELLY BARTLES ALL RIGHTS RESERVED ii A SEMIOTIC APPROACH TO RUSSIAN MILITARY MAP SYMBOLOGY AND TERMS Charles Kelly Bartles, Candidate for the Doctor of Philosophy Degree University of Missouri-Kansas City, 2021 ABSTRACT Modern Russian military maps may comprise any combination of over 1,000 map symbols and 3,000 Russian terms. These symbols and terms identify tangible aspects such as locations, unit/equipment type, numbers, etc., but some symbols, and groupings of symbols, can also denote more subjective aspects such as movement over time, types of maneuvers, relationship to the surrounding environment and other activities or conditions. Due to very different military organizational systems, doctrinal semantic stylization, and broader cultural tendencies, those unfamiliar with Russian maps can misinterpret the intended meaning of these symbols and terms. Attempting to accurately interpret and organize Russian map symbology and terms raise questions about cognition and the basic processes of how humans interpret information. A potential pathway to answering these questions is through the application of semiotics— the study of signs and the process through which they produce meaning. This study has leveraged the works of the pioneering theorists of semiotics, Charles Sanders Peirce and Ferdinand de Saussure, and their successors in the relatively new field of cartosemiotics—the use of semiotic methodologies to create, understand and apply cartographic representations.
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