Doing citizen sociosemiotics in the Covid-19 pandemic

Abstract

In May 2020, in the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, we set up the transmedia space PanMeMic, and involved our social networks, in a snowball fashion, to exchange observations and reflections on the changes in communication and social interactions ensuing from the restrictions imposed. We adopted a citizen approach towards co-constructing knowledge about semiotic practices, by integrating tenets of social semiotics, ethnography and citizen sociolinguistics. The article reports on the activities and discusses the potentials and limitations of the approach through analysis of the posts and discussions that took place in the PanMeMic Facebook group. It shows results quantitatively and then zooms in to offer a qualitative analysis of one discussion thread, with the aim of illustrating the potential and limitations of PanMeMic as a platform for citizen semiotic research and providing indications for future socially engaged and engaging research.