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Article published In: Linguistic Landscape
Vol. 12:1 (2026) ► pp.82–106

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The semiotics of Maginhawa Community Pantry

A prefigurative landscape of radical care in a time of crisis

ORCiD logo with link | University of the Philippines Diliman
Published online: 8 July 2025
DOI logo with link
https://doi.org/10.1075/ll.24062.bus
Abstract
This paper responds to the call for more Linguistic Landscape research that engages with prefigurative politics. Using Maginhawa Community Pantry (MCP) as a case study, the paper explores how this social movement emerges as a semiotic landscape of radical care in a time of crisis. The analysis is twofold. First, I examine the pantry’s material objects, linguistic signs, and spatial arrangements to make visible the semiotic enactments of care. Second, I argue that these acts of care are neither moral sentiments nor romantic dispositions but radical responses to the pandemic. This radical care, I propose, defines and characterizes the prefigurative politics of MCP. Overall, the study de-romanticizes the affect of care, revealing its political dimension and its capacity to carve out an alternative social arrangement amid precarious times.
Abstrak
Tumutugon ang papel na ito sa panawagan para sa mas marami pang pananaliksik sa larangan ng linguistic at semiotic landscape (LL/SL) na nakikisangkot sa prefigurative politics. Gamit ang Maginhawa Community Pantry (MCP) bilang isang case study, sinusuri ng papel kung paanong lumilitaw ang kilusang panlipunang ito bilang isang semiyotikong tanawin ng radikal na kalinga sa gitna ng krisis. Dalawang bahagi ang pagsusuri. Una, tinitingnan ko ang materyal na bagay, lingguwistikong senyas, at espasyal na ayos ng pantry upang ipakita ang semiyotikong pagsasagawa ng kalinga. Pangalawa, ipinapalagay ko na ang gawaing ito ng kalinga ay hindi lamang moral na sentimyento o romantikong disposisyon, kundi radikal na pagtugon sa pandemya. Ang radikal na kalingang ito ang nagbibigay-hugis sa prefigurative politics ng MCP. Sa kabuuan, inilalayo ng pag-aaral na ito ang kalinga mula sa romantisadong pagtingin dito bilang isang damdamin, at inilalahad ang politikal nitong dimensyon at kakayahan nitong humubog ng alternatibong kaayusang panlipunan sa panahon ng ligalig.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Community pantry movement, crisis landscapes, and prefigurative politics
  • 3.Multimodality and affect
  • 4.Data and methods
  • 5.Semiotic analysis of Maginhawa Community Pantry
    • 5.1The bamboo cart, cardboard signage, and ‘relief goods’
    • 5.2The pantry’s name and slogan
    • 5.3Street emplacement
  • 6.Affective landscape of radical care
  • 7.Conclusion
  • Acknowledgements
  • References
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