Signs: An Introduction to Semiotics (Toronto Studies in Semiotics and Communication) - Softcover

Sebeok, Thomas

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0802084729 ISBN 13: 9780802084729

Publisher: University of Toronto Press, 2001

Synopsis

The interpretive science of semiotics offers powerful analytical tools for the application of many disciplines to the study of perception. Semiotics is the study of signs, and as such, is of relevance to a wide spectrum of scholars and professionals, including social scientists, psychologists, artists, graphic designers, and students of literature. Semiosis - the production and interpretation of linguistic and visual signs - is innate to human beings of all societies. From the simplest of hand gestures to the most complex diagrams and charts, the sign is key to the communication of ideas. Thomas A. Sebeok examines, in an engaging, readable style, how the sign mediates between bodily experience and abstract thought.

This updated second edition of Signs combines some of Sebeok's most important essays with a new general introduction, introductory passages at the outset of each chapter, a glossary, and brief biographies of the major semioticians. From an overview of the discipline to a more detailed exploration of sign categories, the author powerfully demonstrates the co-dependency of verbal and non-verbal communication.

Aimed primarily at undergraduate and graduate students, this engaging book also has plenty to offer any general reader who is interested in exploring and analyzing the complex sign systems we so often take for granted.

About this title

About the Author

Thomas A. Sebeok is Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Linguistics and Semiotics at Indiana University. He has written numerous articles and books, and is world-renowned as an authority on semiotics.

Edition details

• Publisher: University of Toronto Press
• Publication date: 2001
• ISBN 10: 0802084729
• ISBN 13: 9780802084729
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Edition number: 2
• Number of pages: 216