Semiotics

Semiotics - also known as semiology - is the study of signs, both individually and grouped in sign systems, and includes the study of how meaning is transmitted and understood. Semioticians also sometimes examine how organisms, no matter how big or small, make predictions about and adapt to their semiotic niche in the world (see Semiosis). Semiotics theorises at a general level about signs, while the study of the communication of information in living organisms is covered in biosemiotics.

Sample references

• Barthes, Roland. ( 1987). Mythologies. New York: Hill & Wang.
• Barthes, Roland ( 1967). Elements of Semiology. (Translated by Annette Lavers & Colin Smith). London: Jonathan Cape.
• Chandler, Daniel. (2002). Semiotics: The Basics. London: Routledge.
• Culler, Jonathan (1975). Structuralist Poetics: Structuralism, Linguistics and the Study of Literature. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul.
• Danesi, Marcel & Perron, Paul. (1999). Analyzing Cultures: An Introduction and Handbook. Bloomington: Indiana UP.
• Danesi, Marcel. (1994). Messages and Meanings: An Introduction to Semiotics. Toronto: Canadian Scholars' Press.
• Danesi, Marcel. (2002). Understanding Media Semiotics. London: Arnold; New York: Oxford UP.
• Derrida, Jacques (1981). Positions. (Translated by Alan Bass). London: Athlone Press.
• Eagleton, Terry. (1983). Literary Theory: An Introduction. Oxford: Basil Blackwell.
• Eco, Umberto. (1976). A Theory of Semiotics. London: Macmillan.
• Foucault, Michel. (1970). The Order of Things: An Archaeology of the Human Sciences. London: Tavistock.
• Greimas, Algirdas. (1987). On Meaning: Selected Writings in Semiotic Theory. (Translated by Paul J Perron & Frank H Collins). London: Frances Pinter.
• Hjelmslev, Louis (1961). Prolegomena to a Theory of Language. (Translated by Francis J. Whitfield). Madison: University of Wisconsin Press.
• Hodge, Robert & Kress, Gunther. (1988). Social Semiotics. Ithaca: Cornell UP.
• Lacan, Jacques. (1977) Écrits: A Selection. (Translated by Alan Sheridan). New York: Norton.
• Lidov, David (1999) Elements of Semiotics. New York: St. Martin's Press.
• Lotman, Yuri L. (1990). Universe of the Mind: A Semiotic Theory of Culture. (Translated by Ann Shukman). London: Tauris.
• Sebeok, Thomas A. (Editor) (1977). A Perfusion of Signs. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press
• Williamson, Judith. (1978). Decoding Advertisements: Ideology and Meaning in Advertising. London: Boyars.