Bloomsbury Semiotics, Vol. 3: Semiotics in the Arts and Social Sciences

Semiotics is the systematic study of sign processes and their related meanings. Signs are a method of communicating something to an interpreter and can have paradoxically similar and differing meanings across cultures. This volume focuses on taking the groundwork presented in the previous volumes, which covered history and the natural and technical sciences, to examine semiotics in the arts and social sciences. This field of study tries to better uncover the meanings of questions that range from why black is traditionally used as the color of mourning in Western countries to the symbol of strength in many societies. This series is ambitiously comprehensive and unique in its attempt to assemble research on this topic, and it succeeds with both quantity and quality. Key contemporary developments are presented by diverse academics in the field, who offer a vast range of perspectives and analyses. Each chapter provides an introduction and succinct conclusion to the topic at hand, plus there are relevant notes and references.