The go-to introductory guide to semiotic theory and practice, this second edition features a new chapter on semiotics in the digital age and sheds light on how we grasp for meaning in the modern world.

Preface 1. What Is Semiotics? 1.1 Introduction1.2 Historical Sketch1.3 The Science of Meaning1.4 Two Fundamental Models of the Sign1.5 The Current Practice of Semiotics1.6 Semiotics in the Global Village1.7 Further Reading 2. Signs 2.1 Introduction2.2 Defining the Sign2.3 Symptoms and Signals2.4 Icons2.5 Indexes2.6 Symbols2.7 Names2.8 Body, Mind, and Culture2.9 Further Reading 3. Structure 3.1 Introduction3.2 Paradigmatic and Syntagmatic Structure3.3 Associative Structure3.4 Structural Economy3.5 Post-Structuralism3.6 Modeling 3.7 Further Reading 4. Codes 4.1 Introduction4.2 What Is a Code?4.3 Opposition and Markedness4.4 Types of Codes4.5 Codes and Perception4.6 Further Reading 5. Texts 5.1 Introduction5.2 What Is a Text?5.3 Narrative Texts5.4 Visual Texts5.5 Digital Texts5.7 Texts, Mind, and Culture5.8 Further Reading 6. Representation 6.1 Introduction6.2 What Is Representation?6.3 Representation and Myth6.4 Online Knowledge Representation6.5 Representation and Reality6.5 Further Reading 7. Semiotics in the Internet Era 7.1 Introduction7.2 The Simulacrum7.3 Memes7.4 Emojis 7.5 The Global Brain7.6 Posthumanism7.7 Further Reading 8. Applications 8.1 Introduction8.2 Clothing8.3 Food8.4 Visual Rhetoric8.5 The Quest for Meaning8.6 Further Reading Glossary of Technical TermsIndex

"The second edition of The Quest for Meaning is remarkably accessible without sacrificing the necessary challenge posed by questions of knowledge-making and meaning. The book establishes a sound and ample historical foundation that deftly navigates around rabbit holes."