本书是当代美国媒介批评理论家、社会学家、符号学家阿瑟·诶萨·伯格的新作。作者通过生动风趣的语言表述，将符号学范畴概念运用于社会文化现象的分析诠释与意义解读上，注重理论与实践相结合，立足当今社会的众媒体、流行文化和通俗艺术，融入符号学、语言学、文学、精神分析理论以及社会学等知识，能够激发读者对社会文化现象的深层思考，着力体现了符号学作为方法论的社会价值与效应，说明符号学作为一种研究的方法论，同样可以是理解和阐释日常生活现象，欣赏通俗艺术和揭示传播媒体等的有效途径，从而有助于读者轻松、愉快地掌握符号学理论及相关媒介文化知识。作者还为本书提供了不少有趣又有意味的漫画和图片，不仅对文本起到了补充、说明的作用，也增加了阅读的趣味性。

阿瑟·诶萨·伯格是美国旧金山州立大学的荣誉教授和世界多家大学的客座教授，出版过70多本著作，发表了100多篇文章，长期专注于符号学与媒介批评的学科构建和知识普及。他的《媒介分析技巧》《理解媒介：媒介研究和文化研究的关键文本》《通俗文化媒介和日常生活中的叙事》《涂尔干死了!》等著作，为中国文化与传播学界所熟悉。

Preface to the Series
总序
导读
Preface
Acknowledgements
Part One Signs in Contemporary Culture:
An Introduction to Semiotics
Chapter I Definition
Hal and Falstaff and the Problem of Honor
Chapter 2 How Signs Work
Sherlock Holmes: Master Semiotician/Semiologist
Chapter 3 Signs, Symbols, and Signals
Empire of Signs
Chapter 4 Metaphor: Communicating by Analogy
Love Is a Game
Chapter 5 Metonymy: Communicating by Using Associations
Metonymic Aspects of Political Cartoons
Chapter 6 Language and Speaking
Fashion
Chapter 7 Syntagmatic Analysis of Texts
Star Wars as a Proppian Fairy Tale
Chapter 8 Forms ol sign
Eight Hypotheses on the Significance of Digital Watches
Chapter 9 Visual Aspects of Signs
Postmodern Design
Chapter 10 Problems of Signs
Pop Goes the Wesselmann
Chapter 11 Denotation and Connotation
Funny What You Can Find in the Funnies
Chapter 12 Imaginary Signs
Freud on Dreams
Chapter 13 Signs that Lie
On Parody
Chapter 14 Men's Looks: Signifiers and Life-style
Denimizaton
Chapter 15 Coherence in Signs
Formulas in the Public Arts
Chapter 16 Who Uses Signs?
Chapter 17 Signs and Identitity
Hairstyles as Signs
Teeth as Signs
Logos and Corporate Identity
The Un-cola Country
The Onion of Culture Metaphor
Chapter 18 Terms Associated with Signs
Directorial Signature in Film: A Consideration of Auteur Theory
Chapter 19 Signs and Images
Photography
Chapter 20 No Sign as a Sign
The Natural Look: (No Makeup
Chapter 21 Signs that Confound: Optical Illusions
Arcimboldo
Chapter 22 Sign Modifiers
Cartooning
Chapter 23 Manifest and Latent Meanings in Signs
Robinson Crusoe and the Myth of the Self-made Man
Chapter 24 Analyzing Signs and Sign Systems
(RO)ATS: Reach Out, Reach Out and Touch Someone
Chapter 25 Codes
Baseball: Threes, Fours, and Exclusion
Chapter 26 Characteristics of Codes
Foods as Signs
Chapter 27 Meaning
The Paper Chase VS. The Ratings Game
Chapter 28 Roles
The Playboy: A Case Study
Chapter 29 Ideologies
Donald Duck
Chapter 30 Culture
m8b∞99
Falling off the Map
Chapter 31 Spectacles
The Super Bowl
Part Two Mosaic: A Psycho-semiotic Analysis of Media
Popular Culture and Everyday Life in America
Introduction: Mosaics
Chapter 32 Notes on Everyday Life
Chapter 33 Televised Baseball
Chapter 34 The Smartphone and the Psyche
Chapter 35 E Pluribus Unum
Chapter 36 The LED Bulb
Chapter 37 Activity Trackers
Chapter 38 Black Friday and Consumer Lust
Chapter 39 Media Usage in the USA
Chapter 40 Department Stores and Cathedrals
Chapter 41 Microwave Ovens
Chapter 42 The Terminator
Chapter 43 Suitcases
Chapter 44 Supermarkets
Chapter 45 Comic Strips
Chapter 46 Brands
Chapter 47 Blue Jeans
Chapter 48 Jokes
Chapter 49 Amazon. com
Coda
References for Part One
References for Part Two
A Selected Annotated Bibliography
Dictionary of Concepts
About the Author