Although semiotics has, in one guise or another, ftourished uninterruptedly since pre Socratic times in the West, and important semiotic themes have emerged and devel oped independently in both the Brahmanie and Buddhistic traditions, semiotics as an organized undertaking began to 100m only in the 1960s. Workshops materialized, with a perhaps surprising spontaneity, over much ofEurope-Eastern and Western and in North America. Thereafter, others quickly surfaced almost everywhere over the litera te globe. Different places strategically allied themselves with different lega eies, but all had a common thrust: to aim at a general theory of signs, by way of a description of different sign systems, their comparative analysis, and their classifi cation. More or less permanent confederations were forged with the most diverse academic disciplines, and amazingly varied frameworks were devised-suited to the needs of the times and the sites-to carry the work of consolidation forward. Bit by bit, mutually supportive international networks were put together. Today, it can truly be asserted that semiotics has become a global enterprise. This, of course, is far from saying that the map is uniform or even that world-wide homogeneity is in the least desirable. While our conjoint ultimate goal remains steadily in focus, the multiplicity of avenues available for its realization is inherent in the advent ure of the search itself.

Inhalt
1 • Semiotics in Australia.- 2 • Semiotics in Belgium.- 3 • Semiotics in Brazil.- 4 • Semiotics in Canada.- 5 • Semiotics in Chile.- 6 • Semiotics in Denmark.- 7 • Semiotics in Finland.- 8 • Semiotics in France.- 9 • Semiotics in East and West Germany and Austria.- 10 • Semiotics in Great Britain.- 11 • Semiotics in Greece.- 12 • Semiotics in Hungary.- 13 • Semiotics in Italy.- 14 • Semiotics in Japan.- 15 • Semiotics in the Low Countries.- 16 • Semiotics in Mexico.- 17 • Semiotics in Norway.- 18 • Semiotics in Peru.- 19 • Semiotics in Portugal.- 20 • Semiotics in Romania.- 21 • Semiotics in Spain.- 22 • Semiotics in Sweden.- 23 • Semiotics in Switzerland.- 24 • Semiotics in the United States.- 25 • Semiotics in the U.S.S.R.- 26 • Semiotic Research on the Law in Venezuela.- 27 • Semiotics in Venezuela: Critical Revision of the Notion of the Unconscious and Its Effects in the Second Semiology Field.- Notes on Contributors.- Index of Names.