Semiotics and Media

A sign is anything that can be used to tell a lie.

--Umberto Eco

This is the home page of the semiotics, advertising, and media web site, a hypertext essay and tutorial on using semiotic techniques to analyze advertising, media, and contemporary culture. It is still under construction. It was created by Tom Streeter, for his students in Survey of Mass Media at the University of Vermont. But anyone is welcome to view it. It works more or less like a self-paced slide lecture: press the "NEXT" button at the bottom of the screen to advance to the next image or page. Clicking on an underlined term usually links you to a definition of that term. If you already know the difference between signifiers and signifieds, you can browse around among different parts using the Table of Contents. Otherwise, make your browser window as big as possible, and then

begin by clicking here.

(If you want to look at a web essay we've added on the male gaze in fashion advertising, check out this link. I'm very interested in hearing from people who have used this site, particularly students and academics on other campuses. Please send comments to thomas.streeter@uvm.edu. I've added a few comments on theoretical issues for those with expertise or interest in teaching media and semiotics. If you're curious about what others have been saying about this site, click here.)

Technical issues: Internet Explorer, Mozilla, Netscape, and Firefox all work properly. If you are using Apple's Safari browser, you'll need version 1.3 or later; earlier versions do not work with this site. Sequences can take a while to load over a modem; be patient. Last updated 4/18/05.

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