An encyclopedia on line grows like a puzzle. Several hundred invitations have been extended to experts. Many have accepted to contribute articles in their fields of expertise. Entries undergo a peer-review process. They are put on line as soon as they have been revised. The order in which they appear does not reflect a particular agenda. Progressively, knowledge configurations will emerge from this always expanding, polymorphic puzzle. The cross links will point to myriads of exploratory paths, and stimulate innovative thinking by way of connecting disciplinary fields that only semiotics can bridge.

Welcome

This reference website is freely usable for educational and personal use. It will provide in-depth articles written by experts in a great variety of disciplines bearing upon the ways in which organisms in general, and humans in particular, process information, discover or construct meaning, represent and share their knowledge, interact through the mediation of signs and symbols that change over time, and elaborate diverse cultures and systems of thought. It will offer articles documenting the historical development of semiotics while emphasizing that this variegated epistemological movement is still in the making. The Semiotics Encyclopedia Online will endeavor to bring into focus important advances in the sciences, which are bound to have an impact on our understanding of the issues which have been traditionally raised by semiotics. It will also critically reexamine the basic concepts and models that form contemporary semiotic literacy.

This reference work will provide an educational and research tool that will be continuously attuned to the evolution of knowledge. Since it will not be constrained by the production and commercial imperatives of the printed media, the authors of articles will be able to update their contents and bibliographies whenever needed. New articles will be constantly added. All articles will be peer-reviewed before being put online. Readers will be empowered to give their inputs by suggesting topics and entries to be included and by participating in a blog site.

This encyclopedia builds upon a pilot project, the Digital Semiotics Encyclopedia, which was initiated in 2003. The Semiotics Encyclopedia Online is now a part of the e-resources of the E.J. Pratt Library at Victoria College in the University of Toronto.