I came across semiotics while studying how occult and esoteric symbols function in institutional contexts, how a symbol gets loaded with meaning and then used to reinforce ideological structures.
The study of signs and symbols, how they create meaning, and how they're interpreted is called semiotics. Ferdinand de Saussure and Charles Sanders Peirce developed the field independently in the early 20th century. Saussure called it "semiology" and approached it from linguistics; Peirce called it "semiotics" and came at it from logic and philosophy. Peirce's term won out.
I came across semiotics while studying how occult and esoteric symbols function in institutional contexts, how a symbol gets loaded with meaning and then used to reinforce ideological structures.
The study of signs and symbols, how they create meaning, and how they're interpreted is called semiotics. Ferdinand de Saussure and Charles Sanders Peirce developed the field independently in the early 20th century. Saussure called it "semiology" and approached it from linguistics; Peirce called it "semiotics" and came at it from logic and philosophy. Peirce's term won out.