... isolation that the protagonist of the scene was feeling and is an example of the effective Peircean approach to semiotics. By dividing the components of a performance into various signs - be they "icons", "indices" or "symbols" - it is possible to access all areas of performance as opposed to merely the linguistic composition. The Saussurean emphasis placed on the linguistics of a performance is limiting, as ... my view that the study of signs provides a vital key in interpreting performance. As performance is, in many genres, a direct reflection of reality it is impossible to separate ...

• Word Count: 1406
• Approx Pages: 6
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Graduate

... ethnic communities. He concentrates on the psychological effects that continued, created and transforming symbols and rituals of nations and nation states have had on communities and how they allow for the continued importance of nationalism in their minds. In "Nations and Nationalism" Gellner attempts to answer the question of why nationalism is so pervasive in the modern world. He ... well as a "historical culture-community." Smith also describes modern nations as "legitimated through the universally applicable ideology of nationalism" whilst they are all part of a wider international s...

• Word Count: 3295
• Approx Pages: 13
• Grade Level: Graduate