These eight essays apply a 'semiotic', Peircean approach to the study of cultural phenomena. Part I provides detailed analyses of Peirce's semiotic theory. Part II documents the symbolism-indexicality interplay in a situation of non-linguistic semiosis. Part III addresses the same relationship between lower and higher orders of semiotic regimentation for more complex semiotic processes of cultural understanding. Part IV discusses the pragmatic ends and metapragmatic means of 'cultural comparison' conducted within the academy as well as the socially positioned processes by which cultural conventions are re-fashioned and re-interpreted.