Umberto Eco's Alternative The Politics of Culture and the Ambiguities of Interpretation

Comprises 13 contributions reflecting the wide range of Eco's interests and influence, arranged in sections on semiotics, philosophy of language, and theory of interpretation; writing (post)modern fictions--the ambivalent status of knowledge; popular culture--ideology, consumption, resistance. Some examples of specific topics: individual and communal encyclopedias; the limitations of openness--Foucault's pendulum and Kabbalah; popularizing culture in Eco's Superfictions; and cinema and the question of reception. An afterword by Eco himself discusses how and why he writes. Lacks an index. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR