Over the past twenty years, the annual meetings of the Semiotic Society of America have tracked growth and development of modern sign theory in American scholarship. Since 1981, the published proceedings of SSA meetings have included representative semiotic work from a wide range of disciplines and every extant -system- of semiotic thought. The papers have especially represented some of the leading intellectual descendents of C.S. Peirce and Ferdinand de Saussure in the United States and Canada. On this ground, the series of Proceedings remains the primary record of North American contributions to sign perspectives, embracing world-wide philosophical, literary, and scientific bases for a 21st-century -doctrine of signs.- The proceedings project has consistently pursued excellent scholarship, representative diversity, and quality production. With publication of the Semiotics 1993, Semiotics 1994, Semiotics 1995, Semiotics 1996, Semiotics 1997, Semiotics 1998, and Semiotics 1999 volumes, general editor John Deely and the Semiotic Society bring these important -yearbooks- to Peter Lang Publishing. With this change the society is certain to further enhance the SSA proceedings volumes and continue a record of -representing- American semiotics. The SSA also plan to incorporate more voices from Mexico in an effort to achieve a comprehensive North American -semiotic- which is strongly linked to practical and theoretical developments across the world."