Universe of the mind: a semiotic theory of culture

Part 1 The text as a meaning-generating mechanism: three functions of the text
 autocommunication - "I" and "other" as addressees
 rhetoric as a mechanism for meaning-generation
 iconic rhetoric
 the text as process of movement - author to audience, author to text
 the symbols as plot-gene
 the symbol in the cultural system. Part 2 The semiosphere: semiotic space
 the notion of boundary
 dialogue mechanisms
 the semiosphere and the problem of plot
 symbolic spaces - geographical space in Russian mediaeval texts, the journeys of Ulysses in Dante's "Divine Comedy", the "home" in Bulgakov's "The Master and Margarita", the symbolism of St. Petersburg
 some conclusions. Part 3 Cultural memory, history and semiotics: the problem of the historical fact
 historical laws and the structure of the text
 an alternative -culture without literacy or culture before culture?
 the role of typological symbols in the history of culture
 can there be a science of history and what are its functions in the cultural system?
 conclusion.