Being seen to read the signs

Abstract

This paper argues that Sharrock and Anderson's work on hospital directional signs can be extended to encompass the function of the sign in the micropolitics of everyday life. One consequence of this fractional shift is that 'reading signs' is deemphasised as a study topic and partially replaced by the question of 'being seen to read signs'. Some conclusions are drawn which cast light on how the 'model of the actor' in sign-studies can be widened without moving beyond the sphere of 'the practical' demarcated by Sharrock and Anderson.