In the beginning of the longed for spring of the year 2010, we are still talking about the crisis and economic recession of the years 2008 and 2009. The aftershocks of the crisis are pretty frightening, the number of unemployed is growing, the economic and political backbones of the country are shattered, and people are yearning for changes. These changes can be either realistic or illusional, but either are tempting, in the hope of returning to the previous well-being. The current, fifth issue of Hortus Semioticus is dealing with different kinds of crises around us, expanding upon the shifts and changes in the socio-political landscape.
In addition to the articles the issue contains an interview (in English) with a Canadian cultural semiotician Roger Parent from the University of Alberta. He is known for his theory of semiotics of conflict and conflict management tools, and has stood our as a strong supporter of the semiotic ideas of the Tartu-Moscow School.
View the number: http://www.ut.ee/hortussemioticus/
On the agenda are the following topics:
(1) academic lecture by Priit Põhjala,
(2) presentation of the annual award "Semiotical Trace",
(3) internal NGO procedures: overview of ESA's activities in 2009, membership application admissions, elections of the new Executive Board, reforming ESA's operations.
Greetings to our members and welcome to the General Assembly!
Yours sincerely,
Executive Board of ESA
The Frontiers in Comparative Metrics conference (in memoriam Mikhail Gasparov) will be held on November 21–22, 2008 in Tallinn and on November 23 in Tartu, Estonia. The organizers of the conference are the Department of the Cultural Theory at the Tallinn University and the Departments of Semiotics and Classical Philology at the University of Tartu. The language of the conference will be English.
Main topics of the conference:
· Theory of versification and comparative studies in metrics and rhythmics
· Frontiers in Indo-European metrics
· Fenno-Ugric metrics
· Classical heritage and contemporary poetic culture
· Semantics of verse
Expected plenary speakers will be:
David Chisholm, University of Arizona
Paul Kiparsky, Stanford University
Mihhail Lotman, Tallinn University, University of Tartu
Gregory Nagy, Harvard University
“Current research on the performance of archaic Greek hexameter”
Seiichi Suzuki, Kansai Gaidai University
“Catalexis and Suspension of Resolution in Eddic Meters”
Marina Tarlinskaja, University of Washington
“Kyd's Canon: Verse Attribution”
Reuven Tsur, Tel Aviv University
“Metricalness and Rhythmicalness. What Our Ear Tells Our Mind”
Preliminary program
Participation fee: 75 EUR. The participation fee should be transferred to the account of the Estonian Semiotics Association (account number: 334409040007 at the Sampo bank, the reference info: FCM 2008, conference fee) by October 1, 2008.
Organizing committee:
Mihhail Lotman
Maria-Kristiina Lotman
Katre Kaju
Annika Kuuse
Aile Tooming
Organizers:
Department of Cultural Theory, Tallinn University
Department of Semiotics, University of Tartu
Estonian Semiotics Association
Department of Classical Philology, University of Tartu
For any further questions, please contact us at maria.lotman@mail.ee
Looking forward to seeing you in Tallinn and Tartu in November 2008!
Organised by
Department of Semiotics, University of Tartu
Jakob von Uexküll Centre (at Estonian Naturalists’ Society)
Resemblances and similarities are often overlooked in research as they are considered to be
semiotic primitives. They stand behind various important phenomena in nature and culture,
such as species recognition, mimicry and camouflage, convergent evolution, figurative art,
imitative magic and theatre performances. All these examples are at the same time instances
of communication, and that raises the general question about the place of resemblance in
communication and representation. In semiotics, communicative resemblance is expressed
in Charles S. Peirce’s concepts of iconic signs and iconicity. In cultural theory, mimesis is
used in explanation of the various occasions of resemblances. In biology, homology and
analogy, and their relations describe similar phenomena.
It seems that communication by resemblance has important role in the peripheries of
semiotic systems, where symbol-based semiotic processes are not so dominant. As examples
of this, mimetic strategies in post-colonial cultures (H. K. Bhabha), language plays of
children (W. Benjamin) and onomatopoeias in nature writing and folklore can be brought
out. In representation, mimetism can also be combined in different ways with symbolic
meanings. Communication by resemblance seems to be more effective in crossing semiotic
borders between different cultures, discourses and species, as it is apparent for instance in
interspecific mimicry and many forms of communication in symbiotic relations. As
theoretical concepts, resemblance and its relatives seem to be profitable to the development
of zoo- and biosemiotics. Likeness in the form of empathy can also have crucial ethical
implications accentuating the relevance of the concept to ecosemiotics and nature
philosophy.
To discuss these and many other forms and faces of the resemblance, we call together an
international working seminar. Our hope is to create an open academic atmosphere with
presentations, discussions and roundtables. You are most welcome to take part in the
“Resemblances in Nature and Culture: Theoretical and Semiotic Perspectives” with
presentation of the length of 30 minutes. We are looking forward to receiving your abstract
of 250-500 words and a five-line bio-note by 1. September 2008.
Contacts:
Dr. Timo Maran
E-mail: timo.maran@ut.ee
Phone: +372 5097266
Ester Võsu
E-mail: ester.vosu@ut.ee
Phone: +372 56632766
Postal address:
Department of Semiotics, University of Tartu.
Tiigi 78
Tartu 50410
Estonia
Seminar is supported by:
Estonian Science Foundation
University of Tartu
Cultural Endowment of Tartu
What's wrong with nature ? is an interdisciplinary seminar investigating human perceptions of nature and environmental change.
From the contemporary perspective of global warming and rapid environmental change, it seems obvious that there is something wrong with nature, for which human activity is to blame. Tracing the origin of the ecological crisis, it appears that this very idea is at the root of the problem - since, all through the ages, we have been „improving“ and taming nature as if there was something wrong with it from the very beginning. One way or another, humans have always had a sense of an urgent need to do something about nature. Does this, perhaps, entitle us to ask whether this attitude to nature is inevitable - a part of what it means to be human?
Perception matters - as does conceptualization. The aim of the seminar is to discuss how our perception of nature is shaped by our cultural traditions, science and the media and how this very perception, in its turn, by way of our actions is shaping nature itself. What is natural in a world of global, human-induced environmental change? What qualifies as an „environmental problem”, and solution? For whom is it a problem? To what extent is it fruitful to understand the ecological crisis in analogy with a natural catastrophe? As wilderness has been cultivated - has civilization gone wild?
Homepage /
Registration /
Contacts
We invite you to participate in the international conference "Naming in Text, Naming in Culture" which will be held in Tartu , Estonia from 14th to 15th December, 2007. More detailed description of the topics is available here.
Registration fee: EUR 40, paid at spot
Contact: Tiigi 78-307, Tartu, Estonia. Phone/fax: +372 7375933. E-mail: ulle.parli@ut.ee
Finnish and Estonian semioticians meet in Tartu to discuss some of the current issues in European semiotics. More detailed information about the presentations is available in timetable.
December 9-11, Vienna
Organised by: Research Institute for Austrian and International Literature and Cultural Studies (INST)
Introduction of the conference and information about sections
Sections on semiotics:
Social Reproduction and Cultural Innovation. From a Semiotic Point of View
Gesellschaftliche Reproduktion und kulturelle Innovation. Aus semiotischer Sicht
Chair of the section: Jeff Bernard, Institute for Socio-Semiotic Studies ISSS, Vienna & International Ferruccio Rossi-Landi Network IFRN
Abstract deadline: August 31, 2005 (length: max 20 lines)
Read more ..
Media systems: their evolution and innovation
Chair of the section: Ernest W. B. Hess-Lüttich, German Department, University of Bern
Abstract deadline: August 1, 2005
Read more ..
Congress languages: English, German, French.
Participants who give lectures are exempted from paying the congress fee.
From June 7 to June 10 one of the leading semioticians in the world,
John Deely from the University of St. Thomas, USA is visiting Estonia.
Professor Deely came to Estonia in connection with the publication of
his book "Basics of Semiotics - Semiootika alused" by Tartu University
Press.
He is going to deliver two lectures:
Wednesday June 8 at 18:00 "Protosemiotics and semiotics" [the lecture is
focused on the theories of sign of St. Augustine and John Poinsot and
their connection]
Thursday June 9 at 10:00 "Semiotics and philosophy"
Both lectures take place at the department of semiotics of Tartu
University. Address: lecture room 311, Tiigi 78, Tartu.
The public presentation of "Basics of Semiotics - Semiootika alused" is
going to be held at the Tartu Literature House [Vanemuise 19] on June 9
at 16:00. In addition to John Deely's book also the collection of
articles Acta Semiotica Estica II [published by Estonian Semiotics
Association] and web portal www.semiootika.ee will be introduced.
The first edition of "Basics of Semiotics" was published in 1990. The
latest edition, as the heading "Basics of Semiotics - Semiootika alused"
indicates, consist of parallel text in English and in Estonian and
features several parts that have been written especially for this
edition. The book was translated into Estonian by Kati Lindström.
John Deely [b. 1942] is a professor of philosophy at University of St.
Thomas [Houston, Texas, USA],a founding member of the American Semiotics
Association [ASA], the vice-president of the International Association for Semiotic Studies [IASS].
His main areas of research are the histories of semiotics, philosophy and theology.
The most comprehensive study of the interconnectedness of these areas of knowledge
can be found in J.Deely's monumental work "Four Ages of Understanding" [2001],
which rewrites the history of philosophy in the light of the development of the study of signs.
J.Deely is a representative of the semiotics tradition that follows from the writings of C.S.Peirce and
he is also one of the authors of the groundbraking programmatic article from the year 1984:
"A semiotic perspective on the sciences: Steps toward a new paradigm"
www.semiootika.ee is the official website of Estonian Semiotics Association. It offers information about the organisation, its members and its main activities. But not only that: the portal also serves to introduce Estonian semiotics. Therefore one can also find here the overview of semiotic publications, events and university courses.
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New issue of Acta Semiotica Estica appeared at the end of March 2005.
Acta Semiotica Estica, the series of Estonian Semiotics Association, publishing articles on various topics and presenting current trends in semiotics in Estonia as well as abroad, aims to introduce semiotics as an academic field in Estonia and develop Estonian terminology in semiotics.
The collections bring together original research and translation articles.
The series is published in Estonian, with abstracts in English.
More information and abstracts are available here ..
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