Plenary “If looks could kill" given at IAVS13 in Bogotá; oddly undermined by parallel session

Today I gave my plenary speech “If looks could kill: The human ecology of visible and overlooked worlds in the perspective of Umwelt phenomenology” at the 13th conference of the International Association for Visual Semiotics (IAVS), held at Universidad de Bogotá Jorge Tadeo Lozano in Bogotá, Colombia. Only 10-16 people attended (beginning-end). Oddly, the organizers, which included the IAVS, had scheduled a session in parallel with my plenary, which defies the notion and purpose of a plenary, which is defined as "a meeting to be attended by all participants at a conference or assembly, who otherwise meet in smaller groups."

IAVS13 conference website updated

The conference website of the 13th conference of the International Association for Visual Semiotics (IAVS) has been updated, with the abstract book and presentation of the plenary speakers in English, Spanish and French. Some of the info in my bionote is outdated (namely, I am no longer Vice-dean of research, President of the Nordic assosiation for semiotic studies or Editor in chief of Biosemiotics).

A conference poster has been posted in social media.

Abstract for IAVS13: "If looks could kill: The human ecology of visible and overlooked worlds in the perspective of Umwelt phenomenology"

I have just submitted the abstract below to the organizer of the 13th conference of the International Association for Visual Semiotics (IAVS13), to be held in Bogotá, Colombia, this autumn, where I will give a keynote speech.

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If looks could kill: The human ecology of visible and overlooked worlds in the perspective of Umwelt phenomenology   

ABSTRACT  

Morten Tønnessen 

Professor of philosophy, University of Stavanger (Norway)  

As I have argued, an updated version of the classical Umwelt theory developed by Jakob von Uexküll (1864–1944) can serve as the basis for a more comprehensive iteration of phenomenology that goes beyond human phenomena to encompass the phenomena of all sentient organisms. The importance of the visual sense compared to other senses varies from animal to animal. In humans, the visual sense tends to be predominant, and crucial for our spatial orientation. By way of our current ecological dominance in the epoch of the Anthropocene, human ecology comes to the fore as a critical field of study. The number of animal species featuring individuals that are capable of getting eye contact with humans is quite limited. Such species are nevertheless important in that they constitute a notable, biodiverse category in our visual ecology. Many animals are endangered simply by being seen by us, whether they are capable of eye contact with humans or not. When animals hide from view, it is often because their history of co-evolution with humans has taught them that being seen by a human can be a sign of danger and possibly imminent death. In the context of visual semiotics, this raises questions such as: How does the human species´ predominantly visual orientation affect the ways in which we treat non-humans? What animal worlds are visible to us, and which ones do we overlook? Are we guilty of visual-based discrimination of other species? To what extent are we capable of engaging with the visual cultures of other species? Is achieving a comprehensive vista of the visual worlds of other species attainable at all, for us as humans? I will look into such questions using a notion of semiotic agency that applies to both humans and animals and is compatible with Umwelt phenomenology.

Call for papers made for IAVS-13 "Visual Semiotics & Agency" (Bogotá, September 2023)

A call for papers has been made for the 13th Conference of the IAVS-AISV: "Visual Semiotics & Agency", which will be held at Universidad de Bogotá Jorge Tadeo Lozano, in Bogotá, Colombia, September 28-30, 2023. Abstracts in English, Spanish or French are due May 15th.

I am a plenary speaker at AISV-IAVS 2023, along with Susanne Eichner, JosÉ Enrique Finol, Shaun Gallagher, Jean-Marie Klinkenberg, Aleksandra Mouratidou, Göran Sonesson and Jordan Zlatev.

More info here. 

To be plenary speaker at the 13th Conference of the IAVS-AISV: Visual Semiotics & Agency, Bogotá, September 2023

I will be a plenary speaker at AISV-IAVS 2023 - 13th Conference of the IAVS-AISV: Visual Semiotics & Agency, to be held at Universidad de Bogotá Jorge Tadeo Lozano, in Bogotá, Colombia, September 28-30, 2023.

Call for papers is available here. Abstracts are due February 15th.