Brief report from the conference Zoosemiotics and Animal Representations

The international conference Zoosemiotics and Animal Representations took place here in Tartu last week (April 4-8). There were around 60 presentations, and up to 120 people attending each day. Counted by institutional affiliation, the presenters alone represented 5 continents and 19 countries.

As a member of the organizing team, I, as my colleagues, was impressed both by the good attendance and the overall quality of presentations and discussions. The whole event is proof of growing interest in a semiotic approach to animals, especially in the humanities. If there was one group we were missing, it was a larger presence of the biosemiotic community (and natural scientists). Just a handful of biosemioticians were present. Nevertheless the conference attracted more presenters and attendants than any Gathering in Biosemiotics has ever done to this date.

My roles at the conference included
* being a member of the organizing team (lead by Timo Maran)
* presenting "The Umwelt Trajectories of Wolves, Sheep and People" (April 6th, 14.30-15.00)
* chairing the roundtable "Futures of Zoosemiotics" (April 6th, 16.30-18.00)
* giving closing remarks (April 8th)

In the roundtable, Stephen Pain was not present (cf. earlier list of roundtable participants), whereas Aleksei Turovski was added. During the session Colin Allen raised a very pertinent question: Whether zoosemiotics can show to scientific results which could not have been achieved without a zoosemiotic approach. "Semiotics", he said, "has to stop talking about what it is and start talking about what it does."

Here's the topical presentation of the roundtable, as included in the abstract book:

Thomas Sebeok’s role as a founding father of zoosemiotics is unquestioned. On what points should his views be challenged? What is the proper relation of zoosemiotics to biosemiotics, and to ecosemiotics – and how does it compare with cognitive ethology and anthrozoology? Should zoosemiotics be understood as a meta-scientific discipline, as a program for ethology or the animal life sciences, or as a scientific enterprise in its own right? A general aim of semiotics of nature (biosemiotics, zoosemiotics, ecosemiotics etc.) is to help bridging the nature/culture divide and counteract the related compartmentalisation of science and scholarly studies. To what extent should human behavior be included as a study object of zoosemiotics? In particular, how are human-animal relations to be treated? What is the role of the individual subject in biology today – and tomorrow? How well is today’s zoosemiotics fitted to account for the changing global ecological reality?

See also:
Creed (from the introduction to the roundtable)
Semiotics of Animal Representations - update
Zoosemiotics email list - how to register
Zoosemiotic grant meeting

Introducing Gmail motion

Says Google:

"We've been working with experts in motion technology and semiotics to develop a language of movements that replaces type entirely."

Their Gmail Motion was launched today.


Note the date.

Nova's semiotics anthology published?

The book collection Semiotics: Theory and Applications, which was to be published in the 4th quarter of 2010, and where I contribute with "The Semioethics Interviews III: John Deely: Human Understanding in the Age of Global Awareness ", has apparently been published by now, in hardcover (status is set to "Available"). The e-book, however, is still in "Final Production".

First thesis draft finished

Oh, yes - and I have finished a first thesis draft, 190 pages (of which around 150 are organized), based on what I have published (and to some extent submitted for publication). Now taking notes about what is missing in order to result in a comprehensive monograph... Including systematic introduction of, and application of, selected terms...

My thesis title remains Umwelt Transition: Uexküllian Phenomenology - An Ecosemiotic Analysis of Norwegian Wolf Management. There are six chapters:
Ch 1: "Making sense of nature"
Ch 2: "Uexküllian phenomenology"
Ch 3: "The semiotics of the ecological crisis"
Ch 4: "Umwelt mapping"
Ch 5: "Case study: Norwegian wolf management"
Ch 6: "Umwelt transition"

Nova publication approaching - semioethics download available

Above you see the frontpage of the upcoming book ´Semiotics: Theory and applications´, where I contribute with ´The Semioethics Interview III: John Deely: Human Understanding in the Age of Global Awareness´.

According to the information given the hardcover version is now ´at press´, whereas the ebook is in ´final production´ (full price for each one: 129$). My article is also available for download for the interesting price of 100$.

The Semioethics Interviews III: John Deely: Human Understanding in the Age of Global Awareness

$100.00

Authors: Morten Tønnessen

Abstract: The general topic of this contribution is semioethics, widely regarded as one of the most significant developments in semiotics after the turn of the 21st century, and along with the existential semiotics of Eero Tarasti (2000) a sign of an ethical turn within semiotics. The term semioethics, which signifies not least the emergence of a sense of global responsibility, was introduced by Susan Petrilli and Augusto Ponzio in 2003, and Petrilli in particular is associated with this emerging scholarly field. The semioethics interviews, conducted by Norwegian-born Tartu semiotician Morten Tønnessen, starts out (in four separate interview articles) with Professor John Deely, a prominent American scholar known among other works for The Four Ages of Understanding: The first Postmodern Survey of Philosophy from Ancient Times to the Turn of the 20th Century (Deely 2001a). Deely, a semiotician as well as a philosopher, has joined Susan Petrilli and Augusto Ponzio in their endeavour by grounding the notion of semioethics in philosophical terms. Topics include the responsibility of humankind, individuals and governments, the place of culture as part of and yet distinct from nature, the semiotic side of modern economic and technological development, the future prospects of human understanding and morality in the light of current economic and political developments, and philosophy – the distinction between ontology and epistemology, and the terminology of rights, ncluded – reviewed in terms of (Peircean) semiotics. In the course of the interview, Deely relates not only to Peirce but further to Petrilli, to Thomas Sebeok, to the biologist Jakob von Uexküll (1864-1944) and to phenomenologist Edmund Husserl. The human condition is examined time over again, drawing on a rich reference material from philosophy as well as from various sciences and scholarly disciplines.

Remaining credits - intensive course on semiotics and phenomenology

During this last year of my PhD studies, I have to get the credits I am still missing. Concrete assignments are now about to be given to me. Will involve some reading, an unknown, plus a presentation of my thesis work in the Department's doctoral seminar next spring.

And: I will be giving an intensive course next term, perhaps in March, worktitled "Semiotics and phenomenology". This is to get required credits in Teaching Practice. Details will follow. Readings will include Peirce, Uexküll, Husserl and Merleau-Ponty.

Third semioethics interview finished, submitted and approved

The third semioethics interview, "The semioethics interviews III: John Deely: Human understanding in the age of global awareness" was in the main finished the last weekend and finally submitted (with minor changes) this Monday to Nova Science publishers for their forthcoming edited collection "Semiotics: Theory and applications". Wednesday it was accepted for publication.

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I have further cleared it for possible cross-publication in their topical journals.

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CONTENTS

Introduction

To consider products as processes

To be aware that something exists independently of us

To realize that this planet is what we have

To realize that tomorrow is not a forever thing

To pinpoint who are responsible

To understand the domino effect

To conceptualize reality appropriately

To foresee negative consequences of miraculous technologies

Conclusion

Lotman/Semiotics of technology

What you find below was posted by me last week in the community SemioComm on LiveJournal.

I have just read "Technological progress as a problem in the study of culture" (Lotman 1988 [Russian], tr. to English 1991). A very rich text, dealing not least with various technologies of language (writing, printing etc.). Early on, Lotman attacks Thomas Kuhn's view that "[o]utside the laboratory everyday affairs usually continue as before" whenever scientific revolutions occur (quoted p. 781 of Lotman's article). Here, Lotman portrays himself in contrast with Kuhn - though Kuhn is in other contexts known exactly for emphasizing not only the the social workings of science, but also the way in which scientific intuition and common cultural intuition interact - think only of his analysis of the transition from a heliocentric to a geocentric world view (I don't know how much Lotman read of Kuhn?). At that instant, Kuhn defended the view that it was somewhat rational of the scholars of the day not immediately to adopt the new, revolutionary ideas - because they actually for quite some time contradicted common and accepted knowledge, as well as the everyday intuitions of the day.

As Lotman stresses, the cultural impact of scientific revolutions oftentimes takes time to materialize. "There is a repeated pattern to the immediate consequences of a technological change: having acquired new powerful means, society first attempts to use them for old ends", he writes (p. 782-3), "increasing its possibilities only quantitatively". Lotman's examples of ancient bureaucracies are amusing. His simple observation that the invention of writing made much more advanced architecture and infrastructure administrable is intruiging. In consequence, we can theorize (with Lotman) that the advent of writing also made empires possible. Statehood, then, is from this theoretical perspective a (actual, materialized, factual (though not necessary)) consequence of the written word.

Similarly prolific are Lotman's observations regarding elements in the emergence of capitalism. The technology of printing - enabling mass publication - is a central example, which further points to the modern phenomena of mass hysteria, mass mentality etc (as well as, as Lotman notes, expressions of individualism and eruptions of creativity). The individual and the mass - the individual as representative of the mass - the individual in opposition to the mass (thereby reaffirming the centrality of the mass, nevertheless)... Limitless optimism which can any given moment turn into its opposite, bottomless pessimism...

And I ask myself: This global (or US?) culture of fear and hysteria ... After 9/11 in particular, perhaps ... how is it related to our most recent advances in mass communication? How is language changing today, in cultural terms? This, I realize, is not a new debate... Perhaps the swine flu "pandemia" would represent a good case study. Have we been infected by modern language?

Announcement of zoosemiotics conference

The first announcement of the conference "Zoosemiotics and animal representations", to be arranged in Tartu April 4-8th, 2011, has been made (linked from www.biosemiotics.org). I am part of the organizing team.

Full text of the announcement:

International conference
Zoosemiotics and Animal Representations
Tartu, Estonia. 4–8 April 2011.

Zoosemiotics is an interdisciplinary research program introduced by American semiotician Thomas A. Sebeok in the 1960s with the aim to merge semiotics and ecology and to launch semiotic studies of animal communication. The foundational idea in zoosemiotics is that relations between animals and their environment as well as between different individuals are not purely physical, but are to a large extent sign-mediated. This gives a significant role to the animal subjects, and recognizes more as well as higher forms of complexity in animals than previously assumed. A lot has happened since the concept of zoosemiotics was proposed: the rise of biosemiotics and cognitive ethology are two among many important developments in the field of animal communication studies. Now, almost 50 years after Sebeok’s initiative, the Department of Semiotics at the University of Tartu organizes an international gathering aiming to look back at the history of zoosemiotics, but also to look ahead towards the future of semiotic studies of animals. At this event, the scope of zoosemiotics is defined broadly, so as to include specific studies in the history of science, philosophical accounts of animals, case studies on animal communication as well as animal representations in literature and other media. At the same time, the focus of the conference is explicitly twofold: “semiotic processes” and “animals” are the key concepts that are to guide the conference as well as the individual presentations. To this conference, we invite researchers from various backgrounds who have been inspired by zoosemiotics or who are interested in different aspects of semiotic studies of animals.

Key topics of the conference
- Theory and methodology of zoosemiotics
- History of zoosemiotics, the legacy of Thomas A. Sebeok
- Practical applications of zoosemiotics (e.g. zoosemiotics and conservation)
- Zoosemiotics’ relation to relevant fields such as cognitive ethology, biosemiotics, ecocriticism etc.
- Animal experience (semiotics and phenomenology)
- Semiotic perspectives on animals in literature, art, films etc. (e.g. seeing man in animals, and the animal in men).
- Semiotics of human-animal relationships: historical, social and communicative perspectives (e.g. the semiotics of zoos, of wildlife management, and of domesticated animals).

The conference “Zoosemiotics and Animal Representations” has an international advisory board. All presentation abstracts will be peer-reviewed. The conference is organized by the Department of Semiotics at the University of Tartu under the auspices of the Centre of Excellence in Cultural Theory (CECT, EU/Estonia), and is supported by the Estonian Science Foundation (ETF/ESF).

Conference timeline
First call for papers: March 2010.
Deadline for abstracts: 15 September 2010.
The conference “Zoosemiotics and Animal Representations”: 4–8 April, 2011.
Deadline for conference publications: September 2011.

Contacts
E-mail: zoosemiotics@semiootika.ee
Postal address: The conference “Zoosemiotics and Animal Representations”, Department of Semiotics, University of Tartu, Tiigi 78, Tartu 50410, Estonia.
Organizing team: Timo Maran, Jelena Grigorjeva, Morten Tønnessen, Kadri Tüür, Silver Rattasepp, Nelly Mäekivi.

Testemonial for UT brochure

I have been asked by the International Relations Office of University of Tartu to appear in a information brochure aiming at recruiting international students (will also be published online). Below is the testemonial I have submitted.

It was the legacy of Jakob von Uexküll (1864-1944) that brought me to Estonia, and the Tartu school of biosemiotics. My first visit took place in 2000 - the welcoming kindness of my hosts inspired me to return for conferences and eventually Ph.D. studies. Today I am involved in three research projects in Estonia, and I am happy to be part of a thriving and open intellectual environment.

Morten Tønnessen (Norway), Ph.D. student at Department of Semiotics

Joining the editorial board of Biosemiotics

Editor-in-Chief of Biosemiotics, Marcello Barbieri, has just invited me to join the editorial board of the journal, and I have willingly accepted.

The editorial board now counts (26 people all in all):

Myrdene Anderson, Argyris Arnellos, Stefan Artmann, Søren Brier, Luis Emilio Bruni, Paul Cobley, Stephen J. Cowley, Fatima Cvrcková, Charbel Niño El-Hani, Marcella Faria, Almo Farina, Mario Gimona, Peter Harries-Jones, Alexander V. Kravchenko, Dario Martinelli, Yair Neuman, Stephen Philip Pain, Susan Petrilli, Joanna Raczaszek-Leonardi, Luis Mateus Rocha, Stanley N. Salthe, Frederik Stjernfelt, Morten Tønnessen, Tommi Vehkavaara, Bruce H. Weber and Günther Witzany.

In addition, there's 4 associate editors ( Donald Favareau, Jesper Hoffmeyer, Kalevi Kull, Anton Markoš) and an Advisory board wherein sits (15 people, namely) Prisca S. Augustyn, Gérard Battail, Peter A. Cariani, Han-liang Chang, Sergei V. Chebanov, Marcel Danesi, Terrence Deacon, John Deely, Claus Emmeche, Cliff A. Joslyn, Koichiro Matsuno, Winfried Nöth, Howard Hunt Pattee, Alexei Sharov and Jean Umiker-Sebeok.

Third semioethics interview confirmed

My contribution (abstracted) “The Semioethics Interviews III: John Deely: Human Understanding in the Age of Global Awareness”, submitted upon invitation to Nova Science Publishers' planned anthology Semiotics: Theory and Applications, has been accepted for inclusion in this volume.

The publication is likely to appear either late this year or early in 2011.

Semioethics interview in Nova's semiotics anthology

I have submitted an abstract entitled “The Semioethics Interviews III: John Deely: Human Understanding in the Age of Global Awareness” to Nova Science Publishers' planned anthology Semiotics: Theory and Applications, upon invitation.

The first interview in this series was published in Hortus Semioticus. The second and fourth are still to find their places of publication (interested, anyone?).

Invitation to contribute to book by Nova Publishers

I have received an email from Nova Science Publishers (signed by editor-in-chief Frank Columbus) in which I am invited to contribute to a book entitled "Semiotics: Theory and applications". They previously published 2 issues of "Journal of Biosemiotics".