Dissertation dinner attended

Yesterday evening I attended the dissertation dinner of Dr. Lukasz Andrzej Derdowski, at Norwegian School of Hotel Management (University of Stavanger), in my capacity as Vice-Dean of Research.

Book review on wolf conflicts revised

Yesterday I revised the book review I completed April 30th/May 1st, on Norwegian wolf conflicts. It will be published without the summary (in Norwegian plus English) that I wrote, and with no title. The other substantial revision implied not referring to my own work on wolf management. The revisions were made on request by the guest editor.

List of illustrations in my doctoral dissertation

Figure 7: Waiting for wolves.

Figure 1. The levels of biosemiosis

Figure 2. Phenomenal fields

Figure 3. Umwelt transition – wolves becoming dogs – depicted over several steps

Figure 4. Umwelt transition in human relations to sheep and wolves

Figure 5. Umwelt transition in the relation of sheep and humans (overstated)

Figure 6. Field trips – map of places visited

Figure 7. Waiting for wolves

Figure 8. Feeding time

Figure 9. Life at Polar Zoo

Figure 10. Six stuffed (mounted) wolves in Norway

Figure 11. Secluded overview

Figure 12. Phenomenal fields – intragroup variation

Figure 13. a) A tripartite model of the human Umwelt, b) combined with phenomenal fields

See also:

Contents of my doctoral dissertation

Doctoral thesis submitted

Update on my doctoral dissertation (and more)

A week ago or so I posted "Revised contents for my doctoral dissertation". Since then, however, more specifically last Thursday, I was convinced by my supervisor Kalevi Kull to submit a collection of articles (with an original introduction), instead of a monograph. Crucially, however, I will still complete the monograph which summarizes, addresses and further develops the theme of my doctoral studies, and aim at having it published by an international academic publisher, hopefully as soon as the autumn of 2012. This way I can stick to defending my thesis and attaining my doctoral degree just before Christmas, and simultaneously work thoroughly and without haste with the results in form of a monograph.

Revised contents for my doctoral dissertation

Below is the revised table of contents for my doctoral dissertation Umwelt Transition: Uexküllian Phenomenology - An Ecosemiotic Analysis of Norwegian Wolf Management, on which I have been working intensely for the last few weeks. This compares with the contents as previously outlined in Semi-detailed table of contents (posted in March). That outline, however, presented only two of the three levels of numbering used previously. All in all I had some 660 subdivisions. Now I have 117. Much more manageable, but still so inter-disciplinary as to be really challenging, and of incredibly wide scope, if I dare say so myself.

Detailed table of contents

Contents at a glance

Detailed table of contents

Acknowledgements

Preface

Chapter 1 Making Sense of Nature

§1. Introduction

§2. Toward a phenomenology of environmental change

§3. From self to world

§4. The notion of integrated biological individualism

§5. On the levels of biosemiosis

§6. Earth - the natural (and absolute) setting for the human condition

§7 Husserl’s notion of the Lebenswelt

§8 The notion of Uexküllian phenomenology

§9 The notion of semiotics of being

§10 Research questions

§11 Methodology

§12. The Umwelt theory of Jakob von Uexküll

§13. Uexküll’s visual representations

§14. Uexküll’s metaphors: Bubble, web, melody

§15. How 'partner' is to be interpreted (whether social companions in general are to be included)

§16. How 'food' is to be interpreted (whether resources in general are to be included)

§17. On the forms of life

§18. Ontological and epistemological outlook

§19. An anecdote on the role of fiction in the natural sciences

§20. Implications for the scientific enterprise at large

§21. Uexküllian thought after Uexküll

§22. Problems in contemporary ethological approaches to nature

§23. Problems in contemporary semiotic approaches to nature

§24. Changing views on a changing nature

§25. The topic of change

§26. On the current ecological situation

§27. Umwelt typology – systematic outline

§28. What is subjective biology today?

Chapter 2 Uexküllian Phenomenology

§29. Introduction: Uexküll and phenomenology

§30. On the notion of phenomenology

§31. The phenomenology of Charles Sanders Peirce

§32. Remarks on contemporary eco-phenomenology

§33. Semiotics and phenomenology

§34. Introducing a universal, twofold notion of self: The explicit and the implicit self

§35. Problems of phenomenology

§36. Problems of ontology

§37. Existential universals

§38. Communal being and distinctive being

§39. On the forms of existence

§40. The notion of swarm Umwelten

§41. Development of a typology of Umwelt transitions

§42. Modern Umwelten

§43. The search image in social life

§44. Further theoretical developments

§45. Playful Umwelten

Chapter 3 The Semiotics of the Ecological Crisis

§46. Introduction: The trajectory of a crisis

§47. Fragment of a metalogue: On the transition from naïve animal to semiotic animal

§48. Semiosis and crisis

§49. On matters of diversity and extinction

§50. The semiotics of domestication and related phenomena

§51. Anthropocene studies: The global species

§52. Favoured vs. unfavoured species – a hypothesis

§53. On matters of ethics and economy

§54. Ecological alienation

§55. Developing the perspective of Umwelt alignment

§56. Simplified management models for human-animal relations: Integration, segregation (assimilation)

§57. The long-term goal for wildlife management: Independent viability?

§58. Characteristic developments in the modern era

§59. Current developments

Chapter 4 Umwelt Mapping

§60. Introduction: On mapping semiosis at the level of the organism, and higher levels

§61. On matters of quality and quantity

§62. The notion of semiotic causation

§63. Mapping human Umwelten

§64. Mapping human impact

§65. Distinguishing between formal and informal human impact

§66. Mapping status as (un)favoured

§67. First examples of ontological maps

§68. Introducing a tripartite model of the human Umwelt

§69. Methodological challenges

§70. Developing the notion of relational Umwelt maps

§71. Developing the notion of phenomenal fields

§72. Further models and visual representations

Chapter 5 Case study: Norwegian Wolf Management

§73. Introduction: Prelude to the Norwegian wolf wars

§74. Field trips

§75. Preliminary remarks on wolf hunting

§76. Remarks on Arne Næss’ philosophy of wolf management

§77. The cultural semiotic of wolves and sheep

§78. Contextual encircling of the topic matter of the case study

§79. Geographical treatment

§80. The situation for Norwegian sheep farmers and agriculture

§81. The symbolic construction of the Big Bad Wolf in contemporary Scandinavia

§82. Conflict areas in current wolf management

§83. Controversial questions in the current debate

§84. Conspiracy theories

§85. On matters of democracy, empowerment and knowledge regimes

§86. Management strategies

§87. Management methods

§88. On matters of legality

§89. Historical exposition – the era of extermination campaigns

§90. Historical exposition – the era of conservation efforts

§91. Contemporary exposition (2006-2011)

§92. Field trip interviews

§93. Summary of findings: The Umwelt of captive wolves in general and socialised wolves in particular

§94. Summary of findings: The nature view and worldview of people in Rendalen

§95. Mapping of the Umwelt of wolves in Norway

§96. Mapping of the Umwelt of sheep and other relevant animals in Norway

§97. Mapping of the Umwelt of selected groups of Norwegians

§98. Analysis: The wolf and other symbols

§99. Analysis of Norwegian wolf ecology in terms of the semiotic niche and ontological niche concepts

§100. Analysis: Matters of management philosophy, and further analysis

§101. To what extent are wolves a favoured species in contemporary Norway?

§102. To what extent are sheep a favoured species in contemporary Norway?

§103. Analysis: Umwelt transitions

§104. Future perspectives: Deep and shallow solutions

§105. Umwelt futurology: Three Umwelt scenarios

Chapter 6 Umwelt Transition

§106. Introduction: Theoretical findings

§107. To what extent can the case study findings be generalized?

§108. In search of the wolf’s perspective

§109. Evaluation of theoretical assumptions

§110. Evaluation of the methodology of Umwelt mapping

§111. On further methodological development

§112. Umwelt transition and animal migration

§113. On Umwelt transitions as habitual

§114. On recolonization as a habitual Umwelt transition

§115. On further theoretical development

§116. Towards an ethics of semiotics of being

§117. On the prospects of Umwelt futurology

Attestation review completed - 4th year attested positively

Today at 2.50 p.m. Estonian time I was scheduled to be treated by the attestation review committee at the Department of Semiotics, University of Tartu, and I received a phone call through Skype a bit earlier. For 10 minutes I reported about the last academic year, and answered a few questions from the committee and its head Timo Maran. My supervisor Kalevi Kull expressed concern for me health (last week I received alarming news about a new possible chronic diagnosis, related to Morbus Crohns, which I already have - I am currently being tested for this new diagnosis), and asked me not to work too much, and to make sure to have some rest as well. Since I have published substantially this last academic year (cf. also a post on my progress report), I could easily deliver a collection of articles, and focus on writing an introduction. My plan, however, remains to submit a monograph. Asked why by the committee, I replied that I am still developing ideas of substance that have not been expressed in my shorter publications.

A couple of hours later I received an email from the secretary of the department, Ulvi Urm, with the news that all 15 PhD students up for review have been attested positively.

The only thing that remains, then, before I can apply for doctoral degree (hopefully early September), is to finish my dissertation.

PhD time schedule confirmed, formalities settled

As mentioned I have changed my time schedule for completing my PhD. Today I met with my supervisor Kalevi Kull, who allied with department secretary and superhero Ulvi Urm informed me about the possible formal ways of spending the summer writing and submitting my dissertation at the very beginning of the autumn semester, early September. We concluded that the best solution is that I apply for academic leave mid-August (after receiving the two final months of the Estonian state grant), effective from September 1st. This implies that I will have to report for this year's attestation review, where I will be expected to document that I am practically done by providing a collection of academic articles comparable to a dissertation (though my dissertation will be a monograph). In formal terms I will, following this procedure and applying for a doctoral degree in the very beginning of the autumn semester, have completed my PhD studies on time, after 4 years exactly.

Change in time schedule for PhD

I originally planned to deliver my dissertation and apply for doctoral degree Monday May 24th. Early in May, however, I decided to take a few more months writing. I now intend to deliver my dissertation and application at the very beginning of the autumn semester, in the beginning of September. It might be possible to defend my thesis already in November. Despite the change of plans I appear to be the only PhD student in my cohort who will finish in this calender year, on time. As it happens, spending the summer as well writing will allow me to take the final outcome of the ongoing Norwegian policy review in carnivore management into account (though it will not allow me to take a long-awaited summer holiday).

Meanwhile, Jesper Hoffmeyer has tentatively agreed to do pre-review along with Paul Cobley.

OUT OF/IN MY OFFICE

I am currently at my family's coastal cabin, writing on my dissertation. Will be back in civilization Monday May 2nd. If it cannot wait, contact me at (+47) **** ****.

Dissertationes Semioticae 15

Kati Lindström, with whom I guest-edited the special issue of Biosemiotics "Semiotics of Perception" (Biosemiotics 3.3, December 2010), has recently (March 29th) defended her doctoral degree. Her dissertation, the 15th in the series Dissertationes Semioticae, is entitled Delineating Landscape Semiotics: Towards the Semiotic Study of Landscape Processes and includes the article "Autocommunication and Perceptual Markers in Landscape: Japanese Examples", which was published in our special issue.

Pre-review candidate in place

Last week Paul Cobley of London Metropolitan University agreed - if appointed by the committee in charge of this - to be my pre-reviewer in the process leading up to me submitting my doctoral dissertation and applying for doctoral degree. There might be one more pre-reviewer. Being my previewer makes him a candidate for being my opponent as well, this autumn.

Presentation held in doctoral seminar

Two days ago I presented my thesis work in the doctoral seminar of the Department of Semiotics. Beforehand I had distributed a 4-page semi-detailed table of contents of my forthcoming dissertation. In the seminar, however, I went through a variety of visual representations of Uexküllian categories.

I did get some useful feedback - though my chronic habit of constructing new words is not to everyone's taste (but hey, that's exactly what Peirce did, to mention but one inspiring neologizing figure).

Presentation in doctoral seminar scheduled

My presentation in the doctoral seminar of the Department of Semiotics has been scheduled for Tuesday April 12 (14.15-16.00). The topic will be my whole doctoral work as reflected in my thesis/dissertation, which is, according to my plans, to be submitted May 23rd.

Acknowledged in Renata Sõukand's PhD thesis

I am mentioned in the acknowledgements of fellow PhD student Renata Sõukand's PhD thesis Herbal Landscape (introduction available in PDF format here). P. 40:

I would like to express my heartful thanks:
- to all my colleagues at the Estonian Literary Museum [...] as well as to all my fellow doctoral students and colleagues at the Department of Semiotics and specially to Peeter Torop, Silvi Salupere, Kaie Kotov, Ester Võsu, Riste Keskpaik, Kati Lindström and Morten Tønnessen for their encouragement and fruitful discussions.

"Plant as Object within Herbal Landscape: Different Kinds of Perception", which is being published as part of Biosemiotics' special issue Semiotics of Perception (for which I am a guest editor along with Kati Lindström), constitutes part of the dissertation (publication III out of I-VI).

Herbal Landscape will appear as Dissertationes Semioticae Universitatis Tartuensis 14.

Renata has had Kalevi Kull as supervisor, as do I. Almo Farina (Urbino) and Myrdene Anderson (Purdue) will serve as opponents at the defense of the thesis November 9th.