Application concerning :

PANEUROPEAN NETWORK OF with the special theme of « European Culture in the Global World »

I CONTENT OF THE PROJECT

What is semiotics?

We live in a world in which signs surround us at every moment and place. This has become an almost self-evident truth particularly in the present time of global electronic communication. It has caused dramatic changes in the traditional structures also of the European culture which has partly already steped to the new age of technology-dominated world but which simultaneously tries to keep on its achievements of national cultures and identities, democratic institutions created in the industrial period, and which moreover, to some extent, still lives in the archaic stage of development, particularly in the border areas of the Union and its newly joined members.

Semiotics as the study of signs ad communication tries to answer to these challenges. The term semiotics itseolf stems from the Greek word seemeion, , but it is not only study of the most obvious signs such as verbal languages, tones of music, visual messages, ads, logos, traffic signs, machine generated sounds, national emblems, decorations, clothes, behavior, brands, products of media and marketing etc. but also of the structures supporting and participating to their production. Ultimately semiotics as a science and disciplines studies the signification, the origin of our symbols in values, ethics, and morality. From these philosophical bases it can also exercise a more profound analysis and critics of global effects of technology than merely its efficiancy and functionality. Thus semiotics is an extremely actual science, helpins us to master the radical changes which Europe is undergoing in quite recent years in almost all fields of life.

A Little History

Semiotics as science finds its origins in the Antiquity, from which heritage the theory of signs was passed by medieval thinkers - studied a.o. by - to the modern times until the founders of modern semiotics, the French-Swiss linguist (1857-1913) and the American philosopher Charles S. Peirce (1834-1914), who without knowing each other laid the foundations of the study of signs. Later, semiology passed phases of under the French anthropologist Claude Lévi-Strauss - and other French scholars Michel Foucault, , Julis Kristeva, A.J. Greimas - which movement in the 1980s gave place to poststructuralist thinkers like Jacques Derrida, Pierre Bourdieu, Jean Baudrillard etc.. Simultaneously the Hungarian-.American scholar Thomas A Sebeok at Indiana University Bloomington developed empirical semiotics - which now has lead to the Baltic tradition of created by the Uexkülls. Another line goes from the Russian formalism in the 1910s and 1920s to Prague school in the 1930 and to the cultural semiotics by (Tartu) and his followers.

Where We Are Now?

The most recent development of semiotics focuses around the continental philosophy, the late A.J.Greimas and his Paris school of semiotics, the semioethics by the italian and the existential semiotics developed by the Finnish musicologist Eero Tarasti. In this newest phase which definitely calls itself ‘neosemiotics’ as a science of the 21st century. the role of the signifying subject is emphasized. In its applications this means that semiotics scrutinizes the above-mentioned abrupt changes and impacts of globalisation not only on the level of material and technological changes of our culture and European heritage but also on what they mean for an individual subject, citizen and member of various national and regional communities and groups, and for their identities in the present day Europe. In this sense, neosemiotics continues the humanist tradition of European thought and values while at the same time as it is close to media.centered world of technology and communication.

At the beginning of its history in the 20th century when semiotics started to become recognized as an academic paradigm of its own, it was discussed whether it was an approach, method or discipline. By its nature it is extremely interdisciplinary crossing over traditional boundaries of sciences: semiotics is used and applied in all the humanities, social sciences, biosciences., mathematics, arts, technical sciences - and theology. However, nowadays there is no doubt it is a science standing on its own, a discipline with an individual profile. In this sense there are a lot of chairs, institutes and research centers in all the European countries not to mention Canada, the US, Latin American and now growingly also in the Asia. In Russia after recent order by the Ministry of Education semiotics is now included in the curriculum of all the humanitieis throughout this country. So, semiotics is something extremely topical in the whole world just now.

Most Important Centers

However, among the most important research institutes and educational centers of semiotics in the present day Europe, regarding our project, are :

1) The International Semiotics Institute or ISI functioning Finland, founded in 1988 at Imatra to cover the whole world, regarding dissemination of information on semiotic activities globally, having its regular summer and winter schools, symposia, publishing series (Acta Semiotica Fennica, together with Indiana University Press, Bologna’s CLUEB and Sorbonne’s series). In the summer 2007 Imatra together with University organized the IASS9, the ninth world congress of semiotics This was a sign of the international recognition the Finnish semiotics is enjoying in the entire world.

Moreover, the ISI is now hosting the National Network University of Semiotics in Finland, in which 15 Finnish Universities cooperate, the University of Lapland functioning as its ‘mother’ university. This has served as an important pilot project to the future paneuropean network of semiotics. Its first period 2004-2007 has just passed by, there are about 100 students, who prepare Master’s and Doctor’s degrees with semiotic orientation to their home universities. The planning and administering this national network has given us essential practical knowledge on how such project will function in all-European level. At the same time the Finnish network will continue and is now starting its second period 2008-2011.

2) The Faculty of Media and Arts in the University of Rovaniemi, Lapland, specializing to semiotics of media, and now one of the partners and the initiators of the paneuropean network of semiotics under construction. It exercises its organizational via the ISI.

3) , in which semiotics has been taught and studied since the 1990 and which now has a Study Program of Semiotics, has a chair and is just opening an international Master School of Semiotics. A close cooperation exists between Helsinki, Lapland and the ISI whose activities complete and support each other. Responsable for the Helsinki activities are Eero Tarasti and Harri Veivo.

4) Institut de l’esthetique et technologie des arts contemporaines, Paris I, Pantheon- Sorbonne, which regarding theoretical basis is in the tradition of Parisian school of semiotics (Greimas) and has already organised to major international congresses on Musical Signification; The chair of these activities is prof Costin Miereanu

5) The Southeast European center for semiotics at the New Bulgarian University in Sofia, has a full program of semiotics from master to doctor, organizes annual international seminars on semiotics, the so-called ‘Early Fall School of Semiotics’ in Bulgaria. The director of this Institute has been after Maria Popova Kristian Bankov from philosophy. The important figure is the literary semiotician Bogdan Bogdanov, the chair of the University Council.

***

6) University of Tartu, with its traditions in semiotics since Yuri Lotman, founder of the Tartu-Moscow school of cultural semiotics, and more recently since foundation of biosemiotics, dating back to Jakob v. Uexküll. Tartu University has full program and discipline of semiotics run by professors Peeter Torop and .

7) Istituto superiore di scienze umane, at the University of Bologna, directed by Umberto Eco, having full all-Italian doctoral program of semiotics, directed by Patrizia Violi. Close co-operation has already been established between the ISI of Finland and Bologna institution.

8) Department of Foreign Languages and Literature at University of Bari, Southern Italy, under the philosopher Augusto Ponzio and semiotician in women studies , and Patrizia Calefato, in cinema and cultural studies. They have likewise a full master and doctoral program in semiotics, and organize actively international conventions.

Furthermore, at the global scene of semiotics one has to mention The International Association for Semiotic Studies IASS/AIS, which was founded in 1969; there are now national semiotic societies everywhere in the world, Individual branches of semiotics like visual, musical, philosophical, law, media, etc. have their own societies. There is a trend that semiotics is expanding and specializing into more and more discrete units, its ‘galaxy’ is under process of ‘explosion’ as Umberto Eco has characterized the situation. There are a lot academic publishing series in semiotics, both for monographs and magazines. Thus the institutional basis is well established.

Paneuropean Network of Semiotic Centers and Schools

The major schools within semiotics have their centers which foster their own traditions and the research and teaching in these places is strongly focusing these centers, like cultural semiotics after Lotman in Tartu, Greimas’s semiotics in France, Italy and Lithuania, biosemiotics, in Denmark, semioethics in Bari, Eco’s semiotics in Bologna, existential semiotics in Helsinki. Geographically speaking we can make the following list of important centers of learning and research in the Europe in this field:

Northern Europe:

University of Helsinki, Program of semiotics, directed by Eero Tarasti and Harri Veivo, international seminars on master and doctoral level for musical semiotics and existential semiotics; one of the centers of the global semiotics, host of the last world congress in 2007 June; center for various publishing activities in semiotics

University of Lapland, together with International Semiotics Institute, Rector Mauri Ylä-Kotola being the major figure in media and cinema semiotics in Rovaniemi

University of Oulu, Northern Finland, center for many activities from biosemiotics to linguistics, Hjelmslev studies and Nordic Philology, contact person prof Irma Sorvali

University of Lund, special field in visual semiotics, master and doctoral program, directed by Göran Sonesson

University of Southern Denmark (former Odense University), major field in literary semiotics, under direction by Jörgen Dines Johansen.

University of Aarhus, many branches of semiotics represented, particularly in cognitive studies, contact person there Svend Östergaard

University of Copenhagen, biosemiotics, professors Jesper Hoffmeyer and Klaus Emmeche

Baltic countries:

University of Tartu, the headquarter of the famous Tartu-Moscow school of semiotics, director Peeter Torop, but also specializing in biosemiotics under Kalevi Kull

University of Tallinn, in which semiotics is taught by professor Mikhail Lotman, with emphasis in Russian studies, theory and film.

University of Vilnius, and its Greimas research center, directed by Dalia Satkayskyte, publishing series Baltos Lankos by Saulius Zukas, main representative Kestutis Nastopka

Eastern Europe

University of Budapest, Department of Folkloristic studies, specializing to semiotic research of European cultural heritage (Prof Vilmos Voigt) and folklore (Mihail Hoppal)

University of Bucarest, the Rumanian tradition of semiotics research focuses on mathematics and its application under Academician Solomon Marcus, but also in cultural and literary semiotics, (Academician Alexander Boboc, Soren Alexandrescu, Mariana Net)

University of Iasi, Rumanian Transsilvania, biosemiotic school under Prof Traian Stanciulescu

University of Bacau Rumania, under Deran Doina Cmeciu, hosting the first Rumanian symposium on semiotics in Nov. 2006

New Bulgarian University in Sofia, created under Bogdan Bogdanov and Maria Popova one of the strongest and living centers of semiotics with full program of master and doctor in semiotics, main representative is Kristian Bankov, specialist of Henri Bergson’s philosophy of language.

University of Nitra, Slovakia, hermeneutically and literary oriented Nitra school of semiotics under various professors; contact person Dr. Julius Fujak

Iagellonian University of Cracow, Poland, and Music Academy, emphasis on phenomenologically oriented semiotics after Maria Golaszewska, and musical semiotics under Mieczyslav Tomaszewski

Adam Mickiewicz University of Poznan, philosophy under prof Zdzislaw Wasik and musical semiotics school under Dr Maciej Jablonski

University of Warsaw and Polish Academy of Sciences, Polish tradition on logic oriented semiotics after famous logician Jerzy Pelc, now also studies in folkloristics and temporality of sign systems, director Jacek Jadacki

Music Academy of Katowice, active school of musical semiotics with young generation scholars educated by Danuta Mirka, herself now professor in Southampton University, main representative musicologist Bogumila Mika

Southern Europe

Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, under the famous school of semiotics in urban planning and architecture Prof Aleksandros Lagopoulos

Ioannian University, the Paris school of semiotics in literary studies by Prof Eratosthenos Kapsomenos

University of Bologna, Istituto di studi superiori in scienze umane dell’Università di Bologna (SSSUB) , under prof Umberto Eco, and Patrizia Violi: one of the main centers of semiotics in the Europe, full program of masters and doctors in semiotics

University of Turin, Center of semiotic studies, directed by profs Guido Ferrari, Ugo Volli and Massimo Leone.

University of Reggio Emilia, emphasis on communication studies by Patrick Coppock

University of Rome I , La Sapienza, Department of Communication studies under prof Isabella Pezzini

University of Tor Vergata, contact person there prof Agositino Ziino ; linked to music semiotics and art therapy called ‘ Globalità di linguaggi, under professors Gino Stefani and Stefania Guerra Lisi, Università Popolare di MusicArTerapia

University of Bari, Dipartimento di lettere et lingue stranieri, philosophical ‘Bari’ school of semiotics under prof Augusto Ponzio and Susann Petrilli, specializing in semioethics and critical studies of mass communication; strong in studies of cinema fashion and contemporary culture (Patrizia Calefato)

University of Palermo, one of the active centers in Italy, host of the world congress of the IASS in 1984, under prof Buttitta, now main representative the social semiotician Gianfranco Marrone

University of Siena, oriented towards French semiotics, focusing in visual semiotics under Omar Calabrese.

University of Madrid, Communication Department. under Jorge Lozano and Romero Castillo.

Music Academy of Barcelona, specializing in musical semiotics, particularly on contemporary sound phenomena and soundscapes under Ruben Lopez Cano.

University of Valladolid, linguistic semiotics and music, contact person Hector Fernandez Bahillo

University of Coruna, Dep of Literature, under Prof Jose Maria Paz Gago, the leading Cervantes specialist, with strong ties to Latin American semiotics.

University of Aix en Provence, emphasis on sociology and of music, under Jean-Marie Jacono, Christine Esclapez and Bernard Vecchione

University of Paris I Pantheon-.Sorbonne and its center IDEAC, Institut de l’esthetique et technologie des arts contemporains, one of the most varied programs of studies in contemporary art cultures under prof Costin Miereanu

University of Paris IV (Sorbonne), Dep. of literature, Paris school semipotics under prof Anne Hénault

University of Limoges, one of the main center of the so-called Paris school created by A.J. Greimas., under prof Jacques Fontanille and Ivan Darrault

University of Paris VIII, Departement de musicologie, specializing in contemporary music prof Ivanka Stoianova, Antonio Lai, Horacio Vaggione

University of Lyon, famous for its center for religious discourse studies, CADIR, under Prof. Louis Panier; semiotics of politics under Prof Bernard Lamizet; host of the world congrss of semiotics in 2004.

University of Marc Bloch in Strasbourg, also strong school of musical semiotics under prof Marta Grabocz, center of a network of musical semiotics

Central Europe

University of Bruxelles, Department of Theater Studies, under prof André Helbo, hosting an ERASMUS network on theater studies, editor-in-chief of DEGRES, the Belgian review of semiotics.

Université de Liège, semiotic program directed by the famous scholar Jean-Marie Klinkenberg in the Faculty of Philosophy.

University of Dortmund has a chair in scientific communication and semiotics, focusing in communication studies under prof Guido Ipsen

University of Kassel, where semiotics program is run at the English Philology by prof Winried Nöth, also professor of semiotics in the Catholic University of Sao Paulo.

Freie Universität Berlin, Institute of Linguistics, directed by Prof Jürgen Trabant

London Metropolitan University, school of communication, under prof. Paul Cobley, the leading young semiotician in the U.K, author of various anthologies and editor-in-chied of the semiotically oriented magazine ‘Subject Matters’.

Liverpool Hope University, School of Music, with main representative Dr Tom Pankhurst

***

Outside the EU but in the Europe :

Universität Bern, Institut für Germanistik, main representative there prof Dr. dr. Ernest W.B. Hess-Lüttich

University of Zurich, the English Seminar, Dr Christina Ljungberg

European University of St. Petersburg, with eminent scholars in cognitive semiotics like prof Tatyana Czernigtovskaya, and in cultural semiotics by Grigori Levinton, and Ilya Utekhin

II GOALS OF THE PROJECT

Purpose of the project:

To create a cross cutting network for semiotic studies and research in the European Union

Results:

1. Increased awareness of available expertise in different institutions across the Europe 2. Combined focus on possibilities for pan-European Semiotic Studies for graduates and postgraduates as well as PhDs 3. Raised awareness of semiotics as studies or research to potential students.

Activities :

1. increasing awareness of available expertise 1.1.4 4 thematically different symposia for academics across Europe 1.1.1. Theory and philosophy of semiotics, arts and media, in Finland 1.1.2 Social semiotics in Bulgaria 1.1.3 Arts and semiotics in Paris 1..1.4. Cultural and biosemiotics in Tartu 1.1.5. Final symposia in one of the project Universities in the Europe 1.2. Publication on semiotic expertise in Europe 1.2.1. Setting up a publications workgroup 1.2.2. Collecting information from the symposia 1.2.3 Editing gathered information into a publication 1.2.4 Creating a sustainability plan for future pan-European publications

2. Combined focus on possibilities for pan-European semiotic studies for graduates and postgraduates as well for PhD students.

2.1. Interest study in the universities of the network for the creation of pan-European studies in semiotics. 2.2. Market research for the potential students 2.3. Opening the discussion on the possibilities of semiotis as a separate field of studies 2.4. Opening the discussions on practicalities of joint degrees in different fields of semiotics 2.5. Feasibility study regarding the joint degree possibilties among the partner universities

3. Raised awareness of semiotics as studies or research to potential students. 3.1. Active promotion of the 4 symposia to a wider public 3.2. inviting all major Universities of Europe to participate in the semiotics symposia 3.3. Delivering the publication to all the participants of the symposia 3.4. Active student recruitment for existing semiotics studies in the partner universities 3.4.1 organize meeting days for students and professors in semiotics 3.4.2 invite potential students to events taking place in the network 3.4.3 promotion of semiotics as a field of study through mass media