CFP: Special Issue of Semiotica: Journal of the International Association for Semiotic Studies – Thomas A. Sebeok for the 21st century

Call for papers

Special Issue of Semiotica: Journal of the International Association for Semiotic Studies (http://www.degruyter.com/view/j/semi)

 Thomas A. Sebeok for the 21st century

Guest editors: Hongbing Yu (Nanjing Normal University
Jamin Pelkey (Ryerson University)

Dear colleagues,

In preparation for the upcoming Thomas A. Sebeok centennial, we are pleased to announce an official call for papers for a special issue of Semiotica on the relevance of Sebeok’s work for the 21st century. As one of the most important contemporary figures in semiotics, linguistics, ethology and cultural studies, Sebeok made profound contributions to the progress of world semiotics through his distinguished theoretical achievements and practical activities. His work has proven to be so relevant that it continues to exert a determinative influence via grounding and direction for the development of semiotics and its many subdivisions, especially biosemiotics, beyond the 20th century. Now nearly two decades into the present century, we wish to highlight specific ways in which his contributions might continue to shape and guide semiotic studies and their relevance for 21st century challenges by drawing on the work of researchers whose inquiry continues to be directly influenced by Sebeok.

Culminating with Modeling Systems Theory and his vision of global semiotics, Sebeok’s transdisciplinary vision is extraordinarily large in scope—providing a pivotal demonstration of global dialectics in open dialogue. These dynamics have afforded ongoing insights into the unprecedented challenges faced by the entire world, in which all semiotic animals, human and non-human, exist in witting or unwitting symbiosis.

This special issue of Semiotica seeks to present up-to-date and informed studies that explore Sebeok’s contributions to semiotics and their vital implications for fundamental problems relevant to semiotic animals facing the next 80 years and beyond. Of particular interest are the human psyche, cognition, communication, culture and society in their capacity as sites where cultural semiospheres and natural biospheres blend and merge. Subject areas we wish to address in this special issue include, but are not confined to, the following:

– cognition;
– language;
– communication;
– neurosciences;
– biology
– evolution
– art, folklore, literature
– society
– philosophy

Papers should present theoretical developments emphasizing critical applications that are directly and thoroughly engaged with the development of Sebeok’s contributions. Papers capable of integrating innovative empirical work across disciplinary boundaries in this regard are especially welcome.

Contributions will undergo double-blind peer review, preceded by a preliminary editorial review of abstracts. The language of this issue is English.

Please send an abstract of about 600 words prior to June 15th 2017 to njnubrandon@126.com and jpelkey@ryerson.ca. Papers (about 40,000 characters long, including spaces) are due by June 15th 2018.

The abstract must be written by following the template below. It should be submitted via a single word file. When saving the file, please name it “Abstract_Your surname”, e.g., Abstract_Smith.

Abstract template:

Surname, Name (e.g., Yu, Hongbing)

Affiliation, Country (e.g., Nanjing Normal University, China)

E-mail

Title of your presentation

Abstract (max. 1300 characters)

Keywords (max. 5)

Bionote (max. 1000 characters)


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