CFP: Semiotics of hybrid natures: Anthropogenic ecosystems, multimodalities, transformed umwelts

Call for Papers

Semiotics of hybrid natures:
Anthropogenic ecosystems, multimodalities, transformed umwelts

8–10.11.2018
University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia

Plenary speakers:
Nathalie Blanc (CNRS / Université Paris Diderot -Paris 7, France), Morten Tønnessen (University of Stavanger, Norway) and
Kati Lindström (KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Sweden).

Global and all-encompassing human impact has brought along many new types of relations between humans and other biological species. These interactions change animal ecologies but also bring along new forms and aggregations of umwelts (animal personal worlds, after J. v. Uexküll). In this context, human technology both alienates and reconnects — media technologies have created new ways of becoming related with the environment (development of citizen science and augmented realities), and there are new technological capacities for restoring and shaping environments (geoengineering). Correspondingly, the human-animal-environment configurations have a hybrid nature: they are based on ecological relations, make use of the technologies and artificial environments and at the same time are represented and framed by human culture.

Achieving better knowledge on the dynamics and expressions of “hybrid natures” is essential for mitigating environmental conflicts and enhancing biodiversity in environments under human impact. The aim of the conference is to exchange knowledge on various manifestations of hybrid natures as well as to elaborate suitable research methods in ecosemiotics and beyond in other environmental humanities. Semiotics appears to have good potential for developing methods with prognostic value — for instance, analyzing umwelts and communication for estimating what species can reach stable co-existence and what adjustments may be needed for new natures to persist.

Possible topics for contributions include, but are not limited to:

new types of interactions in interspecies relations;
semiotics of techno-natures;
human-induced changes in animal umwelts;
changes of human perception in hybrid environments;
recognizing and reacting to environmental change;
methodologies for studying hybrid natures;
semiotics of multispecies environments.

Submission

To submit a proposal, interested scholars should e-mail an abstract (up to 500 words) and a bionote (up to 50 words) for the 20 minute presentation to the address: hybridnatures@gmail.com. The abstract should be sent as a separate one-page file (.docx or .rtf; please use template from homepage). The deadline for the abstracts is May 31, 2018. For additional information and further updates please visit the conference website at https://www.flfi.ut.ee/en/semiotics-of-hybrid-natures .

Organisers

The conference “Semiotics of hybrid natures: anthropogenic ecosystems, multimodalities, transformed umwelts” is organized by The Department of Semiotics at the University of Tartu, Estonia and by the Estonian Semiotics Association under the auspice of International Society of Biosemiotic Studies. The conference is supported by the Estonian Research Agency (Grant PUT1363) and The Faculty of Humanities and Arts at the University of Tartu.

Additional information and updates: https://www.flfi.ut.ee/en/semiotics-of-hybrid-natures

Organsing team: Nelly Mäekivi, Riin Magnus, Silver Rattasepp, Timo Maran

E-mail: hybridnatures@gmail.com