Seminar on methodology of ecosemiotics

Seminar on methodology of ecosemiotics

November 28-19, 2013, Tartu, in Tartu Loodusmaja, Lille 10

The relationship of cultural phenomena and various subjects with their respective environments has been a central research interest in semiotics. The seminar will focus on the methods and methodological problems in semiotic studies of relations between cultural phenomena, living beings and the environment. The diversity in the field of research methods can be manifested as field work, analysis of representations and texts,  as well as interviews and questionnaires;  different challenges are posed by the diverse environments and subjects studied, ranging  from islets to cities, from poets to plants.

Presentations and discussions at the seminar relate to methodological problems arising in studying relationships of the environment, subjects and cultural phenomena, on outlining challenges as well as offering possible solutions.

Seminar program:

28.11

10.00-12.00

Kalevi Kull “Morphology of umwelt”

Laura Kiiroja “Socialising zoo animals with people – the semiotics of methodology”

Renata Sõukand “What is wild edible plant: common definitions through the places of gathering”

Tartu Nature School and ecosemiotic teaching

13.00-14.00

Katarzyna Kaczmarczyk  “What is a garden? – a semiotic answer to a general question“

Tiit Remm “Texting and textualisation in urban planning, experiences and representations”

14.00-16.00

Round-table

29.11

10.00-12.00

Timo Maran “The role of ad-hoc approaches in ecosemiotic research”

Jamie Kruis “Differences between Jakob von Uexküll’s composition of Nature and linguistic codes: The phenomenon of learning as the next step in Umwelt research”

Morten Tønnessen “Plans for field work on predator-prey conflicts in Norway involving video-recorded interviews followed by pico-scale analysis”

Riin Magnus, Kadri Tüür “Doing ecosemiotic research on Western Estonian islets”

In the name of organisers,

Tiit Remm

Department of Semiotics, University of Tartu

tiit.remm@ut.ee

The seminar is organised by Department of Semiotics, University of Tartu in the framework of the research grant “Ecosemiotic analysis of Estonian culture of nature” and supported by the European Union through the European Regional Development Fund (Center of Excellence CECT).