Juri Lotman: A Basic Introduction and Contemporary Applications

On-site in Tartu 31 July - 10 August 2023

In the year 2022, Juri Lotman would have turned 100 years old, and on this occasion, many conferences, exhibitions, publications, courses, and so forth, were dedicated to him. Lotman was known as a leader (if not the leader) of the Tartu-Moscow Semiotic School (TMSS), one of the co-founders of the semiotics of culture, and, as an individual thinker, the creator and developer of the semiosphere concept. Part of this course is dedicated to differentiating these three aspects of Lotman’s life story.

The relevance of this course lies in the celebration of Lotman’s centenary and the subsequent demonstration of how his ideas have continued to remain vital, even after his passing. The aim of this course in general is to give a basic introduction to Lotman, and then describe how Lotmanian ideas have found contemporary application.

Course leader

Erik Kõvamees, University of Tartu

Target group

The programme is designed for BA and MA level students with study background in humanities and cultural studies, history, linguistics, creative and visual arts, communication science etc. But we welcome applications from all adults including university students, professionals and other experts, regardless of educational background

Course aim

Participants of the course will learn to:
The participants of the course will:

-become fluent in Lotmanian terminology and understand his concepts.
-have a centralized notion in the semiosphere which will ground other central Lotmanian notions, such as text, language, and culture.
-understand Lotman’s personal history and the history of his ideas.
-be able to carry out their own “semiospheric” analyses on phenomena past/present/future (on topics as diverse as society, culture, history, the environment, and so on).
-be able to connect Lotmanian semiotics with other research fields.
-be able to see that Lotmanian principles are in operation around them at all times, and thus conceptualize the world differently.

Fee info

EUR 700: The students will engage in seminars, group-works and individual assignments under the guidance of our best professors.
EUR 175: Accommodation in the student dormitories

Scholarships

Find out about the scholarships here:

https://ut.ee/en/content/scholarships-summer-programmes