The Tartu‒Moscow School accepted as its professional attitude to reconstruct the tradition and co... more The Tartu‒Moscow School accepted as its professional attitude to reconstruct the tradition and connect itself to the forgotten or repressed cultural-scientific achievements of the period of the first decades of the 20th century. One mission of Lotman as one of the leaders of the Tartu-Moscow School was knowing and mediating forgotten heritage. In the situation of censorship many contacts between Lotman and Russian theory were not visible. Thus, the synthesis of Lotman, Tynianov, Bakhtin, Vygotsky, Eisenstein and others, in an implicit dialogue, can be the basis for the formation of the next stage of semiotics of culture. Finally, Tynjanov's understanding of literary and cultural dynamics, Lotman's semiotic theory of text and his thoughts about a model of space as one of the primary languages of culture, and Bakhtin's theory of chronotope form this theoretical complex that can give new possibilities for developing both, theoretical and practical principles of cultural and...
The concept of translation is redefined in a way that allows us to apply it to sign processes in ... more The concept of translation is redefined in a way that allows us to apply it to sign processes in non-humans. An approach to biology that makes organisms understandable via translation technology which is able to transmit the life of a sign system, the meaning of a biotext, without destroying it, is an aim for any biologist. Biotranslation, as distinct from eutranslation, occurs as a general process in message transfer between the Umwelten of organisms, including both intraspecific and in some cases also interspecific translation. Defining translation as transmission between Umwelten generalizes the notion of translation as transmission between languages. Since biological texts differ from human texts particularly at the level of syntactic elements, present to a lesser extent in the former, the concept of prosyntax is introduced for biological situations. Dank der Übernahme fremder Motive gestaltet sich der Körper eines jeden Subjektes zu einem Bedeutungsempfänger jener Bedeutungsträ...
The most common difficulty in translation studies has traditionally been the dilemma between the ... more The most common difficulty in translation studies has traditionally been the dilemma between the historical and synchronic approaches in the analysis and description of the culture of translation. On the one hand the culture of translation might be presented as the sum of various kinds of translated texts (repertoire of culture), on the other hand it might be described as the hierarchy of the various types of translations themselves. The first approach assumes plenty of languages for such description, in the latter one suggests only one language for the same representation. A cultural critic faces the same problems. In these perspectives the translation reveals important mechanisms of the performance of culture. First of all it is the semiotic interpretation of the theory of translation, introduced by the number of scientists beginning with R. Jakobson and including U. Eco who put together interlinguistic, intra-linguistic, and inter-semiotic translations, so crucial for the further...
Since 1984 when J. Lotman’s article “On semiosphere” was published, this concept has been moving ... more Since 1984 when J. Lotman’s article “On semiosphere” was published, this concept has been moving from one terminological field to another. In the disciplinary terminological field of the Tartu–Moscow School semiotics of culture, ‘semiosphere’ is connected with terms ‘language — secondary modelling system — text — culture’. From interdisciplinary terminological fields, the associations either with biosphere and noosphere, or with logosphere, are more important. As a metadisciplinary concept, semiosphere belongs to the methodology of culture studies and is associated with the concepts of holism and the part and the whole. In this context, semiosphere marks the complementarity of disciplines studying culture, the movement towards the creation of general culture studies and “understanding methodology”. On the background of the contemporary trends of science it has to be remembered that semiosphere is simultaneously an objectand a metaconcept. The dynamism of culture as a research object...
... Mimikrist liikidevahelise kommunikatsiooni kontekstis Timo Maran Mimikri analüüsimine kommuni... more ... Mimikrist liikidevahelise kommunikatsiooni kontekstis Timo Maran Mimikri analüüsimine kommunikatsiooniaktina avab uusi perspektiive mimikri-nähtuste uurimisel, ent samuti võib säärane lähtekoht avardada meie arusaamist kommunikatsioonist. ...
Peeter Torop Department of Semiotics, University of Tartu "The Tartu School as a School"... more Peeter Torop Department of Semiotics, University of Tartu "The Tartu School as a School" The paper addresses the question in what sense the Tartu school of semiotics constituted and still constitutes a coherent research community, and in what sense it can be called a school. The author discusses especially two aspects of this question: first, the Tartu school as a trend in semiotic research, and secondly, as a semiotic doctrine. The leading role of Yuri Lotman, the evolution of his thought, and his influence on the school during his lifetime and after his death are exposed as well as the contribution and impact of the school abroad.
The semiospherical approach to semiotics and especially to semiotics of culture entails the need ... more The semiospherical approach to semiotics and especially to semiotics of culture entails the need of juxtaposing several terminological fields. Among the most important, the fields of textuality, chronotopicality, and multimodality or multimediality should be listed. Textuality in this paper denotes a general principle with the help of which it is possible to observe and to interpret different aspects of the workings of culture. Textuality combines in itself text as a well-defined artefact and textualization as an abstraction (presentation or definition as text). In culture, we can pose in principle the same questions both to a concrete and to an abstract text, although an abstract text is only an operational means for defining, with the help of textualization, a certain phenomenon in the interests of a holistic and systemic analysis. The practice of textualization in turn helps us to understand the necessity of distinguishing between articulation emerging from the textual material i...
The most common difficulty in translation studies has traditionally been the dilemma between the ... more The most common difficulty in translation studies has traditionally been the dilemma between the historical and synchronic approaches in the analysis and description of the culture of translation. On the one hand the culture of translation might be presented as the sum of various kinds of translated texts (repertoire of culture), on the other hand it might be described as the hierarchy of the various types of translations themselves. The first approach assumes plenty of languages for such description, in the latter one suggests only one language for the same representation. A cultural critic faces the same problems. In these perspectives the translation reveals important mechanisms of the performance of culture. First of all it is the semiotic interpretation of the theory of translation, introduced by the number of scientists beginning with R. Jakobson and including U. Eco who put together interlinguistic, intra-linguistic, and inter-semiotic translations, so crucial for the further...
Kultuuripärandi säilimine kultuurimälus, selle osalus kultuuriidentiteedi väärtustamises ja kultu... more Kultuuripärandi säilimine kultuurimälus, selle osalus kultuuriidentiteedi väärtustamises ja kultuuri kestlikkuse tagamises sõltub tema meelespidamise viisidest. Tänapäeval on nendeks viisideks transmeedialisus ja digitaalne lugemine. Pärandi vahendajatena ilmuvad raamatute kõrvale digitaalsed platvormid. Nende eesmärk on ühtlasi kultiveerida uusi kirjaoskusi, mis ei põhine üksnes verbaalsel emakeelel, sest kultuuris osalemine eeldab üha enam ka pildiliste ja helilis-pildiliste märgisüsteemide valdamist nii tõlgendamises kui eneseväljenduses. Artikkel põhineb TÜ transmeedia uurimisrühma kogemusel (humanitaar)hariduslike platvormide loomisel, tuues selle pinnalt välja mõned digitaalses keskkonnas eriti selgelt esile tulevad kultuurisemiootilised printsiibid. Traditionally, books have been considered as one of the most valuable elements of culture (Kroó 2019, Torop 2019). Mediating unique literary/artistic texts, they also appear as models of culture. The book as a model of culture r...
Artikkel on pühendatud tõlketeooriat ja tõlkelugu ühendavale ideoloogia mõistele. Jälgitud on ide... more Artikkel on pühendatud tõlketeooriat ja tõlkelugu ühendavale ideoloogia mõistele. Jälgitud on ideoloogia mõistevälja dünaamikat 21. sajandi tõlketeoorias ja tõlkeloos. Vaatluse all on tõlketeaduslikes käsiraamatutes loodud terminiväljade muutumist ideoloogia mõiste hägustumisest uute mõistete juurutamiseni. Artikkel osutab olukorrale tõlketeaduses, kus tõlketeoreetiline kirevus on nii suur, et tõlkeloolastel on raske nii metodoloogilist kui praktilist tuge leida. Samas osutab tõlketeooria areng üldisele mõttelaadi dünaamikale tõlkekultuuriga seoses ja selles toimuvaid protsesse on võimalik tõlkeloo analüüsimeetodite täiustamisel ära kasutada. If there is a wish to understand translation, it is necessary to consider all its aspects also from the point of view of ideology. The process of translation should be seen as a complex of interlinguistic, intralinguistic, and intersemiotic translations, on the one hand, and as a complex of linguistic, cultural, economic, and ideological acti...
The Tartu‒Moscow School accepted as its professional attitude to reconstruct the tradition and co... more The Tartu‒Moscow School accepted as its professional attitude to reconstruct the tradition and connect itself to the forgotten or repressed cultural-scientific achievements of the period of the first decades of the 20th century. One mission of Lotman as one of the leaders of the Tartu-Moscow School was knowing and mediating forgotten heritage. In the situation of censorship many contacts between Lotman and Russian theory were not visible. Thus, the synthesis of Lotman, Tynianov, Bakhtin, Vygotsky, Eisenstein and others, in an implicit dialogue, can be the basis for the formation of the next stage of semiotics of culture. Finally, Tynjanov's understanding of literary and cultural dynamics, Lotman's semiotic theory of text and his thoughts about a model of space as one of the primary languages of culture, and Bakhtin's theory of chronotope form this theoretical complex that can give new possibilities for developing both, theoretical and practical principles of cultural and...
The concept of translation is redefined in a way that allows us to apply it to sign processes in ... more The concept of translation is redefined in a way that allows us to apply it to sign processes in non-humans. An approach to biology that makes organisms understandable via translation technology which is able to transmit the life of a sign system, the meaning of a biotext, without destroying it, is an aim for any biologist. Biotranslation, as distinct from eutranslation, occurs as a general process in message transfer between the Umwelten of organisms, including both intraspecific and in some cases also interspecific translation. Defining translation as transmission between Umwelten generalizes the notion of translation as transmission between languages. Since biological texts differ from human texts particularly at the level of syntactic elements, present to a lesser extent in the former, the concept of prosyntax is introduced for biological situations. Dank der Übernahme fremder Motive gestaltet sich der Körper eines jeden Subjektes zu einem Bedeutungsempfänger jener Bedeutungsträ...
The most common difficulty in translation studies has traditionally been the dilemma between the ... more The most common difficulty in translation studies has traditionally been the dilemma between the historical and synchronic approaches in the analysis and description of the culture of translation. On the one hand the culture of translation might be presented as the sum of various kinds of translated texts (repertoire of culture), on the other hand it might be described as the hierarchy of the various types of translations themselves. The first approach assumes plenty of languages for such description, in the latter one suggests only one language for the same representation. A cultural critic faces the same problems. In these perspectives the translation reveals important mechanisms of the performance of culture. First of all it is the semiotic interpretation of the theory of translation, introduced by the number of scientists beginning with R. Jakobson and including U. Eco who put together interlinguistic, intra-linguistic, and inter-semiotic translations, so crucial for the further...
Since 1984 when J. Lotman’s article “On semiosphere” was published, this concept has been moving ... more Since 1984 when J. Lotman’s article “On semiosphere” was published, this concept has been moving from one terminological field to another. In the disciplinary terminological field of the Tartu–Moscow School semiotics of culture, ‘semiosphere’ is connected with terms ‘language — secondary modelling system — text — culture’. From interdisciplinary terminological fields, the associations either with biosphere and noosphere, or with logosphere, are more important. As a metadisciplinary concept, semiosphere belongs to the methodology of culture studies and is associated with the concepts of holism and the part and the whole. In this context, semiosphere marks the complementarity of disciplines studying culture, the movement towards the creation of general culture studies and “understanding methodology”. On the background of the contemporary trends of science it has to be remembered that semiosphere is simultaneously an objectand a metaconcept. The dynamism of culture as a research object...
... Mimikrist liikidevahelise kommunikatsiooni kontekstis Timo Maran Mimikri analüüsimine kommuni... more ... Mimikrist liikidevahelise kommunikatsiooni kontekstis Timo Maran Mimikri analüüsimine kommunikatsiooniaktina avab uusi perspektiive mimikri-nähtuste uurimisel, ent samuti võib säärane lähtekoht avardada meie arusaamist kommunikatsioonist. ...
Peeter Torop Department of Semiotics, University of Tartu "The Tartu School as a School"... more Peeter Torop Department of Semiotics, University of Tartu "The Tartu School as a School" The paper addresses the question in what sense the Tartu school of semiotics constituted and still constitutes a coherent research community, and in what sense it can be called a school. The author discusses especially two aspects of this question: first, the Tartu school as a trend in semiotic research, and secondly, as a semiotic doctrine. The leading role of Yuri Lotman, the evolution of his thought, and his influence on the school during his lifetime and after his death are exposed as well as the contribution and impact of the school abroad.
The semiospherical approach to semiotics and especially to semiotics of culture entails the need ... more The semiospherical approach to semiotics and especially to semiotics of culture entails the need of juxtaposing several terminological fields. Among the most important, the fields of textuality, chronotopicality, and multimodality or multimediality should be listed. Textuality in this paper denotes a general principle with the help of which it is possible to observe and to interpret different aspects of the workings of culture. Textuality combines in itself text as a well-defined artefact and textualization as an abstraction (presentation or definition as text). In culture, we can pose in principle the same questions both to a concrete and to an abstract text, although an abstract text is only an operational means for defining, with the help of textualization, a certain phenomenon in the interests of a holistic and systemic analysis. The practice of textualization in turn helps us to understand the necessity of distinguishing between articulation emerging from the textual material i...
The most common difficulty in translation studies has traditionally been the dilemma between the ... more The most common difficulty in translation studies has traditionally been the dilemma between the historical and synchronic approaches in the analysis and description of the culture of translation. On the one hand the culture of translation might be presented as the sum of various kinds of translated texts (repertoire of culture), on the other hand it might be described as the hierarchy of the various types of translations themselves. The first approach assumes plenty of languages for such description, in the latter one suggests only one language for the same representation. A cultural critic faces the same problems. In these perspectives the translation reveals important mechanisms of the performance of culture. First of all it is the semiotic interpretation of the theory of translation, introduced by the number of scientists beginning with R. Jakobson and including U. Eco who put together interlinguistic, intra-linguistic, and inter-semiotic translations, so crucial for the further...
Kultuuripärandi säilimine kultuurimälus, selle osalus kultuuriidentiteedi väärtustamises ja kultu... more Kultuuripärandi säilimine kultuurimälus, selle osalus kultuuriidentiteedi väärtustamises ja kultuuri kestlikkuse tagamises sõltub tema meelespidamise viisidest. Tänapäeval on nendeks viisideks transmeedialisus ja digitaalne lugemine. Pärandi vahendajatena ilmuvad raamatute kõrvale digitaalsed platvormid. Nende eesmärk on ühtlasi kultiveerida uusi kirjaoskusi, mis ei põhine üksnes verbaalsel emakeelel, sest kultuuris osalemine eeldab üha enam ka pildiliste ja helilis-pildiliste märgisüsteemide valdamist nii tõlgendamises kui eneseväljenduses. Artikkel põhineb TÜ transmeedia uurimisrühma kogemusel (humanitaar)hariduslike platvormide loomisel, tuues selle pinnalt välja mõned digitaalses keskkonnas eriti selgelt esile tulevad kultuurisemiootilised printsiibid. Traditionally, books have been considered as one of the most valuable elements of culture (Kroó 2019, Torop 2019). Mediating unique literary/artistic texts, they also appear as models of culture. The book as a model of culture r...
Artikkel on pühendatud tõlketeooriat ja tõlkelugu ühendavale ideoloogia mõistele. Jälgitud on ide... more Artikkel on pühendatud tõlketeooriat ja tõlkelugu ühendavale ideoloogia mõistele. Jälgitud on ideoloogia mõistevälja dünaamikat 21. sajandi tõlketeoorias ja tõlkeloos. Vaatluse all on tõlketeaduslikes käsiraamatutes loodud terminiväljade muutumist ideoloogia mõiste hägustumisest uute mõistete juurutamiseni. Artikkel osutab olukorrale tõlketeaduses, kus tõlketeoreetiline kirevus on nii suur, et tõlkeloolastel on raske nii metodoloogilist kui praktilist tuge leida. Samas osutab tõlketeooria areng üldisele mõttelaadi dünaamikale tõlkekultuuriga seoses ja selles toimuvaid protsesse on võimalik tõlkeloo analüüsimeetodite täiustamisel ära kasutada. If there is a wish to understand translation, it is necessary to consider all its aspects also from the point of view of ideology. The process of translation should be seen as a complex of interlinguistic, intralinguistic, and intersemiotic translations, on the one hand, and as a complex of linguistic, cultural, economic, and ideological acti...
The interpretation of cultural history in the context of cultural semiotics, especially interpret... more The interpretation of cultural history in the context of cultural semiotics, especially interpretation of semiotics of cultural history as a semiotics of culture, and semiotics of culture as a semiotics of cultural history, gives us, first, a deeper understanding of the analysability of cultural history and, at the same time, of the importance of history and different aspects of temporality for the semiotics of culture. Second, the history of the semiotics of culture, especially the semiotics of culture of the Tartu-Moscow School of Semiotics, is an organic part of cultural history, while the self-presentation of the school via establishing explicit and implicit contacts with the heritage of Russian theory (the Formalist School, the Bakhtin circle, Vygotskij, Eisenstein etc) was already a semiotic activity and an object of the semiotics of cultural history. Third, the main research object of semiotics of culture is the hierarchy of the sign systems of culture and the existent as well as historical correlations between these sign systems. Such conceptualization of the research object of semiotics of culture turns the latter into a semiotics of cultural history. Emphasizing the semiotic aspect of cultural history can support the development of semiotics of culture in two ways. First, semiotics of culture has the potential of conducting more in-depth research of texts as mediators between the audience and the cultural tradition. Second, semiotics of culture as a semiotics of cultural history can be methodologically used for establishing a new (chronotopical) theory of culture.
The concept of translation is redefined in a way that allows us to apply it to sign processes in ... more The concept of translation is redefined in a way that allows us to apply it to sign processes in non-humans. An approach to biology that makes organisms understandable via translation technology which is able to transmit the life of a sign system, the meaning of a biotext, without destroying it, is an aim for any biologist. Biotranslation, as distinct from eutranslation, occurs as a general process in message transfer between the Umwelten of organisms, including both intraspecific and in some cases also interspecific translation. Defining translation as transmission between Umwelten generalizes the notion of translation as transmission between languages. Since biological texts differ from human texts particularly at the level of syntactic elements, present to a lesser extent in the former, the concept of prosyntax is introduced for biological situations.
Juri Lotman (1922–1993), the Russian-Estonian literary scholar, cultural historian and semioticia... more Juri Lotman (1922–1993), the Russian-Estonian literary scholar, cultural historian and semiotician, was one of the most original and important cultural theorists of the 20th century, as well as a co-founder of the well-known Tartu-Moscow School of Semiotics. This is the first authoritative volume to explore Lotman's work and discuss his main ideas and intellectual legacy in the context of contemporary scholarship.
Boasting an interdisciplinary cast of academics from across the globe, the book is structured into three main sections – Context, Concepts and Dialogue – which simultaneously provide ease of navigation and intriguing prisms through which to view Lotman's various scholarly contributions. Saussure, Bakhtin, Language, Memory, Space, Cultural History, New Historicism, Literary Studies and Political Theory are just some of the thinkers, themes and approaches examined in relation to Lotman, while the introduction and Lotman bibliography in English that frame the main essays provide valuable background knowledge and useful information for further research.
The Companion to Juri Lotman shines a light on a hugely significant and all-too often neglected figure in 20th-century intellectual history.
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Boasting an interdisciplinary cast of academics from across the globe, the book is structured into three main sections – Context, Concepts and Dialogue – which simultaneously provide ease of navigation and intriguing prisms through which to view Lotman's various scholarly contributions. Saussure, Bakhtin, Language, Memory, Space, Cultural History, New Historicism, Literary Studies and Political Theory are just some of the thinkers, themes and approaches examined in relation to Lotman, while the introduction and Lotman bibliography in English that frame the main essays provide valuable background knowledge and useful information for further research.
The Companion to Juri Lotman shines a light on a hugely significant and all-too often neglected figure in 20th-century intellectual history.