Explorations in Dynamic Semiosis

This anthology is a manifold combining semiotics and psychology. Chapters in the book are authored by young scholars making sense of semiosis in irreversible time from a multitude of perspectives. The central focus on the dynamics of meaning-making comes together in a variety of topics that align in the core idea of dynamic nature of human making and use of signs. First, this book gives a comprehensive overview of relational dynamics of the sign. The overview is followed by a collection of chapters focusing on various topics relevant for humanities and social sciences, such as experience of time, (cultural) memory, musical signification, human-computer interactions, death and eternity, freedom and responsibility, authenticity, methods for practice and research in psychology, etc. This anthology contributes to the integration of the fields of semiotics and psychology, building on the classic traditions of the Tartu-Moscow School of Semiotics (established by Juri Lotman) and contemporary cultural psychology that has unified social sciences in the recent three decades. Examples of how new semiotic models are applied to various domains of human lives will be given, anticipating the future and addressing its past. As such, this book is a relevant read for everyone interested in the complex nature of meaning-making, and inclusion of dynamics in all expressions of life, including academic research.

Elli Marie Tragel has BA and MA degrees in semiotics and is currently completing her Ph.D.(by 2025) at the Department of Semiotics of University of Tartu, Estonia. She is also working as a research funding coordinator at the Estonian Research Council. Her doctoral research is focused on transformations of human semiosis, and possible exemption from meaning-making, in which altered ways of relating to the world arise. Thus, she is investigating “desemiosis” on the example of meaning-making in Buddhist Chan meditation. Additionally, she wishes to develop and implement critical first-person investigation methods in scientific research and education, and to better understand how ways of knowing could contribute to global happiness and virtue.