Algirdas Julius Greimas: Education, Convictions, Career

Abstract

The publications that Algirdas Julius Greimas (1917–1992) produced from 1943 to 1992 provide a record of his ideas, opinions, and scholarly methodologies. Yet we have much less information and understanding of his early years. This article draws from archival documents, correspondence, published sources, and personal interviews with Greimas and others to describe the formative experiences inside and outside the classroom which had the greatest impact on fashioning his subsequent life of ideas.The essay describes the linguistic and cultural context in which Greimas grew up, indicates the intellectual traditions in which he was trained, and highlights the individuals, methods, authors, and books of his youth which proved particularly significant for him. A narrative relates his education in Lithuania, describes his university studies in 1930s France, and concludes at a time when much of Europe was engulfed in World War II. A discussion then synthesizes the experiences recounted and explores the ways in which they informed the ensuing evolution of his outlook, ideas, and career.Four traditions played a leading role in shaping Greimas’ s development. Lithuania fashioned his character and identity, afforded him a sound humanistic education, inculcated in him traditional European folklore and a poetical spirit, and instilled in him the commitment to help build the nation’s culture and society. The Slavic heritage provided him metaphysical perspectives, exemplified a holistic approach to inquiry, and developed his revolutionary spirit. Germanic cultures furnished him historical perspectives and methodologies, engaged him in fundamental philosophical inquiry, and provided him a method and an ethic for research on language. France inspired in him a second identity, cultivated in him classical and Enlightenment ideals, and moved him with pure poetry. The various traditions nurtured in Greimas productive tensions between fidelity and openness, historicity and universality, and between reason, affect, and sensuality.

Interview with Thomas F. Broden on Greimas’ semiotics

“…As for "fundamental semantics," French, Lithuanian, Portuguese, Spanish, and Turkish (Broden, 2011(Broden, , 2015(Broden, , 2021(Broden, , 2022a(Broden, , 2022bKašponis, 2014). My intellectual biography of Greimas will offer a much more detailed narrative and analysis of his life and research, and hopefully encourage others to offer their own views.…”

Modelo actancial del nexo agua-alimentos-comercio internacional

“…Particularmente, en este documento se explica bajo la lógica del modelo actancial del lingüista francés Julien Greimas . De acuerdo con Broden (2015), tiene un amplio antecedente inspirado en fundamentos filosóficos, los cuales sirvieron como base para seguir un método de investigación en la literatura y narrativa, así como ende cuestiones relacionadas al análisis del lenguaje y el discurso. Este modelo en un inicio fue utilizado en la literatura y la narrativa, con una estructura centrada en seis actantes o personajes, enunciados a continuación según Saniz, ( 2008 el ayudante y oponente operan y formalizan circunstancias que van a favorecer o desfavorecer los acontecimientos que se realicen.…”

El estado de la cuestión

“…No es posible reseñar aquí con exhaustividad la multiplicidad de fuentes que debieron de haberse conjugado en la mente de Greimas para concebir el principio de narratividad. Como ha documentado Thomas Broden (2015), en "Algirdas Julius Greimas: educación, convicciones, carrera" -una suerte de biografía intelectual publicada en el número 34 de Tópicos-, la formación del lingüista lituano se nutrió de tantos y tan diversos saberes (lógica clásica, derecho, filosofía, literatura, antropología, historia de las religiones, entre muchos otros) que es difícil determinar la aportación precisa de cada uno de ellos. Aunque, desde luego, su pensamiento se forjó sobre todo en el alba de la lingüística, cuyos principales baluartes los encontró en Saussure, Hjelmslev, Brøndal y Trubetzkoy, por mencionar algunos.…”