Tartu Summer Schools of Semiotics at the Time of Juri Lotman

Abstract

The article gives a brief overview of Summer Schools in semiotics of the 1960s and 1970s that took place near Tartu, at Kääriku sports centre of the University of Tartu, and later in Tartu. These Summer Schools on secondary modelling systems were certainly the most important scientific events in the field of semiotics in Soviet Union. These meetings drew together the members of Tartu-Moscow Semiotics School. An unconstrained atmosphere of these conferences allowed a freedom of discussion that the participants had not experienced earlier and that they recall decades after.

In the footsteps of the semiotic school of Moscow-Tartu / Tartu-Moscow: Evaluations and perspectives

“…See also Andrei Faoustov's contribution "Mythe, nom et systèmes modélisants secondaires." 12 Recalling Lotman's letter to Ivanov of 31 January 1964, Salupere (2012 underlines that the first name given to the summer meeting was "Summer School of Semiotics (Extra-linguistic Sign Systems)" but then, due to the exacerbation of the authority, it was re-baptized "Summer School on Secondary Modelling Systems." 13 According to Lotman's plans, the monograph had to be published before the Summer School.…”

“…In this perspective, we could speak of the Tartu-Moscow schoolif by school we mean a unitary reality that transcends the individual participants, but in which each participant contributes in a very personal way to itthat is based on the model of Socratic maieutics, where the ethical act and the educational act are one whole and where the leader is someone who knows how listen more than answer, and welcome more than to supervise. In 1988, during a series of educational 14 On the atmosphere of the summer schools and on the "inspiring presence" of Lotman, see again Salupere (2012). 15 In fact, if we add the total days of the four summer schools and, possibly, the All-Union Symposium on the Semiotics of the Humanities, we have 39 days: 10 days for the 1st Summer School (19-29 August 1964); 10 days for the 2nd Summer School (16-26 August 1966); 8 days for the 3rd Summer School (10-18 May 1968); 7 days for the 4th Summer School (17-24 August 1970); 4 days for the winter All-Union Symposium (8-12 February).…”

50 years of Sign Systems Studies

“…From 1965 to the early 1970s, the contributions were largely related to the Summer Schools on Secondary Modelling Systems which took place at Kääriku during those years (Salupere 2012). Th is was a period of rapid advancement of semiotics internationally.…”