Marcel Danesi is a current Professor of Semiotics

Semiotics

Semiotics, also called semiotic studies or semiology, is the study of signs and sign processes , indication, designation, likeness, analogy, metaphor, symbolism, signification, and communication...

 and Linguistic Anthropology

Linguistic anthropology

Linguistic anthropology is the interdisciplinary study of how language influences social life. It is a branch of anthropology that originated from the endeavor to document endangered languages, and has grown over the past 100 years to encompass almost any aspect of language structure and...

 at the University of Toronto

University of Toronto

The University of Toronto is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution of higher learning in Upper Canada...

. He is known for his work in language

Language

Language may refer either to the specifically human capacity for acquiring and using complex systems of communication, or to a specific instance of such a system of complex communication...

, communication

Communication

Communication is the activity of conveying meaningful information. Communication requires a sender, a message, and an intended recipient, although the receiver need not be present or aware of the sender's intent to communicate at the time of communication; thus communication can occur across vast...

s, and semiotics

Semiotics

Semiotics, also called semiotic studies or semiology, is the study of signs and sign processes , indication, designation, likeness, analogy, metaphor, symbolism, signification, and communication...

; being Director of the Program in semiotics

Semiotics

Semiotics, also called semiotic studies or semiology, is the study of signs and sign processes , indication, designation, likeness, analogy, metaphor, symbolism, signification, and communication...

 and communication theory

Communication theory

Communication theory is a field of information and mathematics that studies the technical process of information and the human process of human communication.- History :- Origins :...

. He has also held positions at Rutgers University

Rutgers University

Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey , is the largest institution for higher education in New Jersey, United States. It was originally chartered as Queen's College in 1766. It is the eighth-oldest college in the United States and one of the nine Colonial colleges founded before the American...

 (1972), University of Rome "La Sapienza" (1988), the Catholic University of Milan

Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore

Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore is a privately-owned Catholic university founded in 1921 by Agostino Gemelli. Its main campus is located in Milan, Italy with satellite campuses in Brescia, Piacenza, Cremona, Rome, and Campobasso...

 (1990), and the University of Lugano.

Background

Marcel Danesi (born Marcello Danesi, 1946) is of Italian descent. He has authored numerous publications which are esteemed in the field of semiotics and advertisement alike.

He has moved from an interest in languages both as a lecturer and an author (including Learn Italian the Fast and Fun Way (1985); Adesso: A Functional Introduction to Italian (1992); Con fantasia: A Functional Review of Italian with M. Lettieri and S. Bancheri (1995, 2nd Edition 2003) to an interest in semiotics, continuing research into second-language learning and how language adapts to environment.

He was particularly interested in the Italian community in Southern Ontario

Southern Ontario

Southern Ontario is a region of the province of Ontario, Canada that lies south of the French River and Algonquin Park. Depending on the inclusion of the Parry Sound and Muskoka districts, its surface area would cover between 14 to 15% of the province. It is the southernmost region of...

 where the transplanted language became an ethnic dialect. In making this transition, he has retained in interest in accessibility so his more recent texts aim to strike a balance between theoretical sophistication and user friendliness. For example, Of Cigarettes, High Heels, and Other Interesting Things: An Introduction to Semiotics is written around a video vignette of modern day courtship rituals, relating theory to cultural contexts that most can identify with. While he does not explain how his selections from social history illuminate semiosis

Semiosis

Semiosis is any form of activity, conduct, or process that involves signs, including the production of meaning. Briefly – semiosis is sign process...

, nor demonstrate how readers might practice the theories of Saussure

Ferdinand de Saussure

Ferdinand de Saussure was a Swiss linguist whose ideas laid a foundation for many significant developments in linguistics in the 20th century. He is widely considered one of the fathers of 20th-century linguistics...

 or Charles Peirce, the book has become a popular introductory text among students. He is also interested in improving understanding of how to structure remedial mathematics tuition which has led him into a study of the puzzle as a semiotic phenomenon through history.

He was made a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada

Royal Society of Canada

The Royal Society of Canada , may also operate under the more descriptive name RSC: The Academies of Arts, Humanities and Sciences of Canada , is the oldest association of scientists and scholars in Canada...

 in 1998, founded a research center (Center for Communication and Information Sciences) and is currently the editor in chief of Semiotica.

Personal life

Danesi is married to his longtime sweetheart. His family, consisting of a daughter, a son-in-law, and two grandchildren, resides in Toronto, Ontario, Canada and is currently a professor at the University of Toronto. His son-in-law is an urban geography

Urban geography

Urban geography is the study of areas which have a high concentration of buildings and infrastructure. These are areas where the majority of economic activities are in the secondary sector and tertiary sectors...

 professor.

He is an avid musician/pianist with a great love of classical musicians like Bach

Johann Sebastian Bach

Johann Sebastian Bach was a German composer, organist, harpsichordist, violist, and violinist whose sacred and secular works for choir, orchestra, and solo instruments drew together the strands of the Baroque period and brought it to its ultimate maturity...

, Beethoven

Ludwig van Beethoven

Ludwig van Beethoven was a German composer and pianist. A crucial figure in the transition between the Classical and Romantic eras in Western art music, he remains one of the most famous and influential composers of all time.Born in Bonn, then the capital of the Electorate of Cologne and part of...

 and Mozart

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart , baptismal name Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart , was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical era. He composed over 600 works, many acknowledged as pinnacles of symphonic, concertante, chamber, piano, operatic, and choral music...

 as well as contemporary musicians. Danesi is also a composer who has authored songs and performed with a band called the 'Semiotones', a band composed mainly of students from the University of Toronto. They give all the proceeds to The Hospital for Sick Children. Danesi plays piano for the band.

Publications

His publications include:

• Neurolinguistica e glottodidattica (1988)
• Cervello, lingua, ed educazione (1988)
• Vico, Metaphor and the Origin of Language. Bloomingdon: Indiana University Press (1993)
• Cool: The Signs and Meanings of Adolescence. University of Toronto Press (1994)
• Giambattista Vico and the Cognitive Science Enterprise. (Emory Vico Studies edited series, Volume 4). New York: Peter Lang Publishing (1995)
• Of Cigarettes, High Heels, and Other Interesting Things: An Introduction to Semiotics (Semaphores and Signs). New York: Palgrave (1999)
• Analyzing Cultures: An Introduction and Handbook (Advances in Semiotics), with Paul Perron. Bloomingdon: Indiana University Press (1999)
• The Forms of Meaning: Modeling Systems Theory and Semiotic Analysis with Thomas A. Sebeok. Mouton de Gruyter (2000)
• Encyclopedic Dictionary of Semiotics, Media, and Communications (2000)
• The Puzzle Instinct: The Meaning of Puzzles in Human Life. Bloomingdon: Indiana University Press (2002)
• Forever Young: The Teen-Aging of Modern Culture. University of Toronto Press (2003)
• La metafora nel pensiero e nel linguaggio (2003)
• The Liar Paradox and the Towers of Hanoi: The Ten Greatest Math Puzzles of All Time. Wiley (2004)
• Messages, Signs, and Meanings: A Basic Semiotic Textbook in Semiotics and Communication Theory (2004)
• A Basic Course in Anthropological Linguistics (2004)
• The Conceptual Basis of Syntax: An Introduction to Cognitive Linguistics. Rome: Aracne editrice (2005)
• Brands (2006)
• The Quest for Meaning: A Guide to Semiotic Theory and Practice. University of Toronto Press (2007)
• Popular Culture: Introductory Perspectives. Rowman & Littlefield (2008)
• Language, Society, and Culture: Introducing Anthropological Linguistics. Canadian Scholars Press Inc. (2008)
• "That's Puzzling!" supplemental section of the Toronto Star
  Toronto Star
  The Toronto Star is Canada's highest-circulation newspaper, based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Its print edition is distributed almost entirely within the province of Ontario...
  
  (2011–present)