Yuri Lotman
Encyclopedia
Yuri Mikhailovich Lotman (28 February 1922 – 28 October 1993) – a prominent Soviet
literary scholar, semiotician, and cultural historian. Member of the Estonian Academy of Sciences
. He was the founder of the Moscow-Tartu school of cultural semiotics
and is considered to be the first Soviet structuralist
because of his early essay On the Delimitation of Linguistic and Philological Concepts of Structure (1963) and works on structural poetics. The number of his printed works exceeds 800 titles; and his archive which is now kept at the University of Tallinn and which includes his correspondence with a number of Russian intellectuals, is immense.
. His older sister Inna Obraztsova graduated Leningrad Conservatory and became a composer and lecturer of musical theory, his younger sister Victoria Lotman was a prominent cardiologist, and his third sister Lidia Lotman was a scholar of Russian literature of the second half of 19th century on staff at the Institute for Russian Literature of the Russian Academy of Science (Pushkinsky Dom) (she lived in Saint-Petersburg).
Lotman graduated from secondary school in 1939 with excellent marks and was admitted to Leningrad State University without having to pass any exams. There he studied philology, which was a choice he made due to Lidia Lotman's university friends (actually he attended university lectures in philology whilst he was still at secondary school). His professors at university were the renowned lecturers and academicians – Gukovsky, Azadovsky, Tomashevsky and Propp. He was drafted in 1940 and during World War II
served as a radio operator in the artillery. Demobilized from the army in 1946, he returned to his studies in the university and received his diploma with dictinction in 1950. His first published research papers focused on Russian literary and social thought of the 18th and 19th century.
Unable to find an academic position in Leningrad due to anti-Semitism
(he was unable to apply for a PhD program), Lotman went to Estonia
in 1950 and from 1954 began his work as a lecturer at the Department of Russian language and literature of Tartu University and later became head of the department. In Tartu
he set up his own school known as the Tartu-Moscow Semiotic School
. Among the other members of this school were such names as Boris Uspensky
, Vyacheslav Vsevolodovich Ivanov
, Vladimir Toporov
, Mikhail Gasparov
, Alexander Piatigorsky
, Isaak I. Revzin, Georgii Lesskis, Igor Grigorievitch Savostin and others. As a result of their collective work, they established a theoretical framework around the semiotics of culture.
This school is widely known for its journal Sign Systems Studies
, published by Tartu University Press
(formerly in Russian as "Труды по знаковым системам") and currently the oldest semiotics journal in the world (established in 1964). Lotman studied the theory of culture, Russian literature, history, semiotics
and semiology (general theories of signs and sign systems), semiotics of cinema, arts, literature, robotics, etc. In these fields, Lotman has been one of the most widely cited authors. His major study in Russian literature was dedicated to Pushkin; among his most influential works in semiotics and structuralism are «Semiotics of Cinema», «Analysis of the Poetic Text» and «The Structure of the Artistic Text». In 1984, Lotman coined the term semiosphere
.
Yuri Lotman's wife Zara Mints
was also a well-known scholar of Russian literature and Tartu professor. They have three sons:
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
literary scholar, semiotician, and cultural historian. Member of the Estonian Academy of Sciences
Estonian Academy of Sciences
Founded in 1938, the Estonian Academy of Sciences is Estonia's national academy of science. As with other national academies, it is an independent group of well-known scientists whose stated aim is to promote research and development, encourage international scientific cooperation, and...
. He was the founder of the Moscow-Tartu school of cultural 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 is considered to be the first Soviet structuralist
Structuralism
Structuralism originated in the structural linguistics of Ferdinand de Saussure and the subsequent Prague and Moscow schools of linguistics. Just as structural linguistics was facing serious challenges from the likes of Noam Chomsky and thus fading in importance in linguistics, structuralism...
because of his early essay On the Delimitation of Linguistic and Philological Concepts of Structure (1963) and works on structural poetics. The number of his printed works exceeds 800 titles; and his archive which is now kept at the University of Tallinn and which includes his correspondence with a number of Russian intellectuals, is immense.
Biography
Yuri Lotman was born into the Jewish intellectual family of lawyer Mikhail Lotman and Sorbonne-educated dentist Aleksandra Lotman in Petrograd, RussiaRussia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
. His older sister Inna Obraztsova graduated Leningrad Conservatory and became a composer and lecturer of musical theory, his younger sister Victoria Lotman was a prominent cardiologist, and his third sister Lidia Lotman was a scholar of Russian literature of the second half of 19th century on staff at the Institute for Russian Literature of the Russian Academy of Science (Pushkinsky Dom) (she lived in Saint-Petersburg).
Lotman graduated from secondary school in 1939 with excellent marks and was admitted to Leningrad State University without having to pass any exams. There he studied philology, which was a choice he made due to Lidia Lotman's university friends (actually he attended university lectures in philology whilst he was still at secondary school). His professors at university were the renowned lecturers and academicians – Gukovsky, Azadovsky, Tomashevsky and Propp. He was drafted in 1940 and during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
served as a radio operator in the artillery. Demobilized from the army in 1946, he returned to his studies in the university and received his diploma with dictinction in 1950. His first published research papers focused on Russian literary and social thought of the 18th and 19th century.
Unable to find an academic position in Leningrad due to anti-Semitism
Anti-Semitism
Antisemitism is suspicion of, hatred toward, or discrimination against Jews for reasons connected to their Jewish heritage. According to a 2005 U.S...
(he was unable to apply for a PhD program), Lotman went to Estonia
Estonia
Estonia , officially the Republic of Estonia , is a state in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia , and to the east by Lake Peipsi and the Russian Federation . Across the Baltic Sea lies...
in 1950 and from 1954 began his work as a lecturer at the Department of Russian language and literature of Tartu University and later became head of the department. In Tartu
Tartu
Tartu is the second largest city of Estonia. In contrast to Estonia's political and financial capital Tallinn, Tartu is often considered the intellectual and cultural hub, especially since it is home to Estonia's oldest and most renowned university. Situated 186 km southeast of Tallinn, the...
he set up his own school known as the Tartu-Moscow Semiotic School
Tartu-Moscow Semiotic School
Tartu-Moscow Semiotic School is a scientific school of thought in the field of semiotics that was formed since 1964 and led by Juri Lotman. Among the other members of this school were Boris Uspensky, Vyacheslav Vsevolodovich Ivanov, Vladimir Toporov, Mikhail Gasparov, Alexander Piatigorsky, Isaak...
. Among the other members of this school were such names as Boris Uspensky
Boris Uspensky
Boris Andreyevich Uspensky is a Russian philologist and mythographer.Uspensky graduated from Moscow University in 1960. He delivered lectures in Moscow until 1982, but later moved on to work in Harvard University, Cornell University, Vienna University, and the University of Graz...
, Vyacheslav Vsevolodovich Ivanov
Vyacheslav Vsevolodovich Ivanov
Vyacheslav Vsevolodovich Ivanov is a prominent Soviet/Russian philologist and Indo-Europeanist probably best known for his glottalic theory of Indo-European consonantism and for placing the Indo-European urheimat in the area of the Armenian Highlands and Lake Urmia.-Early life:Vyacheslav Ivanov's...
, Vladimir Toporov
Vladimir Toporov
Vladimir Nikolayevich Toporov was a leading Russian philologist associated with the Tartu-Moscow semiotic school. His wife was Tatyana Elizarenkova....
, Mikhail Gasparov
Mikhail Gasparov
Mikhail Leonovich Gasparov was a Russian philologist and translator, renowned for his studies in classical philology and the history of versification, and a member of the informal Tartu-Moscow Semiotic School...
, Alexander Piatigorsky
Alexander Piatigorsky
Alexander Piatigorsky was a Russian philosopher, scholar of South Asian philosophy and culture, historian, philologist, semiotician, and writer. Well-versed in the study of language, he knew Sanskrit, Tamil, Pali, Tibetan, German, Russian, French, Italian and English...
, Isaak I. Revzin, Georgii Lesskis, Igor Grigorievitch Savostin and others. As a result of their collective work, they established a theoretical framework around the semiotics of culture.
This school is widely known for its journal Sign Systems Studies
Sign Systems Studies
Sign Systems Studies is internationally the oldest semiotics periodical, initially published in Russian, since 1998 in English. The journal was established by Juri Lotman in 1964. Since 1998 edited by Peeter Torop, Mihhail Lotman and Kalevi Kull.It is published by the semiotics department of Tartu...
, published by Tartu University Press
Tartu University Press
Tartu University Press is a university press publishing house that is part of Tartu University, Estonia.The press was founded in 1632. It is the largest university press in Estonia....
(formerly in Russian as "Труды по знаковым системам") and currently the oldest semiotics journal in the world (established in 1964). Lotman studied the theory of culture, Russian literature, history, 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 semiology (general theories of signs and sign systems), semiotics of cinema, arts, literature, robotics, etc. In these fields, Lotman has been one of the most widely cited authors. His major study in Russian literature was dedicated to Pushkin; among his most influential works in semiotics and structuralism are «Semiotics of Cinema», «Analysis of the Poetic Text» and «The Structure of the Artistic Text». In 1984, Lotman coined the term semiosphere
Semiosphere
Semiosphere is the sphere of semiosis in which sign processes operate in the set of all interconnected Umwelten. The concept was first coined by Juri Lotman in 1982 and is now applied to many fields, including cultural semiotics generally, biosemiotics, zoosemiotics, geosemiotics, etc...
.
Yuri Lotman's wife Zara Mints
Zara Mints
Zara Grigoryevna Mints was a Slavic literary scientist active in the University of Tartu. She was the wife of Juri Lotman.Zara Mints was born in Pskov, but the family soon moved to Leningrad...
was also a well-known scholar of Russian literature and Tartu professor. They have three sons:
- Mihhail LotmanMihhail LotmanMihhail Lotman is an Estonian literature researcher and politician, son of Yuri Lotman and Zara Mints.Mihhail Lotman's research fields include general semiotics and semiotics of culture as well as text theory and history of Russian literature. Lotman was a member of the board of Russian Cultural...
(born 1952) is professor of semiotics and literary theory at Tallinn University, is active in politics and has served as a member of the Estonian Parliament (conservative Res Publica party). - Grigori Lotman (born 1953) is an artist.
- Aleksei Lotman (born 1960) is a biologist and since 2006 he has also been a politician and a member of parliament for the Estonian GreensEstonian GreensEstonian Greens is an Estonian green political party. Valdur Lahtvee, an organizer, reported that on 2006-11-01, more than 1000 members had been recruited for the Green Party Initiative Group to register as a political party under Estonian law, opening doors for running at the coming parliament...
party.
Writings about him
- Andrews, Edna 2003. Conversations with Lotman: Cultural Semiotics in Language, Literature, and Cognition. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.
- Kull, Kalevi 1999. Towards biosemiotics with Yuri Lotman. Semiotica 127(1/4): 115–131.
- Lepik, Peet 2008. Universals in the Context of Juri Lotman’s Semiotics. (Tartu Semiotics Library 7.) Tartu: Tartu University Press.
- Mandelker, Amy 1994. Semiotizing the sphere: Organicist theory in Lotman, Bakhtin, and Vernadsky. Publications of the Modern Language Association 109(3): 385–396.
- Shukman, Ann 1977. Literature and Semiotics: A Study of the Writings of Ju. M. Lotman. Amsterdam: North Holland.
See also
- Philosophy in the Soviet UnionPhilosophy in the Soviet UnionPhilosophical research in the Soviet Union was officially confined to Marxist-Leninist thinking, which theoretically was the basis of objective and ultimate philosophical truth. During the 1920s and 1930s, other tendencies of Russian thought were repressed...
- SemioticsSemioticsSemiotics, also called semiotic studies or semiology, is the study of signs and sign processes , indication, designation, likeness, analogy, metaphor, symbolism, signification, and communication...
- Literary formalismFormalism (literature)Formalism is a school of literary criticism and literary theory having mainly to do with structural purposes of a particular text.In literary theory, formalism refers to critical approaches that analyze, interpret, or evaluate the inherent features of a text. These features include not only grammar...
- SemiosphereSemiosphereSemiosphere is the sphere of semiosis in which sign processes operate in the set of all interconnected Umwelten. The concept was first coined by Juri Lotman in 1982 and is now applied to many fields, including cultural semiotics generally, biosemiotics, zoosemiotics, geosemiotics, etc...
External links
- Bibliography of English translated works
- Lotmaniana Tartuensia – biography, bibliography of works in Russian and Estonian ,
- Homepage of the Lotman Institute for Russian and Soviet Culture at the University of Bochum
- Intellectual Biography of Yuri Lotman at the Gallery of Russian Thinkers (International Society for Philosophers)