I’m coordinator of Semiofest’s series of informal online “sessions.” These events are intended not only to share best practices among, but to nurture collegiality and friendship within the global semio community.

Coming up on 19th July (at 2 pm UK time)…

LIMINALITY POST-PORTO (II)

The theme of Semiofest Porto, in May, was LIMINALITY. The conference was a great success… but we all wanted more! So Susanna Fránek has invited Christo Kaftandjiev, Ashley Mauritzen, and Marie Lena Tupot to chat with us about: Heroic Myths of Transition in Mass and Marketing Comms, The Crisis of Western Masculinity, and Gender as the Epitome of Liminality. This is the second of two liminality-themed post-Porto sessions.

Get tickets (suggested donations only) at the link above.

Our sessionists:

• CHRISTO KAFTANDJIEV is a professor and Ph.D. of Marketing Semiotics. He lectures on this discipline in European universities and has presented at more than 150 business conferences, expos, and advertising festivals worldwide. He is author of 10 academic books on semiotics. His book “Absolut Semiotics” analyses the visual metaphors of Absolut vodka ads through the lenses of semantic, syntactic, and pragmatic concepts.

• ASHLEY MAURITZEN is a semiotician, cultural analyst, and brand strategist based in East London. As an independent consultant, she helps brands harness the relationship between identity and consumption. When she’s not finding meaning in biscuit packaging, Ashley writes (from fashion journalism to exhibition texts), talks (on her podcast) and runs for cover (after performing stand up).

• MARIE LENA TUPOT is an American cultural theorist with an MS in Information Science, specializing in Intelligence Analysis. As a co-founder of scenarioDNA, she co-authored its patented culture mapping methodology. Using semiotics and linguistics, she tracks and forecasts cultural patterns to spark innovation and ground ideas in cultural response, viewing culture as a measurable system.

Session host: SUSANNA FRÁNEK is a cultural anthropologist, qualitative researcher, and semiotic enthusiast based in Los Angeles. Her practice focuses on communities of color and LGBTQ+ in the US. Through an intersectional lens, her goal is to inform emergent narratives on race, gender relations, and immigration rights to ensure traditionally silenced communities are heard and respected.

PS: Many thanks to Nuno for permission to use the liminal photo featured in the poster.

SEMIOFEST SESSIONS: R/D/E | BINARIES | SEMIOTICS & UX | BODY SEMIOTICS | AI & SEMIOTICS | SEMIOTICS & CINEMA | FICTIONAL DECODERS | ON COLOUR | & more.

Also see these international semio series: COVID CODES | SEMIO OBJECTS | MAKING SENSE | COLOR CODEX | DECODER | CASE FILE