Juri Lotman facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Juri Lotman
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Bust of Juri Lotman by Lev Razumovsky, 1980
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| Born | 28 February 1922 |
| Died | 28 October 1993 (aged 71) |
| Education | Leningrad State University |
| Era | 20th-century philosophy |
| Region | Western philosophy |
| School | Tartu–Moscow Semiotic School |
| Institutions | University of Tartu |
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Main interests
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Semiotics |
Juri Lotman (born February 28, 1922 – died October 28, 1993) was a very important scholar. He was from Russia and Estonia. He studied literature, history, and something called semiotics. Semiotics is the study of signs and symbols and how they create meaning.
Lotman worked at the University of Tartu in Estonia. He was a founder of the Tartu–Moscow Semiotic School. This was a group of thinkers who studied culture using semiotics. He wrote more than 800 books and articles! His ideas are still very important today.
Contents
About Juri Lotman
Juri Lotman was born in Petrograd, Russia. His family was very smart. His father was a lawyer, and his mother was a dentist. He had three sisters who also became successful scholars and artists.
Lotman finished high school in 1939 with great grades. He then went to Leningrad State University. He studied philology, which is the study of language and literature. His teachers were famous scholars.
In 1940, he joined the army. He served as a radio operator during World War II. After the war, he finished his university studies in 1950. He graduated with honors. His first research was about Russian literature and ideas from the 1700s and 1800s.
Moving to Estonia
After university, Lotman faced difficulties finding a job in Leningrad. This was because of his background. So, in 1950, he moved to Estonia. In 1954, he started teaching at Tartu University. He later became the head of the Russian literature department.
In the early 1960s, Lotman started working with linguists from Moscow. Linguists study language. He invited them to a special summer school in 1964. This group later became known as the Tartu–Moscow Semiotic School.
The Tartu–Moscow Semiotic School
This school became very famous for studying the semiotics of culture. This means they looked at how signs and symbols work in different cultures. They published a journal called Sign Systems Studies. It is the oldest semiotics journal in the world.
Lotman studied many things. He looked at Russian literature, history, and the general theories of signs. He also studied semiotics in movies, art, and even robotics. He wrote important books like Semiotics of Cinema and The Structure of the Artistic Text. In 1984, he came up with the idea of the semiosphere. This is like a space where all signs and symbols exist and interact.
In 1991, he received a top award for his work in philology.
Juri Lotman's Family
Juri Lotman's wife, Zara Mints, was also a well-known scholar. She taught at Tartu University too. They had three sons:
- Mihhail Lotman (born 1952) is a professor. He studies semiotics and literature. He has also been a member of the Estonian Parliament.
- Grigori Lotman (born 1953) is an artist.
- Aleksei Lotman (born 1960) is a biologist. He has also been a politician and a member of parliament.
See also
- Philosophy in the Soviet Union
- Semiotics
- Literary formalism
- Semiosphere
