The Semiotic Society of America laments the recent passing, twenty days shy of his 89th birthday, of one of our founding members, Dr. Charls Pearson (31 May 1932–2021 May 11), in Atlanta, Georgia. Dr. Pearson received in 1977 from the Georgia Institute for Technology the first Ph.D. in semiotics granted by an American university. He…
Category: Obituaries
Roland Posner Passing
Very sad news. The former President of the International Association for Semiotic Studies Roland Posner (1942–2020) has died. Richard L. Lanigan writes: The first generation of Semioticians is passing quickly these days! I worked with Posner over many years. In good German fashion, he was always correcting my English and I (as a good…
The Passing of Historian and Semiotician Joseph L. Brent III
We are very sad to announce the passing of Dr. Joseph L. Brent. A semiotician and historian who published the first biography of American Philosopher and “father of pragmatism” Charles Sanders Peirce, died on January 21, 2020, aged 91, from lung cancer. Dr. Brent was the 2006 President of the Semiotic Society of America. The…
Jesper Hoffmeyer (1942–2019)
Dear Friends and Colleagues, It is with deep sorrow that I have to inform you that one of the figures who transformed contemporary semiotics, Jesper Hoffmeyer, passed away on 25 September 2019 at age 77. Hoffmeyer was a professor at the University of Copenhagen’s Institute for Biological Chemistry, a leading figure in Biosemiotics, the President…
The Passing of a Philosopher-Biosemiotician: Eliseo A. Fernandez (1935–2017)
It is with much sadness that we announce the death of Eliseo A. Fernandez, a prominent biosemiotician, on May 13, 2017. Eliseo was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on May 29, 1935. After completing his schooling in Mar del Plata, he pursued studies in philosophy at the National University of Buenos Aires, developing a special…
Memorial Mass for John Deely
Dear Friends and Colleagues, There will be a Memorial Mass for John Deely on Monday, May 8, 2017 at 11:00 am (EST) at Saint Vincent Archabbey Basilica, 300 Fraser-Purchase Road, Latrobe, Pennsylvania 15650. Please RSVP by May 1, 2017 to Gary Shank (on behalf of Brooke Williams Deely) at garyshank@comcast.net if you plan to attend….
John Deely: The Loss of a Dear Friend
Dear friends and colleagues, After a long struggle with cancer, our dear friend and colleague John Deely passed away today January 7 at about 10:00 AM EST in Latrobe, Pennsylvania with his beloved wife Brooke by his side. It’s the saddest Orthodox Christmas I’ve ever had! For me, it’s a sorrowful time to contemplate the…
Obituary: Umberto Eco (1932-2016)
By Marcel Danesi On February 19, 2016, one of the greatest contemporary semioticians, writers and intellectuals passed away, leaving behind both an enormous legacy and a void that will be hard to fill. One cannot mention semiotics without mentioning his name in the same breath. With the late Thomas A. Sebeok, with whom he collaborated…