Welcome to the International Semiotics Insitute!

ISI is an international research institute devoted to the study and dissemination of semiotics in its various forms and contexts. Our curiosity lies both in academic and applied forms of semiotics. Our activities include gathering publications related to semiotics in the form of a library, organising social events based on thought and research exchange, empirical research and organization of social and intellectual gatherings.

Short overview of the history of ISI

The beginnings of this institute can be traced to 1988, when, at the initiative of the Toronto Semiotic Circle, ISI was created to promote the international teaching of semiotics and facilitate the mobility of students in the field. This project soon developed into an active center for research and events in Imatra (Finland) under the leadership of Prof. Eero Tarasti.
Throughout the years, ISI has served as a meeting place for more than a hundred events, seminars, and congresses and hosted meetings of the Finnish Society of Semiotics, the Musical Signification Project, the International Association for Semiotic Studies (IASS), and other organisations.
One of the biggest bibliographic legacies is the first ISI book series, “Acta Semiotica Fennica”, which began in 1992 and was the first regular publication series of international monographs and anthologies.

Institute “on the move”

In 2014, ISI moved from Imatra to Kaunas, Lithuania, under the direction of Prof. Dario Martinelli. A former pupil of Tarasti and regular participant of ISI events since 1999, Martinelli and his team ensured the continuity past-present-future, by inaugurating new activities and preserving old ones.

In 2022, ISI found its next space – Palacký University in Olomouc, Czech Republic. In the new location and with a new team, the institute focuses more on the topics of biosemiotics, digital humanities, digital writing practices and cognition.