For the first time, the Annual Conference of the Semiotic Society of America (SSA) will take place in Europe!
Hosted by ISI and Charles University, the 49th Annual SSA conference will be in Prague, Czechia, September 24-28, 2025!
!!! CALL FOR PAPERS – Extended until 31st of May, 2025 !!!
Submission Requirements
Please include the following information in your submission:
1. Author’s name
2. Institutional affiliation
3. Email address
4. Title of submission with a maximum 150-word abstract in English
5. A minimum of three and a maximum of six keywords
Submit your proposal here – https://easychair.org/my/conference?conf=ssa2025conference
The Theme
The importance of friendship in the world today is undeniable. The notion of friendship – the very idea that leads to building bridges, enabling communication, and fostering understanding – remains at the heart of relationships as the cornerstone of cultures. It calls for the importance of
the other, the collective, and the social in a nurturing and cultivating way, giving voice to all participants in every scale of intelligent relations. The semiotics of friendship depends on our manner of living and on our relations with each other that expand over generations in an evolutionary process, and understanding the nature of relations is at the heart of the semiotics of friendship.
According to John Deely, interactions cease, but relations live on. Often not recognized as an element of reality, relations cannot be seen, heard, touched, or perceived directly by any of our senses. Relations are of an entirely different order from interactions, indifferent to distance in space or time. Relations of friendship, through love, not only convey the connections of humans to their environment (Umwelt) but also imply the meaning of being in the lifeworld (Lebenswelt). The value of friendly interactions and their transcendent friendship-driven relations is the power to constantly and positively modify relationships, as Charles Peirce once put it, by altering the rules of self-control, actions, and experiences of the participants therein. The genuine relations of friendship among humans constitutes the desire for constantly seeking mutual fulfillment in the creation and experiencing, through the cultivation of friendship, further manifestations of evolutionary love.
Description of the Conference
“The Semiotics of Friendship” is the theme of the 49th Semiotic Society of America (SSA) Annual Conference, September 24–28, 2025, hosted by Charles University, Prague, Czechia. The 2025 SSA Conference will be in-person, with support for a limited amount of on-line participation. The Conference will assemble a unique group of international transdisciplinary experts from a wide range of disciplines, such as anthropology, biology, cognitive science, communication, cybernetics, design, fine arts, law, literary criticism, linguistics, logic, marketing, media studies, mathematics, pedagogy, philosophy, psychology, religion, sociology, and technology. This will be the SSA’s first Annual Conference ever to be held outside of the Americas, and the enthusiasm of Charles University in hosting this event is indeed a tribute to the semiotic awareness of its scholars.
Venue
The conference will take place at Charles University, in Prague, Czechia, from Wednesday,
September 24, to Sunday, September 28, 2025.
Important Dates and URLs
1. Abstract Submission: rolling until May 31, 2025
2. Notification of acceptance: rolling until June 30, 2025
3. Full Paper submission for the Kevelson Award: July 31, 2025
4. Registration deadline for presenters: July 31, 2025
5. Draft Program Published: TBD
6. Final Program Published: TBD
Abstracts for individual paper presentations must include all of the above information. Proposals for panels and organized sessions (a minimum of 3 papers, maximum of 4 papers) may also be submitted, with a title and 150-word (maximum) description of the panel as well as a title and abstract for each individual paper of the panel.
To register for the SSA’s 49th Annual Conference in Prague, please visit https://www.pdcnet.org/wp/registrations/2025-ssa/
You can become a member of the Semiotic Society of America, which is required to present a paper at the Conference, by using the same link.
Additional Conference Information
Papers presented at the SSA Conference will be considered for publication in Semiotics 2025, the Yearbook of the Semiotic Society of America. The SSA Yearbook is an annual peer-reviewed publication series sponsored by the Semiotic Society of America, providing both a timely overview of current developments in semiotic research and a regular outlet for members of the Society to publish papers on their current work. Further details and deadlines will be specified in the Annual Conference Program. Please note that in accordance with Article 4 Section 4 of the SSA Constitution: Only Individual, Student, and Honorary members in good standing can make presentations at the SSA Conference and may submit papers to the SSA Yearbook. Page 3 of 3 Student submissions are eligible for the Roberta Kevelson Award, which will honor the best student paper presented at the 2025 Annual Conference. Students who wish to be considered for the Kevelson Award should indicate their interest at the time of abstract submission. Full paper submissions must be uploaded to EasyChair by July 31, 2025.
Invited Speakers and Special Events
In addition to scheduled paper sessions, the 2025 Conference will include keynote and plenary speakers, as well as the traditional Welcoming event, Dinner Banquet, and local excursion. More details TBA.
SSA Conference Registration Fee (and SSA Membership Fee):
– Conference Registration (Regular) – $100.00USD (late registration of $125.00USD after July 31, 2025)
– Conference Registration (Student) – $40.00USD (late registration of $50.00USD after July 31, 2025)
Membership (required for Presenters):
– SSA Membership Dues (Regular) – $75.00USD
– SSA Membership Dues (Student) – 50.00 USD
Conference registration provides access to all presentations, the welcome reception (with appetizers and cash-bar), the coffee/tea breaks, and the dinner banquet.
Special single-day rates for the general public and journalists will also be available, with details published later on the SSA website.
Feel free to check the SSA website for the most recent updates: www.semioticsocietyofamerica.org
SSA 2025 Program Committee:
Farouk Y. Seif (Chair) – USA
Martin Švantner – Czechia
Ľudmila Lacková Bennett – Czechia
Martin Macháček – Czechia
Tiago Da Costa E Silva – Germany/Brazil
Hongbing Yu – Canada/China
Joseph DeChicchis – USA/Japan
More about:
– The Semiotic Society of America