Prof. Kęstutis Nastopka / Vilnius Universitety Library photo
The 2025 issue of Semiotika ("Literary Organon") is dedicated to the memory of the journal's founder and long-time editor, Professor Kęstutis Nastopka (1940-2024). The counterpoint is Nastopka's view that semiotics should not be understood as a canon providing a list of definitive answers, but as an organon - a constant quest. The professor's encouragement to test the theory with concrete analyses, primarily of literature and mythology, while remaining open to texts of all kinds and genres, orients this publication towards an organic style of questioning. The main subject of this issue - literature, and thus literary research - is not taken for granted value, but rather a theme that requires rethinking and discussions. Recalling Nastopka's idea that the questions arising for the researcher are always questions for himself, this publication proposes the following questions for consideration:
- What is remaining of the traditional definition of literature? What is the position of literature in the current media and art systems? Do we already live in a post-literary world?
- What is the role of literature in the face of war conflicts, pandemics, and other cataclysms?
- Is literary theory still relevant?
- What are the perspectives of literary semiotics and the possibilities of links with other methods?
- Is there a mythic dimension to literature in contemporary texts?
- What is characteristic of the language of contemporary poetry?
- What is undoubtedly valuable, and what invites polemics in Kęstutis Nastopka's research?
The deadline for article submissions is July 31, 2025.
Semiotika is an open-access and peer-reviewed research journal. It publishes original papers in Lithuanian, English, and French. The journal does not charge article processing charges or submission charges. Please refer to the Authors Guidelines section for more detailed information.