Balkan Analytic Forum 4: Semiotics & Semiotics in History

Semiotics & Semiotics in History

Balkan Analytic Forum 4

(November 26, 2026 – December 6, 2026, hybrid)

Center for Contemporary Philosophy- Balkan Analytic Forum, University of Belgrade, Faculty of Philosophy

Conference Venue: University of Belgrade, Faculty of Philosophy, Čika Ljubina Street 18-20, Belgrade, Serbia

We invite submissions for the fourth meeting of Balkan Analytic Forum (BAF4) organized by the Balkan Analytic Forum to be held in person and online from November 26, 2026 to December 6, 2026. The topic of the BAF4 is Semiotics & Semiotics in History and it will be hosted by the Department of Philosophy at the University of Belgrade.

Balkan Analytic Forum is intended to establish a platform for discussion where scholars related to the Balkans and interested in analytic philosophy can meet on a regular basis and present their work-in-progress or recent publications, but it also welcomes approaches that draw connections between analytic philosophy and other philosophical traditions and also invites scholars who are not related to the Balkans to get involved in the work of the Balkan Analytic Forum.

The first part of the conference “Semiotics” will take place from November 26-29, 2026, the second “Semiotics in History” from December 5-6. However, the period between will be open to other events, such as individual talks related to semiotics.

I) For the first part we welcome submissions that consider the broad theme of semiotics in all its forms, and from all perspectives. We are especially interested in the following themes:   

- C.S. Peirce’s concept of quasi-mind as an interpreter of signs and its relation to the concept of artificial intelligence

- Saussurean vs. Peircean perspective

- semiotic foundations of cognition, can we think without signs?

- natural signs, e.g. the expressions of emotions or medical symptoms

- artificial signs and natural language

- semiotics in/of logic

- semiotics in/of art

- occurrent and dispositional signs.

II) "The past reality can be considered as semiotic by its very nature, the past does not consist of events (and things, etc.), but of their meanings, and the goal of the historians and archaeologists alike are to investigate the systems of symbolizing people have developed in the past to give meaning to their existence." This powerful observation made by Tamm & Preucel is the basis for the theme of the second part of the conference.

Since the question of signs is unavoidable for thinking about the past, the question of semiotics in history opens up. In the second part “Semiotics in History”, we invite contributions dealing with these problems.

Proposals are to be sent to [email protected] as anonymous abstracts (maximum 500 words in pdf format) and a separate title page by May 1, 2026. The title page should include: title, name, institutional affiliation, email, and an indication of whether you would like to present in person or online. Also, please let us know if your submission is for the first part of the conference “Semiotics”, or for the second “Semiotics in History”, or is intended to be an individual talk in-between the two events. The conference is hybrid (online and in-person), free and open to the public.

Decisions will be communicated by May 20, 2026.

The authors of accepted submissions will be invited to contribute papers to an edited volume. Program and the book of abstracts of BAF1, BAF2 and BAF3, as well as the BAF1 and BAF2 Volumes you can find at this address: https://www.f.bg.ac.rs/balkanski_analiticki_forum/publikacije

Program Committee:

Timothy Williamson, New College, University of Oxford, United Kingdom

Thodoris Dimitrakos, University of Patras, Philosophy Department, Greece

Emily McWilliams, University of Dayton, USA

Ivana Simić, University of Florida, Associate Director of Institutional Review Boards, USA

Amber Riaz, Lahore University of Management Sciences, Pakistan

Iris Vidmar Jovanović, University of Rijeka, Department of Philosophy, Croatia

Marcin Trepczyński, Faculty of Philosophy, University of Warsaw, Poland

Matthew Heeney, Nazarbayev University, Department of History, Philosophy, & Religious Studies, Republic of Kazakhstan

Damir Smiljanić, University of Novi Sad, Department of Philosophy, Serbia

Duško Prelević, University of Belgrade, Department of Philosophy, Serbia

Miroslav Radivojević, University of Belgrade, Department of History, Serbia

Biljana Ristovska-Josifovska - Institute of National History, Department for Cultural History, North Macedonia

Organizers:

Miroslava Trajkovski, University of Belgrade, Department of Philosophy, Serbia

Čedomir Antić, University of Belgrade, Department of History, Serbia

Student session coordinator:

Saša Grbović, Institute for Philosophy, University of Belgrade

If you have questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to get in touch and contact the organizers at: [email protected]

Registration

Is registration required? No