A new volume edited by semioticians explores the role of fear in the media

The new edited volume demonstrates how fear has become a central force in today’s mediatized society, shaping messages and influencing developments in public life. The book, “Through the Lens of Dread: Exploring the Meaning-Making of Fear in the Mediasphere”, is edited by Merit Maran of Tallinn University and the Juri Lotman Semiotics Repository, together with Mari-Liis Madisson and Andreas Ventsel from the Department of Semiotics at the University of Tartu.

Image

The volume explores how fear-based meaning-making manifests in culture and society, offering a fresh perspective on how fears are constructed, mediated, and adopted within the contemporary mediasphere. One of the editors, Mari-Liis Madisson, notes: “Today’s media environment makes fear particularly visible and shareable. We no longer experience fear solely through direct signs of danger but through the ways it is mediated, created, and amplified by the media. Fear has become an important tool of communication.” Fear is used to shape identities, establish oppositions, mobilise crowds, and enhance the economic potential of various business models.

The chapters in the collection focus on the role of the media in shaping fear, covering a wide thematic range, from the semiotics of fear and media narratives that amplify xenophobia to interpretations of conspiracy theories and technological uncertainty. The contributors represent several disciplines, including semiotics, political science, media studies, and anthropology: Mihhail Lotman, Laura Gherlone, Aizhamal Muratalieva, Mari-Liis Madisson, Andreas Ventsel, Sara Rebollo-Bueno, Mark Mets, Jens Alven Sjoberg, Martina Gnewski, Katharina Eisch-Angus, Hongjin Song and Auli Viidalepp.

The collection is published by Tallinn University Press in the series "Acta Universitatis Tallinnensis. Humaniora“, and includes both theoretical discussions and empirical case studies.