Signs of the times: semiotics' MA theses at the University of Tartu in 2025

What do psychedelic experiences, sports leagues, AI language models, post-Soviet nostalgia, teenage rebellion musicals, and brand-driven slang have in common? Each reflects a facet of meaning-making in the contemporary world — and each was explored through the lens of semiotics during the master's thesis defences at the University of Tartu's Department of Semiotics on 30 May 2025.

The presented theses spun a remarkable range — from cultural memory and altered states of consciousness to mytho-political ecologies and the commercialisation of subcultural language. These inquiries demonstrated how semiotic research can uncover hidden structures and challenge dominant narratives by analysing communication and meaning-making across culture, society, and living systems.

Defended theses in semiotics 2025

Gabriel Matthew Bergman
Modelling Sunaisthesis: A Semiotic Analysis of Friendship and Intimacy
Supervisors: Kalevi Kull, Claus Emmeche | Reviewer: Tuuli Pern

Letícia Leal Borges De Morais
Foraging the Anthropocene: A Mytho-political Assemblage within Decolonial Semiosis
Supervisors: Ott Puumeister, Silver Rattasepp | Reviewer: Riin Magnus

Kiira Grintšak
The Romanticization of Violence in the Film and Musical "Heathers"
Supervisors: Katre Pärn, Eleni Alexandri | Reviewer: Raili Lass

Alikhan Juzgenbayev
A Semiotic Analysis of the Commercialization of Slang: How Brands Use Subcultural Language
Supervisors: Ott Puumeister, Mari-Liis Madisson | Reviewer: Martin Oja

Marleen Mihhailova
Interpretations of Soviet Heritage in Nostalgia Discourse: A Phenomenographic Study of the Generation Born in Estonia 1990–1999 (Nõukogude pärandi tõlgendused nostalgia diskursuses: fenomenograafiline uurimus 1990–1999 sündinud Eesti põlvkonnast)
Supervisor: Anti Randviir | Reviewer: Silvi Salupere

Daniel Prokeš
Constructing Athletic Identity in American Leagues: A Semiotic Analysis of Professional Sports
Supervisors: Elin Sütiste, Nelly Mäekivi, Silvi Salupere | Reviewer: Alec Kozicki

Marianne Raid
The Impact of Psychedelic Substances as Elicitors of Altered States of Consciousness on the Human Perceptual and Affective Environment (Psühhedeelsete ainete kui teadvuse muutunud vormide esilekutusjate mõju inimese taju- ja mõjuilmale)
Supervisor: Silver Rattasepp | Reviewer: Elli-Marie Tragel

Rasmus Rebane
"A Message from the Future" as a Semiotic Problem: Olaf Stapledon’s "Last and First Men" (1930) "(Sõnum tulevikust" kui semiootiline probleem: Olaf Stapledoni "Last and First Men" (1930))
Supervisor: Silvi Salupere | Reviewer: Jaak Tomberg

Andrea Barone Renolfi
Modelling Futures: On Language Models and the Social Construction of Knowledge in Academia
Supervisors: Ott Puumeister | Reviewer: Auli Viidalepp

Tshinar-Kristi Shahmardan
The Monument as a Site of Memory: Memory, Belonging, and Identity in Memorials of the Great Escape (Mälestusmärk kui mälupaik: mälu, kuuluvus ja identiteet suurpõgenemise mälestusmärkides)
Supervisors: Elin Sütiste, Keiu Telve | Reviewer: Maarja Ojamaa