Jean-Marie Klinkenberg
Encyclopedia
Jean-Marie Klinkenberg is a Belgian linguist and semiotician, professor at the State University of Liège
, born in Verviers (Belgium
) in 1944. Member of the interdisciplinary Groupe µ
. President of the International Association for visual Semiotics
.
(Belgium
), received his Masters (1967) and his Doctorate (1971) in Romance Philology at the State University of Liège
. He teaches language studies at the University of Liège
, focusing on rhetoric
and semiotics
. He also teaches French-language literature (particularly Belgian and Québécois).
His scientific activities focus on two areas: linguistics/semiotics and French-speaking cultures. In the first area, he made his mark in the late 1960s by revitalizing the field of rhetoric as a member of the interdisciplinary team known as the µ Group. More recently, he has helped to steer semiotics in a social, cognitivist direction. His writings on semiotics and rhetoric have been translated into 15 or more languages.
In the second field, he has modernized the study of the arts in Belgium by casting them in a social and institutional light, an approach that can be readily transferred to the other French-speaking cultures he has studied (such as Quebec
's) and by establishing inter-university research programs. He founded and chairs Belgium's Centre d’Études des Lettres Francophones.
He is president of the International Association for visual semiotics
.
He is a member of the "Ordre des francophones d'Amérique" (Quebec
) and Commandeur des Arts et Lettres (France
).
Member of the "Académie royale de Belgique” (Royal Academy of Belgium
).
Liège
Liège is a major city and municipality of Belgium located in the province of Liège, of which it is the economic capital, in Wallonia, the French-speaking region of Belgium....
, born in Verviers (Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
) in 1944. Member of the interdisciplinary Groupe µ
Groupe µ
Groupe µ is the collective pseudonym under which a group of Belgian 20th-century semioticians wrote a series of books, presenting an exposition of modern semiotics....
. President of the International Association for visual Semiotics
Visual semiotics
"Surrounded with symbols, images and various signs, human being has always strived to signify them and utilized for communication. The meaning comes out of an interaction between message and its reader...
.
Biography
Jean-Marie Klinkenberg, born in 1944 in VerviersVerviers
Verviers is a Walloon city and municipality located in the Belgian province of Liège. The Verviers municipality includes the old communes of Ensival, Lambermont, Petit-Rechain, Stembert, and Heusy...
(Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
), received his Masters (1967) and his Doctorate (1971) in Romance Philology at the State University of Liège
Liège
Liège is a major city and municipality of Belgium located in the province of Liège, of which it is the economic capital, in Wallonia, the French-speaking region of Belgium....
. He teaches language studies at the University of Liège
University of Liège
The University of Liège , in Liège, Wallonia, Belgium, is a major public university in the French Community of Belgium. Its official language is French.-History:...
, focusing on rhetoric
Rhetoric
Rhetoric is the art of discourse, an art that aims to improve the facility of speakers or writers who attempt to inform, persuade, or motivate particular audiences in specific situations. As a subject of formal study and a productive civic practice, rhetoric has played a central role in the Western...
and semiotics
Semiotics
Semiotics, also called semiotic studies or semiology, is the study of signs and sign processes , indication, designation, likeness, analogy, metaphor, symbolism, signification, and communication...
. He also teaches French-language literature (particularly Belgian and Québécois).
His scientific activities focus on two areas: linguistics/semiotics and French-speaking cultures. In the first area, he made his mark in the late 1960s by revitalizing the field of rhetoric as a member of the interdisciplinary team known as the µ Group. More recently, he has helped to steer semiotics in a social, cognitivist direction. His writings on semiotics and rhetoric have been translated into 15 or more languages.
In the second field, he has modernized the study of the arts in Belgium by casting them in a social and institutional light, an approach that can be readily transferred to the other French-speaking cultures he has studied (such as Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
's) and by establishing inter-university research programs. He founded and chairs Belgium's Centre d’Études des Lettres Francophones.
He is president of the International Association for visual semiotics
Visual semiotics
"Surrounded with symbols, images and various signs, human being has always strived to signify them and utilized for communication. The meaning comes out of an interaction between message and its reader...
.
He is a member of the "Ordre des francophones d'Amérique" (Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
) and Commandeur des Arts et Lettres (France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
).
Member of the "Académie royale de Belgique” (Royal Academy of Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
).
External links
- http://www.signosemio.com/klinkenberg/klinkenberg.asp
- Best of Verviers, L'interview de Jean-Marie Klinkenberg