INVITED SPEAKER

Urban Discourse: City space, city language, city planning. Eco-semiotic approaches to the analysis of discourse on urban energetic renewal

Prof. Ernest Hess-Lüttich
Universität Bern, Switzerland and University of Stellenbosch, South Africa,

Duration

1 hour

Abstract

Sustainable Urban Planning has to be understood as a communicative process connecting city architecture, technology, city district management and social infrastructure of neighbourhoods. The focus on energetic renewal raises the question of the necessary discourse conditions that allow city and energy planners to enter into conversation with other urban stakeholders, citizens, local administrators and politicians, and discuss which cultural heritage should be preserved and where sustainability takes precedence. Looking at the style of discourse in urban communication brings also its socio-cultural modalities into focus. In the intersection of communication and discourse studies, urban ecology and sociology, the contribution focuses on the growing interest in urban communication and, taking current approaches as a starting point, seeks to clarify, which conversational maxims and discourse requirements by mediation, moderation, and integration are promising for achieving urban energetic renewal and a new urban quality.

Biography of the Invited Speaker

Prof. Dr. Dr. Dr. h.c. Ernest W.B. Hess-Lüttich is Full Professor and chair of the division of communication studies at the University of Berne (Switzerland) and Hon. Prof. Extraordinary at the University of Stellenbosch (South Africa).
His main areas of research are dialogue analysis and discourse studies in various fields of theory and application. So far, he has written and edited some 60 books and published more than 350 scholarly articles. His monographs include books on the foundations of dialogue linguistics, on communication and aesthetics. He is a member of the editorial boards of several journals and book series and of numerous other academic advisory boards, among them the one of the Austrian Academy of Sciences. Apart from Berne and Stellenbosch, Prof. Hess-Lüttich has taught at the universities Bonn, London, Braunschweig, Berlin, Madison/Wisconsin, Bloomington/Indiana as well as a visiting professor at renowned universities on five continents.