Congist'26: Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Crisis

Session

Session 3.3 (Day 2)

D2-S3-A8

14 May 2026, 14:00

A8 (Istanbul University Faculty of Letters)

Conveners

Session 3.3 (Day 2): Dilbilim & Göstergebilim / Linguistics & Semiotics

• Jo Katambwe (Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières)

Making Sense of Crises: Identity markers in Niketas Choniates' De Signis Constantinopolitanis (D2-S3-A8)

Lorenzo Incardona (University of Bologna)

14/05/2026, 14:00

Oral Presentation

Niketas Choniates’ De Signis is an account of the acts of vandalism performed by Western armies in Constantinople in 1204, during the 4th Crusade. The De Signis is a precious and captivating text that depicts a tremendous political, economic and cultural crisis from the peculiar point of view of a sophisticated intellectual directly involved in the events described. By employing a hybrid...

The Semiotics of Crisis in the Digital Age (D2-S3-A8)

Taulant Salihi (Eötvös Loránd University)

14/05/2026, 14:20

Oral Presentation

Almost all events today are experienced as much through screens and platforms as in lived reality. Moreover, wars, pandemics, environmental disasters, and social upheavals, because of their stimulating and affective content, are mediated, circulated, and contested in the digital sphere, where images, texts, and symbols play a decisive role in shaping how societies understand and react to...

The Semiotics of Fear in CBRN Crises: From Official Messaging To Media Narratives (D2-S3-A8)

Vesela Ivanova (South-West University Neofit Rilski)

14/05/2026, 14:40

Oral Presentation

CBRN (Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear) crises pose exceptional communicative challenges, as they involve invisible, uncertain, and high-consequence threats. Alarm messages—issued by institutions and amplified through media—often transform technical alerts into emotionally charged narratives that shape public fear, trust, and behavioural response. Delays or inconsistencies in...