Semiotics for the media and for the professionsBiographical profile
Graduated in Philosophy, he is professor of Text Semiotics at the University of Turin, where he also teaches Semiotics of Advertising. At the University of Turin, he is president of the specialist degree course in mass and multimedia communication, director of the Interdepartmental Center for Research on Communication, delegate of the rector for university communication, member of the teaching staff of the research doctorate in science and communication technologies. He is also a member of the communication commission of the Conference of Italian university rectors.
Until the academic year 1999-2000 he taught Philosophy of Language at the University of Bologna, where he also held courses in Fashion Semiology at the Specialization Course for Fashion Operators. For some years he was a contract professor at the Communications degree course at the IULM University of Milan.
He has held courses and conferences in numerous foreign institutions and universities, including the ISTA (International School of Theater Anthropology) of Holstebro (Denmark), New York University and Brown University, Columbia University, the Haute École en Sciences Sociales of Paris, the Universidad Nacional of Lima, the Universidad Nacional of Bogota, the Universities of Genève, Bonn, Madrid, Montpellier, Augsburg, Vienna, Zagreb, Helsinki, Sofia, Kassel.
He has been a consultant to various public and private institutions, including the Municipalities of Milan and Bologna, the Lombardy Region, Ert-Ater. He has directed research for the CNR and various other bodies. He worked for a long time in book publishing, until he became managing editor of the miscellaneous for Bompiani and director of the series for Electa. He is a member of the scientific committee of the journal Vs. Quaderni di studi semiotic and collaborates with numerous scientific journals.
He carries out an intense activity of cultural publications in various newspapers and weeklies: first of all La Repubblica of which he has been one of the theater critics since its foundation, and then L'Espresso, Panorama, Europeo, Epoca, Lo Specchio, Il Mondo, Grazia, Avvenire , The messenger, The Morning of Naples.
He has extensive radio and television experience, both with Rai and Fininvest networks and with local channels. He has carried out consultancy, training and collaboration activities with important companies in various sectors: ADN Kronos, ATM Milano, Bally, Costa Crociere, Turin 2006 Olympic Committee, De Beers, Fininvest, Fiat, Ferrero, GFT, Gillette, Glaxo, GPF & Associati , Granarolo, IWS, Kellog, Lavazza, Mediaset, Procter & Gamble, Siemens, Telecom Italia, Unilever, Wella, Siemens, Xerox.
Main publications
Among his books: Art and science (Mazzotta, 1972), How to read the news (with Omar Calabrese, Laterza, 1976), The rhetoric of the stars (L'Espresso, 1980), The language of astrology (Bompiani, 1988) , Against fashion (Feltrinelli, 1988), The duke's oak (Feltrinelli, 1989), Apology of imperfect silence (Feltrinelli, 1991), Jeans (Lupetti, 1992), For polytheism (Feltrinelli, 1992), Philosophers and the language (Esculapio, 1993), Nicknames of Italy (Panini, 1993), The book of communication (Il Saggiatore, 1994), The newscast: instructions for use (with Omar Calabrese, Laterza, 1995), Hair language (Procter & Gamble, 1997), Fascino (Feltrinelli, 1997), Block modes (Lupetti, 1998), Manual of semiotics (Laterza, 2000), Figures of desire (Cortina, 2002), Culti TV (Sperling & Kupfer, 2002), Semiotics of advertising (Laterza, 2003), The tourist's gaze and the story of places (with Rossana Bonadei for Franco Angeli, 2003) Political communication between the first and second centuries onda Repubblica (with Marino Livolsi, Franco Angeli 1995). With Marino Livolsi he edited several collective volumes on political communication in the elections: Televoting (Franco Angeli, 1997), Personalization and detachment (Franco Angeli, 2000), The Wait continues ( Franco Angeli, 2003).
He has edited several catalogs including In the country of advertising (Castello di Rivoli/Skirà, 2003), Superstar – 99 myths of the 900th century (Federico Motta Editore, 2006); The factory communicates (Castello di Rivoli, November 2006).
Together with Gianfranco Bettetini, Omar Calabrese, Anna Maria Lorusso, Patrizia Violi he edits the anthology of texts Semiotics (Raffaello Cortina Editore, 2005).
Among the most recent publications Rumor and gossip – The importance of informal communication (with Marino Livolsi, Franco Angeli 2005); Semiotics laboratory (Laterza, 2005), The new book of communication (Il Saggiatore, 2007), Lessons in the philosophy of communication (Laterza, 2008), Laterza, Rome-Bari 2008Parole in gioco (Editrice Compositori, 2009); Questions to the Torah – Semiotics and Philosophy of the Hebrew Bible (L'Epos, 2012)
