Farouk Y. Seif
Farouk Y. Seif, Ph.D.
A Short Biography
Farouk Y. Seif, Ph.D. is Professor Emeritus of Leadership and Change at Antioch
University Seattle where he teaches design for initiating and leading social/cultural
change. He is a registered architect, a Fellow of the International Communicology
Institute, and the Executive Director of the Semiotic Society of America. He received his
Ph.D. from the University of Washington in 1990. His doctoral dissertation, “Semiotics
and Urban Morphogenesis,” is an interdisciplinary inquiry designed to reinterpret the
ancient Egyptian experience for thoughtful reflections on modernity. Prior to becoming
an American citizen, Seif was born and raised in Egypt with a Coptic background. He
leads the intercultural program in Egypt: Journey into the Dawn of Time. Prof. Seif has
taught and published his work internationally and has contributed to semiotic congresses
since 1999. Among his notable publications are:
• “Paradoxes and Perseverance: Designing Through the Antinomies of Life.” In
Semiotics 2014: Proceedings of the 39th Semiotic Society of America Annual
Meeting: Seattle, Washington, October 2–5, 201 4.
• “The Eternal Masquerade: Change, Conflict, and Continuity.” In Semiotics 2013:
Proceedings of the 38th Semiotic Society of America Annual Meeting: Dayton,
Ohio, October 24–27, 2013.
• “Semiotic Paradox of the New Media: Experiencing Visceral Reality in a
Transmodern World.” In Semiotics of New Media: Proceedings of the 37th
Semiotic Society of America Annual Meeting: Toronto, Canada, November 1 –4,
2012.
• “From the Absolute to Metamorphoses: Egypt at the Epicenter of
Transmodernity.” In Semiotics 2011: The Semiotics of Worldviews. Proceedings
of the 36th Annual Meeting of the Semiotic Society of America, October 27–30,
2011 .
• “Mutual Mimesis of Nature and Culture: A Representational Perspective for EcoCultural Metamorphosis.” In Sign Systems Studies, Special Issue: Semiotics of
Resemblance. Volume 38(3/4), Tartu University Press, Estonia, 2010.
• “Between Technology and Teleology: Can the Digital Age Embrace the Analog
Experience of Culture?” In Transforming Culture in the Digital Age, based on the
International Conference at the University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia, April 15–17,
2010, E-Book, Tartu, Estonia: Estonian National Museum, Estonian Literary
Museum, and University of Tartu, 2010.
• “Communication in the Age of the Great Turning: Understanding the Role of
Analog and Digital Modes in Liberating Imagination.” In Proceedings of the 9th
World Congress of the International Association for Semiotic Studies-Association
Internationale de Sémiotique (IASS/AIS), Helsinki-Imatra, Finland, June 11 –17,
2007.
• “Social Change in the “Aperspectival World”: the Paradox of Social Reproduction
and Cultural Innovation.” In TRANS: Innovation and Reproduction in Cultures
and Societies (IRICS), Proceedings of the World Congress of the International
Association for Semiotic Studies-Association Internationale de Sémiotique
(IASS/AIS), Vienna, Austria, December 9–11, 2005.