Hundikivid, nende tähendusväljad ja tähendusnihked
The Semantic Fields and Semiotic Shifts of Wolf Stones

Summary/Abstract: This study demonstrates the coexistence of different discourses surrounding human-animal relationships in contemporary Germany using the example of monuments dedicated to wolves: wolf stones (Wolfssteine). Two discourses manifest themselves by interpreting historical wolf stones: the contemporary one dedicated to biodiversity and the other expressing anthropocentric views on human-predator relationship. Historical wolf stones can be seen as representatives of the older discourse, yet new interpretations are beginning to emerge, casting these stones as warnings against speciecism. Moreover, while a new discourse has emerged, the historical stones still stand in the landscape – a situation which creates a potential for semiocrisis. The semiotic field of the wolf stones has expanded and newly erected wolf stones – commemorating the return of wolves to Germany – function as dialogical countermonuments. They engage in an implicit dialogue with the historical stones, thereby providing critical commentary on earlier commemorative narratives. This suggests the existence of a transitional phase, which may converge toward a more unified reading of these stones – whether as antimonumental stones or as celebrating the past triumphs.

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