Modern Trends in University City Brand Modification

This article examines modern trends in the modification of the brand “university city” in the context of communication. The first part is a theoretical analysis based on the main categories of semiotics. Thus, brand modification is considered within the semantic framework of the urban semiosphere, and the brand here means “text” in the interpretation of Yu.M. Lotman. In the context of the authors' concept of the political construction of reality, the generating subject of communication is the party that “writes” the text and also takes care of its coding and understanding. In this regard, the constructivist role, considered through the concepts of “border” and the change of places of the “core” and “periphery” of the urban semiosphere, is transferred from authorities to “active users”. At the same time, communication is understood as an equivalent of cultural dialogue with its “translation”. This kind of communication moves away from the absolutely linear form of advertising communication of brands and approaches the network configuration of “discussing” brands and giving them values, uniqueness, and thus identity. All this reveals the semiosis of the city brand as a sign and points to the correction of its meaning. Thus, active “users” generate their own “lexicodes” for discussing the topic of the city and spontaneously create a “frame” for the required “university city” and university. The second part of the article reveals the figurative meaning of the “university city” frame by examining the opinions of foreign students. A concrete example of their views regarding a relevant “university city” is shown by a survey of foreign students in Tomsk. The survey revealed the structure of interrelated characteristics that indicate the representative properties of Tomsk and articulate its special significance. In fact, this is a kind of implementation of the right to the city (H. Lefebvre). Empirical research has shown that the image of Tomsk is structured, as it were, on two levels: everyday and symbolic. In general, the form of the generalized image of Tomsk resembles the character of a person, and the city-subject appears as democratic and sociable. The symbolic hypostasis of Tomsk is a cityuniversity, an ideal environment and a favorable place to study at. Thus, based on the culture of dialogue, it is feasible to exchange symbolic positions and create a specific language of communication, in which it is advisable to formulate a semiotically modified idea of a new positioning of the “university city”.

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