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2022. N 18
Individual, Family, Society
“Fathers and children” — a sociological portrait of generations in an ontological interior
Generational change is an old topic in fiction and even philosophical literature, but relatively new in sociology. T. Shanin placed great sociological hopes on this subject. Other well-known domestic sociologists, such as Yu. Levada and Vl. Yadov assessed more cautiously and even critically the opportunities of the "young generation" to be a marker of "progressive" changes in the life order of human society. At the same time, the phenomenon of “fathers” and “children” remains “indicative” both on the family and societal scales. The state of intergenerational relations is a living evidence of society in its civilizational dimension. Unfortunately, today many Western and domestic sociologists reduce the problem of "fathers" and "children" in the spirit of M. Weber to the rational-"digital" competence/incompetence of both. Obviously, the traditional dualism of "fathers" and "children" on this technocentric route will disappear by itself, but the ontological (existential) human and civilizational meaning of the coexistence of "fathers" and "children" will certainly remain as a "program" for the self-preservation of society. And to whom, no matter how sociologists, this concern is not closest because of their professionalism and social responsibility.
Sociology of Culture
How do we read hypertext? (answers of W. Iser’s phenomenology)
The author considers the phenomenological ideas of German literary theorist W. Iser (1926-2007), what helps to compare reading practices of traditional linear and new non-linear computer texts. Generations brought up in the era of the book reading predominance often fear the “mosaic” perception of reality by digital generations, which operate mainly with hypertexts. Mosaic and semantic gaps characterize not only hypertext. The phenomenological approach to reading draws attention to the activity of reader in creating a coherent impression of the readable work. That is, any text, not just a computer one, includes transition points and gaps in the narrative, which activates the reader's horizon of expectations. The fundamental difference between the reading practice of hypertext and a printed book is the unlimited scope of the beginning and end of the narrative and, consequently, the complexity of separating text from context.
Computer games in a frame of media convergence: memes and fan art inspired by the Witcher 3 games series
The article is devoted to the study of the role and place of fan creativity in the promotion of a transmedia franchise. The main topic of the article is the analysis of the interactive component of transmedia processes, which includes the artefacts of gamers’ creativity - memes and fan-art devoted to the games of «The Witcher 3» series. The author considers the concept of media convergence, an important characteristic of modern media processes and features of transmedia storytelling technology, which describes the principles of promoting the same ideas and stories through different media in order to engage consumers. The stimulation of interactive component, especially user thematic creativity, describes one of the most important technologies for promoting a media franchise.
The author refers to the computer game The Witcher 3, which played an important role in promoting the Witcher media franchise. It have spawned a multiple visual user-generated content (internet memes and fan art), which samples are analyzed in the article. The author analyzed the visual content of 4 popular publics related to the world of The Witcher on the social network «VKontakte», identified memes and fan art dedicated to the appropriation of gaming experience, and divided them into thematic groups. Then the author highlighted the semantic foundations and code principles of formation of these visual artifacts, namely, which elements and in what order are combined to convey the idea.
To interpret the events of the game and include its characters in the common cultural field, gamers brought into the image popular Internet memes. And after the main plot have already become the part of the cultural environment, the visual code of the game begins to interpret other virtual worlds and the facts of everyday life. The author concludes that such creativity immerses users in the discussion about the "catchy" elements of the plot, and forms the basis for social relations and collective identity. The plots and characters of «The Witcher 3» enrich the general database of Internet memes and introduce to users new images and possibilities for interpreting social events, for example, marking "monsters" that need to be destroyed offline. It allows the elements of the media franchise to transcend the boundaries of the game and become the part of the culture, media reality and everyday life. It contributes to the intensities of perception of certain events and social facts in the mass consciousness. In addition the popularity of all media channels that promote user creativity (groups on social networks, thematic collections of memes and fan art, personal pages of artists) and the Witcher franchise are growing.
Gratitude: The work was supported by "Expert institute of social research" (EISR), scientific project "Gaming technologies of involvеment and conviction in political and civil communications in modern Russia" (№ 1022061700190-3-5.6.1).
Sociology of the city / Man and environment
“The City of a thousand meanings”. Sociologists' reflections on the identities of the Russian industrial city
The article consistently examines the phenomenon of urban identity of a large Russian industrial city – Naberezhnye Chelny. The features of the experience of the city are described and the prospects for the development of the city are considered, depending on those or other designated experiences. The issues of traumas and various historical events that influenced the formation of the identity of the city are discussed. Based on the analysis of the city's experience using the three-part Landscape-Activity-Experience model, the identity of the industrial city and the features of the versatility of meanings that form such an identity are revealed.
The experience of studying the socio-ecological situation in small mono-industrial cities of Russia
The article describes the author's approach to the study of environmental problems using the concept of socio-ecological situation. The interpretation of this concept and an example of its use in the survey of small mono-industrial cities of Russia are given. The results of such a survey are given. These results show that this approach can be used in the study of environmental problems of small towns and other socio-territorial entities.
Socio-Political Studies / Sociology of Religion
Political socialization, social networks and communications: the main directions of research
This paper analyzes the main theoretical approaches to the study of political socialization and communication, reveals the features of the study of these processes in foreign and Russian discourse. The paper determines that studies normally describe the potential capabilities of agents and institutions of including social groups in offline political processes and political Internet communications. Based on the studied material, it is concluded that in social networks there is an active exchange of political information and ideas between users. A separate area of research is the analysis of the activities of political subjects, political sentiments of citizens, politics in promoting ideas or political programs among citizens. Consideration of empirical methods for studying the structure of political communication networks of Internet users showed that “hierarchy” and “social differentiation” are the key to the analysis of social networks. Particular attention was paid to the experience of researching communication networks.
Gratitude: The work was supported by "Expert institute of social research" (EISR), scientific project "Gaming technologies of involvеment and conviction in political and civil communications in modern Russia" (№ 1022061700190-3-5.6.1).
Glocalization of the political doctrine of modern Catholicism: a comparative analysis of the travels of John Paul II, Benedict XVI and Francis
Under conditions of globalization, Catholicism is forced to maintain its “universal” status and at the same time adapt to the local contexts of presence. As a consequence, there is a need to glocalize the church’s political doctrine – a part of Catholic social teaching focused on the issues of a political nature. One of the tools for solving this problem are papal travels, which ensure the spread of the Catholicism’s doctrine through the personal presence of the Vicar of the Holy See in various world regions. The pontiffs’ mobility provides meaningful information about the (re)configuration of the global and local dimensions of church teaching. In this regard, the article provides a comparative analysis of the percentage distribution and dynamics of the travels of John Paul II, Benedict XVI and Francis (for the 1st half of 2022) in their relationship with the world Catholic population’s statistics. The result is a partial confirmation of the hypothesis about the expansion and shift of the travels’ geography to the global South.
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