Culture of Modern Russian Society: Sociological Analysis

Master 2020/2021

Type: Elective course (Russian Studies)

Area of studies: Political Science

Delivered by: School of Sociology

Where: Faculty of Social Sciences

When: 1 year, 3, 4 module

Mode of studies: offline

Instructors: Dmitry Popov, Olga A. Simonova

Master’s programme: Российские исследования

Language: English

ECTS credits: 4

Contact hours: 48

Full Syllabus

Abstract

The culture of modern Russian society: Sociological analysis. This course is devoted to the analysis of the cultural content of social life in modern Russian society from the point of view of the sociological theory and practice. The main goal of the course is to show the cultural diversity of Russian society and at the same time the general trends and processes of the post-Soviet period of Russian history. More precisely, we intend to describe the “complex of cultures” of the Russian society, the cultures of various groups, communities and strata, and identify the areas of social solidarity and the areas of social tensions and conflicts. The analysis will be based on the theories, concepts and methods of the sociology related to the study of the cultural system in modern societies, here are some of them: values, social norms, customs, traditions, rituals, sociocultural practices included in the system of social institutions. Therefore, this course contains a critical examination of the concepts and models of the sociology of culture with the aim of adopting them to the study of the cultures in modern Russia. Particular attention will be paid to the impact of general processes of the globalization and the interaction of cultures on the culture of Russian society. Hence the goal of this course is to show the specific and common features of modern Russian culture. In accordance with these objectives, the course includes the following topics: "The basic concepts, theories and methods of contemporary sociology of culture"; "The Soviet traditions and their cultural processing in the post-Soviet period"; "The cultural traumas of modern Russia: the policy of collective memory"; "Culture and social structure in modern Russia" etc.

Learning Objectives

The goal of this course is to create a systematic understanding of a culture of modern Russian society by using the means of sociology and to reveal its complexity. Our main point will be the lived experience of human beings inhabiting the Russian society. The enrolled students may know the main concepts and principles of the sociology of culture, the main methods of studying culture; he/she should have general and specific knowledge about the culture of modern Russia and the theoretical and methodological instruments of its research, and present the results of the current research during the course.

Expected Learning Outcomes

ability to outline the sociological approach to studing of culture
ability to present different main components of culture from the point of sociology and to apply the knowledge to Russian society analysis
ability to discuss the special features of socialization processes in modern Russian society, and generation relationships
to demonstrate the understanding of sociological approach to everyday life and its significance for the study of culture
to demonstrate the knowledge of different empirical methodology relating to the sociology of culture
ability to differentiate the types of social stratification systems and analyze the social inequality on varoius dimentions
the ability to distinguish the features of late-modern societies and describe the current cultural processes in Russian case
the knowing the general history of Russian intelligensia and sociological approach to study it
to apply the ritual theory to analysis of contemporary Russian society
to demonstrate the ability to discuss the urban culture of Russian megalopolises
to know the basic principles of ethnographic method in culture research in sociology
to know the ground rules of historical comparative method in sociology of culture and apply some elements to the analysis of Russian culture
to know about and partly apply the visual methods to sociological analysis of Russian culture

Course Contents

Session 1. The basic principles of sociological analysis of culture
The problem of definition of culture in sociology: different definitions, types of culture, culture and social structure, periodization and classification of cultures and societies. The dilemma of contemporary and traditional society and its’ meaning for the sociology of culture. The basic sociological theories of culture. The principles of learning the culture of Russian society: Soviet and post-Soviet society, Soviet and post-Soviet traditions, modern Russian society and global social processes.
Session 2. The basic concepts and theories of contemporary sociology of culture and their applicability to the learning of the culture of modern Russian society
The values as general standards defining what people (groups, societies) consider good/bad, right/wrong and important/ inessential, etc.; and norms that are the rules that guide what and how people do. Traditions, customs, rituals and fashion as main normative regulators. Symbolic and material elements and objects. Language as the most important part of culture, which represents all elements of culture and society. The overwhelming diversity of modern culture. The dominant culture, various subcultures and countercultures. Low and high cultures, mass and elite cultures. The Soviet traditions and their cultural processing in the post-Soviet period.
Session 3. The basic concepts and theories of contemporary sociology of culture. Socialization
The socialization process as the other side of culture and society reproduction Primary socialization begins in childhood and then evolves to secondary socialization; adults continue to be socialized throughout their lives. Social interactions at the microlevel of social world is the crucial base of socialization and development the personal self, that in turn help the individuals to take part in society. Socialization theories, the main agents of socialization in modern society and the changes in socialization processes in the global world. Some aspects of socialization process in modern Russia: adulthood and generation relationships, Soviet and post-Soviet values in education, parenting, and personal development.
Session 4. The basic concepts, theories and methods of contemporary sociology of culture: the culture and everyday life
The sociology of culture and everyday life. Everyday practices as manifestations of cultural beliefs and representations. Rituals of everyday life. Sociological approaches to cultural dimension of life world. The previous and current research of everyday life and culture. Soviet and post-Soviet everyday realities trough prism of sociology. Studies of everyday life as a way of researching of Russian society
Session 5. The study of culture and the variety of sociological methods
Objectivist and subjectivist approaches to study the culture in sociology. Qualitative and qualitative methodologies in sociology of culture. Some notions in favor of qualitative approach. Sociology and anthropology of culture: differences and intersections. Ethnographic methods in sociology of culture. Combinations of methods or mixed methods of culture researching. Russian sociology about the Russian culture: theories and research.
Session 6. Culture and social structure in modern Russia
Social inequality as cultural process. Social inequality in traditional and modern times. Historical types of societies and different systems of social stratification. Sociological theories of stratification and social class. Life chances and lifestyles of different classes, class consciousness and class subcultures. Social mobility and social stratification in Soviet and post-Soviet societies, cultural dimensions. Modernization, urbanization, migration and their cultural consequences for Russian world
Session 7. The culture of modern and post-modern society. The study of the culture of modern Russian society
The sociological theories of social changes and transformations. Collective memory and trauma as determinants of socio-cultural change. The cultural evolution and revolution and the problem of social progress. Modernity and post-modernity societies and cultural changes. Globalization in modern world and global culture. The dominance of consumer culture, in which the ideas and material objects relate to consumption. The last cultural trends, digitalization of social world and cyberculture. Russian society and globalization. Current cultural wars and their reception in post-Soviet Russian society
Session 8. Social stratification studies. Intelligentsia in Russian history: sociological analysis
Antonio Gramsci and his “Prison notebooks”, the role of intellectuals in society. Karl Mannheim’s concept of the free-floating intelligentsia. Alvin Gouldner’s arguments for “the New Class” formation. Structure of Russian society and intelligentsia as a social class. Different types of intelligentsia in Russian history: its appearance, development and fading. The importance of intelligentsia concept in understanding Russian culture
Session 9. Ritual theory: Soviet and Post-Soviet ritualism
Emil Durkheim’s work “The Elementary Forms of Religious Life” and the concepts of ritual theory. Rituals in contemporary society: sociological understanding and strategies for empirical studies. Ritualism in Soviet society, it’s different forms and meanings. Deep cultural transformations and new rituals in Russian society at the turn of the century
Sesison 10. Urban studies. Sociology of Soviet and Post-Soviet city
The key concepts and paradigms of the urban sociology. Structures, communities and processes in megalopolis. A soviet city: standardized house planning, mass housing development, “micro-districts”. Consequences of soviet urbanism for the Russian society and art culture. Post-soviet city transformations. Modern anthropology in urban studies: Marc Auge and the concept of “non-places”. Globalization and Russian megalopolises
Session 11. Social phenomenology. Ethnography of Soviet and Post-Soviet everyday life
Ethnography and the sociology of everyday life: the roots and main concepts. Alfred Schutz and his studies in phenomenology. “The Social Construction of Reality” by P.Berger and T.Luckmann. Everyday life and human interaction in urban and rural settings of Soviet and Post-Soviet Russia. Approaches for empirical research: interview, family history and participant observation
Session 12. Comparative historical method in sociology. P.Sorokin and T.Skocpol on Russian Revolution
Max Weber and the comparative social-historical research: the method and strategies. Case-oriented and holistic approaches, ideas of Charles Ragin. Qualitative and quantitative traditions in Comparative-Historical Sociological Approach. Comparative historical analysis in the studies of Russian Revolution: Pitirim Sorokin and Theda Skocpol.
Session 13. Semiotics and visual sociology. Sociological reading of Soviet and Post-Soviet Russian movies
Semiotics in sociological analysis. Peter Sztompka on visual sociology: base concepts and ideas. Rolan Barthes’ “Camera Lucida” as an example of visual analysis. Pierre Bourdieu and the study of middle class photo albums and traditions. Movies as a source of cultural meanings. The place of cinema in Russian Soviet and Post-Soviet culture. Ways and techniques of film analysis

Assessment Elements

Reflexive writing
Participation in group discussions (1 module)
Presentation on the thematic options of the course
Participation in group discussions (2 module)

Interim Assessment

Interim assessment (4 module)
0.24 * Participation in group discussions (1 module) + 0.24 * Participation in group discussions (2 module) + 0.2 * Presentation on the thematic options of the course + 0.32 * Reflexive writing

Bibliography

Recommended Core Bibliography

Cities : reimagining the urban, Amin, A., 2005
Emile Durkheim. (2013). The Elementary Forms of Religious Life. [N.p.]: Digireads.com Publishing. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=1537440
Essential concepts in sociology, Giddens, A., 2014
Fusaro, L., Xidias, J., & Fabry, A. (2017). The Prison Notebooks. London: Macat Library. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=1552241
Giddens, A. (1990). The Consequences of Modernity. Cambridge, UK: Polity. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=601765
Russia in the era of NEP : explorations in Soviet society and culture, , 1991
The Cambridge companion to modern Russian culture, , 2012
The consequences of modernity, Giddens, A., 2004
The new American cultural sociology, , 1998
The phenomenology of the social world, Schutz, A., 1972
The SAGE handbook of case-based methods, , 2013

Recommended Additional Bibliography

Castells, Manuel. The Power of Identity : The Information Age - Economy, Society, and Culture, John Wiley & Sons, Incorporated, 2009. ProQuest Ebook Central, https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/hselibrary-ebooks/detail.action?docID=470449.
Checklist of civilizations and culture, Kroeber, A. L., 2011
Community without community in digital culture, Gere, C., 2012
Comparing nations and cultures : readings in a cross-disciplinary perspective, , 1996
Consumer behaviour in a changing world : food, culture and society. 2016. Ed. by Fabio Verneau and Christopher Griffith Emerald Group Publishing Limited https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/hselibrary-ebooks/detail.action?docID=4514345.
Consumer culture and modernity, Slater, D., 1997
Consumer culture and the media : magazines in the public eye, Iqani, M., 2012
Consumer culture, Lury, C., 1996
Cultural commons : a new perspective on the production and evolution of cultures, , 2012
Culture and identity, Kidd, W., 2012
Culture and values : a survey of the humanities, Cunningham, L. S., 2010
Elements of culture : an applied perspective, Andreatta, S., 2013
Hass, J. K. (2012). Rethinking the Post-Soviet Experience: Markets, Moral Economies, and Cultural Contradictions of Post-Socialist Russia. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsbas&AN=edsbas.25F3D9E6
How culture makes us human : primate social evolution and the formation of human societies, Read, D. W., 2012
How to do media and cultural studies, Stokes, J., 2013
Into the cosmos : space exploration and Soviet culture, , 2011
Modern Soviet society, Kerblay, B., 1983
Reflexive modernization : politics, tradition and aesthetics in the modern social order, Beck, U., 2004
Rethinking the post-Soviet experience : markets, moral economies, and cultural contradictions of post-socialist Russia, Hass, J., 2012
Rulyova, N., Hutchings, S. C., & Beumers, B. (2009). The Post-Soviet Russian Media : Conflicting Signals. London: Routledge. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=253813
Russia's skinheads : exploring and rethinking subcultural lives, Pilkington, H., 2010
Self-representation and digital culture, Thumim, N., 2012
Social status and cultural consumption, , 2012
Soviet and post-Soviet identities, , 2012
Soviet society and culture : essays in honor of Vera S. Dunham, , 1988
Soviet Society in the era of late socialism, 1964-1985, , 2014
The Oxford handbook of cultural sociology, , 2012
The post-Soviet Russian media : conflicting signals, , 2011
Thompson, T. L., & Sheldon, R. (2019). Soviet Society And Culture : Essays In Honor Of Vera S. Dunham. London: Routledge. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=2198980
Understanding sport : a socio-cultural analysis, Horne, J., 2013
Гидденс, Э., & Саттон, Ф. (2018). Essential Concepts in Sociology (excerpts) ; Основные понятия в социологии. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsbas&AN=edsbas.D4B982B6
Красношекова, Г.А. Communication culture : учеб. пособие / Г.А. Красношекова, Т.А. Нечаева ; под ред. Г.А. Красношековой ; Южный федеральный университет. - Ростов-на-Дону ; Таганрог : Издательство Южного федерального университета, 2018. - 144 с. - ISBN 978-5-9275-3059-5. - Режим доступа: https://new.znanium.com/catalog/product/1039787

Course Syllabus