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12УДК 397.4
Materials of the Fifth Session of Educational,
Scientific and Methodological Seminar «Theory and Practice of Applied Culture Studies» on the Basis of Art History and Cultural Studies Department,
Institute for the Humanities,
Siberian Federal University,
Krasnoyarsk. June 17, 2010
Natalia P. Koptseva*
Siberian Federal University 79 Svobodny, Krasnoyarsk, 660041 Russia 1
Received 6.10.2010, received in revised form 13.10.2010, accepted 20.10.2010
The materials of the fifth session of educational, scientific and methodological seminar «Theory and practice of applied culture studies» on the basis of Art History and Theory and Culture Studies Department, Institute for the Humanities, Siberian Federal University, Krasnoyarsk, held on the 17th of June, 2010, represent a discussion of a topic of current interest concerning the small groups of indigenous peoples living in the North of Krasnoyarsk region. The methods and approaches of cultural and anthropological study are suggested taking into consideration the modern ideas of practical purposes of culture studies and basing on the classic methods of cultural and anthropological studies carried out in Russia and abroad. The problem of existence and changes of the ethnic groups in the situation of global transformations is raised.
Keywords: culture, cultural and anthropological study, ethnos, small groups of the indigenous peoples living in the North of Krasnoyarsk region, global transformations.
The work is carried out with the financial support of the federal purpose oriented programme «Scientific and scientific-pedagogic staff in innovative Russia for 2009-2013» concerning the problem «Culture of the small groups of indigenous peoples living in the North in the situation of global transformations: the foresight research until 2050 based on the materials of analysis of the Yakut ethnos» held within the framework of the event 1.2.1 «Scientific investigations carried out by the research groups guided by doctors of science».
The work is carried out with the financial support of the grant of Krasnoyarsk regional fund for the support of scientific and scientific-and-technological activities.
* Corresponding author E-mail address: decanka@mail.ru
1 © Siberian Federal University. All rights reserved
Koptseva, N.P.
Doctor of Philosophy, professor,
Head of the Cultural Studies Department,
Dean of Art History
and Cultural Studies Department
Reznikova K. V.
Assistant, Chair of Culture Studies, Department of Art History and Theory and Culture Studies,
Siberian Federal University
The processes connected with ethnic identity have achieved the world scope since the second half of the 20th century. The very concept of ethnic identity has become one of the most important in cultural anthropology. It is defined as a result of emotional and cognitive process of identification of an individual with representatives of some ethnos and dissociation from representatives of other ethnoses. In other words, ethnic identity is realization of one’s ethnicity. It means that the accent has shifted from individual identification from outside to ethnic self-identification, so ethnic identity of an individual is able not to coincide with the ethnicity ascribed to that individual from outside.
Ethnic identity is not an equivalent to ethnic origin because, apart from ascribing to a certain ethnos, ethnic identity implies deeply significant experience of that origin of an individual as one of the most important ideas about that individual. Thus, the structure of ethnic identity consists of two components: firstly, informative filling -knowledge about ethnic origin and its chief criteria and various ethnic communities (this component is conventionally called cognitive); secondly, affective or emotional and valuable component consisting of experience of an individual’s ethnic origin.
It is acceptable to distinguish such main parameters of ethnic identity as, firstly, its value (subjective importance of ethnic identity of an
individual), secondly, topical character, and, thirdly, its valency. According to such parameter as valency, ethnic identity can be both positive and negative. Positive ethnic identity is more normal and spread among the majority of people; it is characterized by sense of stability and safety. Negative ethnic identity projects negative estimation of representatives of a certain ethnic group, which is very often characteristic of nondominant ethnic communities; it is described by a sense of shame for one’s nation, inferiority and abjection. Different scientists pointed out various strategies of behaviour as a consequence of negative ethnic identity. Thus, according to T.G. Stefanenko, the first model is named as a strategy of social creative work and it consists in reconsideration of the criteria of comparison. On the one hand, it is a search for new grounds of comparison; on the other hand, it is a selection for comparison of weaker or less successful groups. The second model (V.S. Sobkin) implies so called «dis-identification» of oneself and one’s nation, i.e. attribution of negative estimations not to oneself, but to other members of ethnic community; but still there isn’t any rejection of that community and one’s identification with it. The third model of behaviour (G. Turner, H. Taffel) consists in the intention to change one’s ethnic identification by changing one’s ethnic group; according to G. Barry, it can be resulted either in mono-ethnic identification with other ethnic group or in bi-ethnic identification (a strong identification with two interacting ethnic communities) or in marginal ethnic identification. The latter is an unexpressed and weak identification with both one’s own and other ethnic communities, oscillation of an individual between cultures without acquisition of values and norms of either of them. Such hesitations bring about intrapersonal conflicts which can be the reasons of that those marginal people become aggressive nationalists.
It is customary to analyze the transformations of such parameter of ethnic identity as topical character. Generally, there can be distinguished three kinds of transformation of ethnic identity: ethnic indifference, hyper-identity, and hypo-identity. Hyper-identity can be compared with ethnic narcissism based on ethnocentrism. The extreme forms of hyper-identity are hostility to other ethnic groups and readiness for any sacrifices for one’s own ethnic community. Hypo-identity, or ethno-nihilism, is characterized by negative attitude towards one’s own ethnic community.
Firstly, global changes in social and political sphere bringing about changes in interethnic relations and, secondly, heterogeneity and homogeneity of ethnic environment are conventionally distinguished as the most important factors influencing on formation of ethnic identity. An illustrative example of effect of the factors of the first group can be the situation formed in the post-Soviet territory after the break-up of the USSR when there could be observed the growth of ethnic identity of the title ethnic groups from separate former republics as a consequence of the fact that realization of their identity with the ethnic community and the state had increased.
Living of an individual in monoethnic or polyethnic atmosphere strongly influences on formation of ethnic identity. Thus, life in monoethnic society predetermines, firstly, the lack of development of interethnic understanding and, secondly, less interest in one’s own identity. Polyethnic environment allows an individual to find out more specific features of his own and other ethnic groups; it promotes formation of interethnic understanding and communications. Here it is necessary to remark that the exactitude of knowledge about ethnic groups and positive character of social attitudes depend on a group (smaller or bigger) to which an individual belongs. Thus, having based on the empiric data, the British
social psychologists have drawn a conclusion that the children of minority get the idea of ethnic groups earlier than the children of the majority. But the fact concerning earlier realization of ethnic specific features by the children, who belong to minor ethnic groups, doesn’t mean that they indispensably reckon themselves to belong to a minor ethnic community. Nowise, the researches on development of ethnic identity in the USA, New Zealand, and Great Britain have demonstrated the contrary situation when, for instance, dark-skinned children associated themselves with white dolls.
Turning to the problematics of ethnic identity in the post-Soviet space, in particular, a researcher Y. Charnyavskaya asserts that «the tendency for sacralization of «origins» was carried over to the sphere of culture after blood relationship as the fundamental characteristic of human communities had fallen into the shade» [1; p. 199]. Such researches are reduced to two main types: firstly, it’s a turning to a national way of everyday life considered to be unaffected, so-called «blood of culture»; secondly, it’s «signing oneself away», i.e. denial of identity with a culture or a community and its features absorbed by an autochthonous culture. Here the marker of identity is mostly language as a container of ethnicity. In point of fact, the question is of hyperbolization of ethnic characteristics by way of removal from the former cultural centre. For this purpose, many substitutions take place: thus, in order there could be all the grounds to sign away the former cultural centre, there appears a necessity not only for legality of actions (for example, independence obtained by a republic), but also for regularity, i.e. restitution of significance of an ethnos unfairly deprived. As far as the latter doesn’t always take place, very often it is a question of mythological inversion: «the current ideas, hopes, and offences are carried over to a considerably earlier period as if the contemporary ideology of national
states or groups was characteristic of their ethnic predecessors in the depths of the past» [1; p. 200].
Y. Chernyavskaya posits that, in point of fact, construction post factum transfuses the mass of ethnic identity despite the fact that it is mythological in its essence. Then a regular question is to be raised: isn’t an ethnic identity based on mythological grounds just a myth and tale? Responding to this question, Y. Chernyavskaya tells the following about ethnic identity: «It creates reality fed with ancient myths and producing modern myths substituting reality erased in the centuries» [1; p. 201]. She comes to one of the chief conclusions that ethnic identity is of mythological nature thoroughly considered by the researcher mentioned. Thus, Y. Chernyavskaya defines ethnic identity as a core of ethnic self-actualization functioning as a relation to language, past, values, etc. through «We» / «They» relationship. This relationship is a part of mythological model of the world as well as the ethnic parameters considered to be classical such as language, territory, ideas of the past and the future, values, which are conventionally referred to objective characteristics of an ethnos, are also mythological.
Negation of regularity of classical parameters of an ethnos can be comprehended as one of the signs of the changes in researches at the current stage of development of cultural anthropology. Alexander Alexandrovich Panchenko, a St. Petersburg scientist, says that the reasons of those changes are «a crisis of colonial discourse and formation of a new scientific paradigm determined by completion of modernization processes and appearance of postindustrial society» [2; p. 75-76].
Let us dwell on the main characteristic features of the present state of cultural anthropology. If culture were often considered a self-contained static system at the previous stages
of development of that science, now, certainly, the question is of mobility of culture. Thus, Adele Barker from University of Arizona proclaims that so-called Culture Studies have a typical approach «which implies an attitude towards culture as not something static but as a set of cultural practices always mobile and obtaining one or another value depending on how they are used by different groups» [2; p.18]. Continuing the argument about Culture Studies, Adele Barker draws a conclusion that now it is usual to speak about ethnic identity and traditions «as something that is formed in the process of construction» [2; p. 19]. Thus, she refers to Eric Hobsbawm’s volume «The Invention of Tradition» where one of the general thoughts is that every time a tradition is newly invented depending on requirements of a concrete discourse in different historical periods. Thereby there is a confirmation of the synergetic proposition that the past inconsiderably influences on the present, and the present can hardly determine the future; the process of construction here and now is of importance.
In contemporary cultural anthropology, it is paid attention not to diachronic study of different phenomena but to thorough study of those phenomena in all their specifics at a concrete moment. Discoursing upon the reasons of such shift of research interests, Yuryi Evgenyevich Beryozkin, an anthropologist, thinks that it all began with Franz Boas’ article «On narrowness of comparative method at anthropology» in the end of the 19th century. As far as starting from that moment «there had been reinforced a conviction that ethnographic materials couldn’t be directly applied in reconstruction of the remote past», there was discovered «a tendency towards a shift of interest from reconstruction of the past to description and interpretation of the present and to an intention to fix the present in every detail before it becomes the past» [2; p. 29]. And if heretofore attention was drawn, for example,
by a literary retelling of an informant’s speech, now it is accentuated not fixation of a text of a speech but the form of reconstitution of a text by a concrete narrator including pauses, tone raise or fall and other specific features. Y. Beryozkin remarks that the tendency to a thorough study of a local phenomenon in the fullest detail won’t pass away in the course of time and, on the one hand, it will provide many future generations of anthropologists with work because «the object of study grows faster than the intensity of its study» [2; p. 30]. But, in his opinion, on the other hand, the tendency towards turning of anthropology into a complex of special research programs can become its destruction as an integral discipline as far as «concentration of efforts to study more detailed particularities casts doubt upon raison d’etre of anthropology in the face of those who study it» [2; p. 30].
There have been changed the main subject matters interesting for researchers besides the obvious changes in cultural anthropology consisting in detailed interest in particular and local phenomena. Speaking about the changes, taking place in cultural anthropology, A. Barker actively makes analogies between this science and literature studies discoursing upon the fact that, in general, the processes are similar. Thus, if literature studies have an accent shifted from study of the works of canonical authors (the writers are white men) to the works of the authors, who had a marginal position in society (for example, the authors from small groups of indigenous peoples), then cultural anthropology also have had a radical change from the study of individual life (a man is implied) mainly by men researchers to so-called Women’s Studies carried out by women researchers, etc.
Catriona Kelly, Oxford University, produces the similar thoughts drawing attention to the fact that today the groups, always considered to be if not marginal then alternative as a minimum,
are of special interest as an object of study. It has stipulated the wide-spread study of history of a woman, history of labour relations, ethnic and sexual minority groups, history of juvenility and senility, and also history of masculinity as a separate area, which «can be quite considered as «marginalization» of the social group, which was perceived as a central one and a determinant of the norm of historical experience before» [2; p. 56].
Cultural anthropologists not only fix the changes, which have taken place in the science recently, but also try to reveal their reasons. Thus, turning to this problematics, Adele Barker can see the reason of such changes in appearance of the phenomenon already mentioned and called Culture Studies in science, which many researchers define not as a scientific discipline, but as a research practice. In principle, Catriona Kelly agrees with such point of view and she has fixed the shift to interdisciplinary nature of science in cultural anthropology. For example, it can be demonstrably represented in the wide borrowing of methods in social science of literature, in appearance and intensification of interest in the problems of interrelation between a researcher and an informant, in the necessity for a dialogue between them but not a distanced objectivity accepted as a norm at classical anthropology.
The thoughts of Susan Gal, an anthropologist from University of Chicago, concerning the contemporary cultural anthropological studies seem to be important. She says that «the current anthropological studies in the USA considerably deal with something one could better call metaanalysis. The researchers don’t want to apply such terms as «national», «traditional», «original» or «popular»,«modern», «rational», and «developed» when they haven’t previously analyzed the sources and historical context from which such concepts come to the scientific world» [2; p. 37]. She also states that cultural anthropologists in the USA
have changed the studies of cultural phenomena over to investigation of the influence of systems of knowledge on them.
Thus, the following statements can be distinguished as the main characteristic features of contemporary cultural anthropology:
• The idea of mobility of culture: culture is a set of cultural practices always flexible and obtaining one or another value depending on the way how they are used by different groups;
• research on phenomena are to be carried out at this moment, here and now: the tendency towards the shift of interest from reconstruction of the past to description and interpretation of the present to the intention to fix the present in every detail before it becomes the past;
• the tendency to detailed study of a local phenomenon and turning of anthropology into a complex of special research programs;
• selection of marginal subject matters for research;
• Culture Studies as a research practice, not as a scientific discipline; the shift towards interdisciplinary nature of science;
• importance of meta-analysis and investigation of the influence of systems of knowledge on culture.
Nevolko N.N.
Assistant, Art History and Cultural Studies
department, Institute for the Humanities,
Siberian Federal University;
Sertakova E.A.
Assistant, Art History and Cultural Studies
department, Institute for the Humanities,
Siberian Federal University
Today information problems (search, getting, selection, processing, etc.) are of great importance
for the modern humanities. Knowledge of that circle of problems, starting with education and formation of practical skills, not to mention serious research work, is the central goal at cultural anthropology and ethnology.
«The Human Relations Area Files - HRAF» is a well-known source in the world science, which is able to help to solve such problems. HRAF was founded on George Peter Murdock’s initiative, a prominent expert in cross-cultural anthropology, at one of the most famous universities of the USA, Yale University, in the 1940s.
G.P. Murdock thought his first task to have been formation of such database, which could help his colleagues, psychologists and sociologists, unacquainted with socio-anthropological materials, to verify their hypotheses on the basis of the represented information. Primarily, those files had scientific project status called «Cross-Cultural Survey». The aim of that project was formulated as follows: to collect and classify «fundamental information by representative sample collection of the peoples of the whole world. Its goal is to organize the data by statistically representative sample collection of all cultures in a form easy and accessible for a user in order to provide strict control over cross-cultural generalizations, reveal minuses in descriptive literature and organize corrective field studies».
That «Cross-Cultural Survey», in particular, served as a basis of the organization established in 1949. It supervised updating and developments of the largest anthropological full-text data base «The Human Relations Area Files».
In spite of quite long existence of HRAF, the capabilities of this unique data base still remain little-known and are scarcely applied by the Russian anthropologists and ethnologists. Very few scientists such as V.P. Alekseev and M.A. Chlenov, using it at the beginning of the 1980s, make an exception, as well as A.V. Korotaev, who has inculcated the application of
this database in the current education process in the Centre of Oriental Anthropology at RSHU. We cannot deny the reappearance of this unique source of information about human cultures in science to be advantageous, especially taking into consideration the generation of young Russian anthropologists, for whom the 1980s are the remote past.
The doubtless advantage of HRAF for modern anthropology can be found in the following capacities.
Firstly, the web-oriented database of cultures includes a large number of files concerning specific features of ethnic groups around the world. Its files contain more than 400 000 pages of information about all the aspects of their cultural and social life on different subjects starting from specificities of ideas about creation of the world up to the methods of cure of diseases habitual for a group considered.
Secondly, those files involves the documents (digitized books, articles and theses) indexed and organized in an exact and logically accomplished structure of classifications. Those data are classified according to geographic (general descriptions of cultures) and subject (general descriptions of «cultural materials») principles. Subject classification has 79 subject sections grouped into 8 larger categories: general characteristics (bibliography, methods of study, geography, population, language, history, and cultural contacts); food and dress; houses and technologies; economy and transport; individual and family activities; community and government; wealth, religion and science; life history. Due to such indexing, the capacities of HRAF search system are enlarged; search for information is carried out easily.
Thirdly, the ethnographic database of HRAF archive is constantly updated and enriched with new information sources starting with results of new field studies up to theoretical propositions
and generalizations. It can help a scientist to keep up on cultural changes and also to find out about new methods and ways of study of different ethnic groups. In this regard, HRAF database is a perfect study guide for cross-cultural investigations since a great amount of data on all regions of the world promotes study of universal social and cultural objective laws.
Besides, HRAF is an educative system; that database is some kind of cross-cultural research containing formalized information on representative sample collection of cultures around the world with the subsequent mathematical analysis and data interpretation. This trend of social and cultural anthropology makes possible carrying out of strict scientific procedures of verification and falsification of hypotheses.
Due to its utility, HRAF electronic base is of great interest for «cultural studies» course functioning on the basis of Institute for the Humanities, Siberian Federal University. It serves as material for many special courses in education program as well as for deep research and project activities. In particular, there is a necessity for access to HRAF database and its archive to realize the project «Philosophical and cultural conception of study of the problems and potentials of reproduction and development of culture (as a social and anthropological system) of the indigenous peoples living in the circumpolar territories in the situation of global transformations» at the special federal program. The information it contains is a large amount of materials on three big ethnic groups of the North in Russia: the Chukchee, the Yakuts, and the Koryaks. There are significant and even fundamental studies of specific features of those ethnic groups revealed in their religious ideas, folklore, everyday life, political and economic system of society, etc. Thus, for instance, the Yakuts takes the
following sections among the materials on an ethnic group: identification and a place of residence, demography, linguistic membership, history and cultural contacts, location, means of subsistence, industrial culture, trade, division of labour, kindred groups and generations, matrimony, inheritance, social and political system, conflicts, religious beliefs, religious figures, rites, art, medicine, death and afterlife. There are 1724 pages of the whole text on this ethnic group in the catalogue.
The Chukchee ethnic group is represented in other aspects of their culture. Apart from the description of area and demographic specificity, as well as art and medicine, there is information about migration, acculturation, everyday life, and polygamy of the Chukchee. There have been found 1647 pages.
Unfortunately, many ethnic groups of the Russian North are mentioned only fragmentarily, just in some positions given in the enormous list in the database. But there are some reasons. Firstly, as it’s been mentioned, it is stipulated by the lack of interest of the Russian anthropologic and ethnographic schools in the cooperation with Yale University while the database can be enriched mainly through partnership with universities and research centers. Secondly, it is the lack of scientific investigations of the small groups of indigenous peoples of the North. This means that there is a need for cooperation not only for Krasnoyarsk researchers, but also for the colleagues developing the database. The active cooperation with HRAF is a way to a successful carrying out of cross-cultural research works and also a rapid development of anthropology inRussia. Therewith, the anthropological organization at Yale University gives an opportunity to become its member, which guarantees the possibility of permanent access to the files of the database and, consequently, to scientific research works of the whole world.
Semyonova, A.
Candidate of philosophy,Art History and Cultural Studies department,
Institute for the Humanities,
Siberian Federal University
This report characterized as a project contains some propositions which can become the basis of lingual and cultural studies of the indigenous peoples living in the North of Krasnoyarsk region.
Let us specify first: why do we need a cultural analysis of a lingual model of the world in the context of ethno-cultural research? It became clear for the researchers in the end of the 19th century that language is a verbalization of a model of the world of a whole nation and ethnos. Therefore, on the one hand, lingual and cultural studies of a language are a key to comprehension of an ethnic model of the world and detection of such mental barriers which sometimes cannot afford to develop effective communication with the peoples living in the North. On the other hand, lingual and cultural studies are an indispensable link in the process of conservation of the languages of small groups of indigenous peoples. It is known that there are successful models of conservation and reproduction of the languages of small groups of indigenous peoples in foreign practice - in particular, the model of implementation of the possibility to be entirely educated in one’s own dying language from school up to university. For example, such a possibility is available at Saam Institute in Kautokeino where higher education is received in the Saam language. There are no conditions for organization of full educational process in the languages of small groups of indigenous peoples living in the North in Russian today. As it was pointed out in one of the reports at information seminar of European Council «National minority groups in Russia», only an hour per week is allotted for learning of a native language of small
groups of indigenous peoples of the North as an elective course in secondary education now. Thus, there hasn’t been organized such ambience which could claim communication in the languages of small groups of indigenous peoples living in the North. Extinction of a language is inevitable when a language doesn’t have living ambience for its existence. Therefore activation of research interest could be an alternative variant of protection of the languages of small groups of indigenous peoples living in the North.
Now let us turn to specificity of lingual and cultural studies of the North of Krasnoyarsk region. It is obviously determined by the languages existing in the territory of the region: the Dolgan, the Selkup, the Ket, the Nganasan, the Evenk, the Enets, the Nenets, and other languages.
Each language has different conditions of existence at the moment. Many of them are spoken only in domestic communication in the areal of indigenous North peoples, such as the Ket, the Selkup, the Enets languages, etc. Statistical data and research materials point at the fact that mainly people aged over 60 speak a language of a small group of indigenous peoples in their everyday life. The possibility of rapid extinction of a language is evident here. Some languages are taught as elective courses at ethnic schools; text-books on those languages (the Dolgan, the Evenk, and others) are published. There are some facts when they tried to introduce the languages of small groups of indigenous peoples living in the North into information field. For example, there was a supplement to the «Soviet Taimyr» published in the Nganasan language in the Soviet Union; there is also radio «Naryan-mar FM» with its time allotted for broadcasting in the national language. There are more decisive steps towards conservation of the languages of small groups of indigenous peoples in the foreign practices, such as a TV-program in the native languages of national minorities. The principle of introduction
of the languages of small groups of indigenous peoples into information field has been fixed in «European Charta of the regional languages or the languages of minority groups»: «Mass media take a decisive part in propaganda of mutual understanding and respect for other people as well as their culture and language. The Charta claims the states are to promote mass media to achieve the goal».
Thus, the university as a platform for lingual and cultural studies of the languages of small groups of indigenous peoples living in the North can partially promote maintenance of a language since lingual studies require minimal knowledge of structure of the language of an ethnic national group studied by a researcher. Contemporary science discovers that phonetic, grammatical and morphologic characteristics of a language convey characteristics of an ethnic model of the world. However, certainly, analysis of lexis of a national language provides a researcher with most of the information.
In particular, concept-analysis is one of the most modern and advanced methods of study of ethnic culture. The analyses have been carried out in the present stage of development of the Russian science. For instance, concepts of the national Russian culture were fixed in Y.S. Stepanov’s book «Constants: Russian Culture Dictionary» (Moscow, 1997). We suppose that concept-analysis method will also afford to carry out effective studies of central concepts of ethnic cultures in the work on the general edition of «Concepts of North Ethnic Cultures Dictionary».
The very names of the North peoples living in Krasnoyarsk region could be studies as concepts: «the Nganasans» mean «a man», «the Kets» are translated as «people», «the Ents» are interpreted as «a true man», «the Evenks» mean «reindeer-people», etc. These notions clarify the key concepts of ethnic self-identification.
It is necessary to classify key words of the ethnic languages as general, specific, and unique within the framework of lingual and conceptual studies. The «general» concepts are to be understood as those ones which coincide in meaning with the similar conceptualized phenomena in other national languages. Specific concepts are such concepts which exist for denomination of the similar cultural phenomena in different cultures but their meaning greatly differs from the meanings of the words in other national languages. For example, there is a word «reindeer» in the Russian language but it isn’t a key word in the national language, so it can’t be considered as a cultural concept, while the word «reindeer» is not only a key word, but also a central concept in the Evenk national model of the world. The level of existence of specific concepts is very important for, probably, cultural barriers are formed between national groups resulted from different relation to one and the same cultural phenomenon. The third sort of concepts is «unique», which means the concepts existing only in a certain ethnic culture.
The title of the report says that there will be mentioned not only specific character of lingual and cultural studies of the peoples living in the North of Krasnoyarsk region but also methods of carrying out of such a research work. Before we apply any methodical facilities, it is necessary to identify the key words mostly used in each national language. Supposedly, on the whole, such words as «man», «reindeer», «snow», «shaman», «choom», etc. can be significant for the North cultures. It is also important to find out the conceptual content of such general concepts as «good», «evil», «state», «world», «family», «child», «grown-up», etc. in order to define if there are any cultural specific features in comprehension of these phenomena. We emphasize that the list of words for conceptual analysis is hypothetical at present, more exact
and particular statistical data should be taken. Let us point out two methods which help to carry out the investigation.
Association test is a psycholinguistic method of study of the most stable associations existing in a certain culture. The pollees, little more than 100 men, are suggested that they should put down their associations with the words offered (verbalized concepts). On this basis, one can draw a conclusion about conceptual content of the name of a certain cultural phenomenon. Interpretation of the results achieved at this stage of study makes realization of semantic essence of a concept. The problem of such a test is the choice of a language for carrying out of the test (the representatives of small groups of indigenous peoples often speak two languages: their native and the Russian). Supposedly, even the Russian language used for the test will allow us to find out specific conceptual content fixed in one or another phenomenon in culture. But most probably, more positive research results will be obtained if the test is carried out with the help of interpreters in the native languages of the peoples living in the North of Krasnoyarsk region.
The other method of concept studies can be content-analysis where the object of analysis is quantitative and qualitative specificity of a concept used in a text. Content-analysis also implies the necessity for comparison of interpretations of one and the same concept in different cultural texts. Such a research can be carried out on the materials of comparison between the Russian folk texts and the Evenks ones (heroic legends, etc.). We can compare epithets and key characteristics applied for the main heroes of the legends (key notions describing the process of creation of the world, etc.) within the framework of such a study.
Thus, lingual and cultural trend is going to become one of the main streams in the study of ethnic culture of the peoples living in the North of Krasnoyarsk region.
Bakhova, N.A.
Assistant, Art History and Cultural Studies department, Institute for the Humanities, Siberian Federal University
Analysis of legislation of the USA, Canada, and Scandinavian countries in respect of small groups of indigenous peoples living in the North makes possible to point out three main stages of interrelation between a state and indigenous peoples: 1) cooperation; 2) domination and assimilation; 3) partnership formation1.
The first stage lasted in XVII-XVIII centuries when the state acknowledged significance of the aborigines’ economy and their rights to the lands and self-government. In this period, the aboriginal people exceeded in number in the vast areas, and the branches of economy traditional for the indigenous peoples dominated there. The aborigines were involved in exchange of commodities and trade contacts. The relations between the authorities and the indigenous peoples were peaceful, and alienation of the lands was carried out only by buying-out of them from the Indians. The following documents are substantiation: the decree on acknowledgement of royal power over the captured lands issued by King George III in 1763 when the Indians were guaranteed their lands allotted by the treaties and inviolability of their culture; the Congress proclaimed the principle of «civilization» of the Indians in 1778 (the Indian tribes were acknowledged as «nations and their property rights to land were considered lawful and exempt from doubt»).
The partnership promoted economic and cultural development of the indigenous peoples (establishment of schools, compilation of the alphabets, and printed editions in the native languages, acknowledgement of significance
of economy of the indigenous peoples, and protection of the formed system of land use).
The second stage lasted since the 19th till the middle of the 20th centuries. It was characterized by the policy of domination and assimilation. It was based on the rapid increase of non-indigenous population connected with development of new branches of the economy (agriculture in the southern areas, wood and mining industry in the North).
The indigenous peoples lost their lands and resources because the migrants got monopoly access to forest, mineral, and power resources, gained fishing and hunting rights, and dominated in trade. At any moment, the government confiscated the lands of traditional management of nature for industrial or agricultural purposes on the ground of the aboriginals’ good or national interests. The proof is the document «Marshall’s principles» dated 1829, according to which the Indian peoples were declared «the nations dependent on the USA» and resettled in the reservations, which was explained by the necessity for saving of the savage men from corruptive influence of the Americans. It also allowed legalization of a new encroachment on their lands. As a result, the Indian population decreased five times in two centuries. According to Dawes’ law adopted in 1887, the Indian tribal organization and communal property in land were abrogated to make them accustomed to American way of life. Vigorous activity of officials, land speculators, and officers of industrial and railway companies favoured seizure of the best pieces of Indian land in the period of validity of the law. The legislative acts passed in Sweden in 1886 and 1898 annulled the Saam families’ land law, which had been acknowledged formerly. Only nomadic reindeer-breeders got official status of the Saams who were given only collective rights to reindeer-breeding works and traditional way of life.
Based on A.A. Maximov’s research: Realiztion of interests of the peoples living in the North in the situation of industrial development: from foreign experience to Russian model. - Moscow, 2007.
Paternalism policy was substituted for the aboriginal nations’ self-government, i.e. the aboriginal peoples’ communities became objects of state regulation and their interests were undertaken to be represented and defended by special government services. The measures destructive for aboriginal cultures were taken: including resettlement of different tribes in the reservations and strip-settlement of the Indians with farmers-colonists as an effective means of assimilation. Moreover, there was ubiquitous conversion to Christianity and the system of education (boarding schools, adoptive families) propagandizing values of the dominant society. Thus, there was formed an ideology justifying political, economic, and cultural domination over the indigenous peoples. According to «Assimilation doctrine» or «Colonialist theory», advantages and benefits obtained by the non-indigenous inhabitants using resources of the new lands were represented as a burden they carried for the aboriginals’ economic and social progress. At the same time, the racist prejudices based on the idea of «original value» of the aboriginal peoples and cultures and necessity for their protection were spread. In reality, that diminished the indigenous peoples and brought racist prejudices up for the aboriginal society was represented as peculiar collectives able to support their life in a traditional way and incapable of selforganization and self-development. In general, indigenous peoples’ loss of control over the land and resources, poverty, dependence on foreign political decisions and economic aid, and racist attitude brought about development of mental illnesses, contagions, and «social» diseases. The processes of assimilation and dissolution of the aboriginal peoples in the migrant society were estimated as natural and positive phenomena.
The third stage has been lasting since the middle of the 2Qth century up to now; it is called the period of restoration of cooperation. Large-
scale resource and hydroelectric projects as well as efforts to abrogate the Indian laws in the USA and Canada brought about the fact that the indigenous peoples living in Alaska, North territories of Canada, Greenland, Sweden, and Norway claimed their rights of the lands. The indigenous peoples’ organizations acted for economic development, which didn’t destroy their communities and which could strengthen their self-government and capacities for economic and social progress. The problems of the North peoples took considerable place in public and political discussions. There were actualized the questions concerning property rights of the colonial and territorial communities of the indigenous peoples to land, resources, and political rights connected with self-government (specific forms of self-government of the indigenous peoples, Parliaments and Councils). The chief terms of the treaties regulating claims of the indigenous peoples of the foreign North for the lands consisted in cash payment for the loss of historical (aboriginal) rights to land; acquisition of property rights to resources and mineral wealth; right to negotiations with industrial companies in mining operations; right to a share of mining rent incoming to the government of a region; participating right to resource management and assessment of environmental impact caused by industrial projects, etc. The following bills substantiate all of this: the law dated 1971 «On settlement of territorial claims of the indigenous peoples living in Alaska» (ANKSA), Norwegian laws «On reindeer-breeding» (1978) and «On the Saams’ Parliament» (1987). The national law of maintenance of Alaska lands came into force in 1980. It guaranteed the country-peoples’ fishing and hunting rights for traditional support of life in those lands. The Canadian constitutional law adopted in 1982 recognized aboriginal rights including «the aboriginal governments’ right to have full authority for all questions concerning
proficient management and welfare of the aboriginal peoples and their lands».
The property rights to natural resources allowed the aboriginal peoples of the North of Canada and Alaska to defend the traditional life-support system and develop commercial component of the traditional economy establishing cooperation with the state in questions of nature conservation and rational utilization of natural resources.
The property rights to forests and mineral resources allowed the North peoples to strive for professional training and employment (in mining companies, their own corporations, and contract organizations), economic development of the territories and settlements, and respect for their culture and values.
Improvement of the system of resource management: co-management regime is a
component of state policy. It includes the aboriginal peoples’ participation in decision making concerning the questions of catch and hunting quotas, management of natural resources, which is a crossing point of interests, environmental protection and monitoring in concrete areas. Specialized councils become subjects of co-management vested with a right to put forward recommendatory proposals for state institutions. Equality of rights of users and state services is guaranteed by their equal representation. Agreements on allotment of social and economic profits to indigenous population are made in case of realization of an industrial project in the areas of traditional management of nature. Conclusion of such an agreement means environmental protection, employment and economic development, respect for traditional culture and values of the indigenous peoples living in the North.
Education andprofessional training provide for investment in school education, vocational guidance of the youth, and professional training
at mining and oil production branches. There are also planning of a company’s staff policy, provision of the population with information about job vacancies at different stages of a project, employment of the local inhabitants, training of qualified personnel recruited from the aboriginal peoples, and their job promotion. Coordinator of employment of the indigenous peoples is a representative of an aboriginal organization. Development of business implies identification of the indigenous peoples’ business possibilities: their corporations, enterprises, individual entrepreneurs as contractors and subcontractors.
Social and cultural support includes measures for development of infrastructure in a village, adaptation of the population for industrial works, solution the problems acute for a village, and establishment of connections and consultations on matters.
Different variants of self-government of the indigenous peoples of the foreign North can be embodied in three basic models: 1) local self-government within the frames of land agreements; 2) territorial self-government; 3) national and cultural autonomy (ethno-political self-government). Territorial autonomy of the peoples living in the North became real in the 1970s - those are Greenland and Alaska Northern Slope where the indigenous inhabitants prevail. Territorial autonomy of the indigenous peoples of the foreign North has two forms: 1) formation of social structures of government of a region (elected by all the permanent inhabitants of a region; for example, Greenland, Nunawoot, and Alaska Northern Slope); 2) indigenous structures (elected by the members of aboriginal communities only; for example, the territory of the First Nations of the Yukon). The common feature of all the models is a possibility of acquisition of enough lands, resources, and authority for the aboriginals to be out of excessive state guardianship.
The Royal Committee on Aboriginal peoples was set up by order of the federal government of Canada at the end of the 20th century. Its activities promoted proposal and substantiation of the measures of policy of renewal of relations with the indigenous peoples; in particular, there was a shift of paternalistic relations to partnership. The fundamental thing was the aboriginals’ release from guardianship of government offices and dependence on government resources (the main orientations: self-government, economic independence, and mutual respect relations to society); the land and resources was the basis of self-government and social and economic development.
The aim of policy of renewal of relations with the aboriginal peoples is regeneration of the aboriginal nations as a way of protection of cultural heritage and self-determination and recovery of health and prosperity of the indigenous population’s communities. According to the Royal manifest, the Canadian society confirms respect for the aboriginal peoples as nations, admits harmfulness of the former policy inflicting damage on economy, human dignity, and health of the indigenous peoples, and establishes relations based on respect, acknowledgement, division, and mutual responsibility. There have been formulated four ideal principles favouring renewal of the relations between the indigenous peoples and the dominating society of Canada: recognition, respect, separation, and responsibility.
We can conclude that the attitude towards small groups of the indigenous peoples of the foreign North has undergone radical changes for the last thirty years. Foreign experience shows that the most important thing for the indigenous peoples is not programs, invention of new structures for solution of particular problems (alcoholism, health, education, etc.) and acquisition of rights to land and special powers.
The way of search for justice of relations between the indigenous and non-indigenous inhabitants is necessarily to be actualized instead of search for the ways of maintenance of paternalism policy and substantiation of the necessity for subordination of interests of small groups of the indigenous peoples to «national interests». Rights to lands and self-government give the indigenous peoples chances and opportunities for attainment of equality of social and economic state with the rest population of a country and a region they live in. The state respects their individual and collective rights, and then they have all the opportunities of the society of equal people. From the non-indigenous population’s point of view, approval of such treaties and agreements becomes a new form of protection of natural ecosystems and also makes possible to keep up influence and control over development of highly rental natural resources, which is undoubtedly profitable.
Luzan V.S.
Assistant,Art History and Cultural Studies
department,Institute for the Humanities,
Siberian Federal University
We should remark that the main stages of formation of interrelation between the state and the indigenous peoples in the Russian Federation coincide with the international tendencies.
Today there are 40 small groups of the North peoples densely populating 28 areas of the Russian Federation. Thereupon, we should point out the fact that, on the whole, there has been formed a legal base defending the rights and traditional way of life of the small groups of indigenous peoples in Russia. Our country is a party to the international treaties in that sphere. As per RF Constitution, the matters of protection of the original habitat and traditional way of life of the small ethnic groups belong to collaborative authority of the Russian Federation and its subjects (clause «m», part 1, paragraph 72). It follows that protection of
rights of the small groups of indigenous peoples in that sphere is to be carried out not only on the federal level but also on the regional one.
The federal law dated the 6th of October, 1999, № 184-FL «On general principles of organization of legislative (representative) agency of State power of subjects of the Russian Federation», determining mechanisms of demarcation between capabilities of federal agencies and those ones of regional organs of State power concerning the objects under collaborative authority, fixes specification of capabilities of agencies of State power of RF subjects implemented by those agencies self-sufficiently at the expense of budget funds of RF subjects (without an allowance for subventions from federal budget). The powers mentioned include those ones in the sphere of «organization and providing for protection of original habitat and traditional way of life of small groups of indigenous peoples in the Russian Federation» (subitem 54, item 2, article 26.3). The significant thing is that the governmental authorities of RF subject have the right to adopt laws and other normative acts concerning the questions mentioned including regional programs irrespective of the appropriate provisions determining the right in federal laws.
Specification of powers in organization and provision of protection of original habitat and traditional way of life of small groups of indigenous peoples is implemented in a series of federal laws today: Federal law dated the 30th of April, 1999, № 82-FL «Guarantee of rights of small groups of indigenous peoples in the Russian Federation», Federal law dated the 20th of July, 2000, № 104-FL «On general principles of organization of communities of small groups of indigenous peoples living in the North, Siberia, and Far East of the Russian Federation», Federal law dated the 7th of May, 2001, № 49-FL «On territories of traditional management of nature of small groups of indigenous peoples living in
the North, Siberia and Far East of the Russian Federation». And the most general specification of powers of federal, regional and local authorities in the sphere considered has been fixed in Federal law «Guarantee of rights of small groups of indigenous peoples in the Russian Federation».
Besides the laws mentioned above, corresponding powers of federal and regional governmental authorities and organs of local selfgovernment also exist in RF Land Code, Federal law dated the 10th of January, 2002, № 7-FL «On environmental protection», Federal law dated the 23rd of November, 1995, № 174-FL «On ecology examination», RF Law dated the 21st of February, 1992, № 2395-1 «On mineral resources», Federal law dated the 24th of April, 1995, № 52-FL «On animal kingdom», Federal law dated the 20th of December, 2004, № 166-FL «On fishing and water biological conservation» and some others. Powers of governmental authorities in the sphere of protection of original habitat of small groups of ethnic communities are determined by an object of regulation of a certain act in these laws.
Moreover, the measures of state backing (benefits, subsidies, quotas for utilization of natural resources) are legislatively confirmed. The benefits for representatives of small groups of indigenous peoples of the North living in the traditional areas of their residence and dealing with their traditional economic activities are provided by RF Tax Code, RF Wood Code, RF Water Code and RF Land Code.
There have been realized three federal purpose-oriented programs as well as many regional special programs and subprograms of social and economic development of small groups of indigenous peoples living in the North for the last 15 years. Those programs were to form conditions for their stable development at the expense of federal budgetary funds, budgetary means of subjects of the Russian Federation and extra-budgetary accounts. There have been
federally budgeted subsidies for the budget funds of subjects of the Russian Federation to maintain North reindeer-breeding and livestock breeding.
Many organs of executive power of subjects of the Russian Federation have structural subdivisions dealing with affairs of small groups of North peoples and coordinating corresponding regional special programs and questions of social and economic development of those peoples.
But we should remark that there must be introduced some modifications in the existing legislation, in particular, land legislation (establishment of free immediate use of pieces of land for traditional management of nature implemented by small groups of the North peoples), Federal law «On general principles of organization of local self-government in the Russian Federation» (establishment of powers of organs of local self-government concerning protection of original habitat and traditional way of life of small groups of indigenous peoples living in the North), fishing and animal kingdom legislation (priority in access to fishing grounds and hunts, water resources and animals for small groups of the North peoples).
The analysis of regional legislation shows that the main normative acts regulating protection of rights and traditional way of life of small groups of indigenous peoples living in the North are such regional laws as:
• on objects of cultural heritage (historical and cultural monuments) of the peoples in the Russian Federation;
• on culture;
• on small groups of indigenous peoples.
The legislation system of several subjects
of the Federation is of special interest: first, it is Republic of Sakha-Yakutia where there are some supplementary laws concretizing powers besides those ones mentioned above. In particular, «On protection and conservation of epic heritage of the indigenous peoples of Republic of Sakha
(Yakutia)»; «On tribal and nomadic community of small groups of indigenous peoples of the North»; «On legal status of small groups of indigenous peoples of the North»; «On objects of national cultural property of the peoples of Republic of Sakha (Yakutia)».
The legislation system of Yugra of Khanty Mansyisk autonomous area is also diverse for it has its own particular laws: «On conservation, application, popularization and national protection of objects of cultural heritage of Yugra in Khanty Mansyisk autonomous area»; «On sanctuaries of small groups of indigenous peoples in Yugra, Khanty Mansyisk autonomous area»; «On folklore of small groups of indigenous people of the North living in the territory of Yugra, Khanty Mansyisk autonomous area».
We should pay special attention to the fact that today Concept of stable development of small groups of indigenous peoples of the North, Siberia and Far East of the Russian federation ratified by RF government decree dated the 4th of February, 2009, № 132-r is one of the fundamental documents both for the federation and its regions.
The aim of Concept is provision of conditions to form stable development of small groups of indigenous peoples of the North in the Russian Federation on the basis of strengthening of their social and economic potential with protection of original habitat, traditional way of life and cultural values of those peoples.
Thus, today, the situation requires more distinct specification and division of power of federal, regional and local authorities in order to avoid unjustified duplication of powers and to determine amenability of each level of power implementation in protection of legal status of small groups of indigenous peoples. The formal approach to division of powers in this sphere, which exists in the federal legislation system today, cannot be inductive to formation of a necessary
system of protection of rights of small groups of indigenous peoples. It makes evasion of solution of vital problems of maintenance of distinctive character of life of those peoples on regional level because subjects of the Federation variously treat the scope of their authority in this sphere proceeding from the things the federal legislation system allows them to do. Today the legal base of subjects of the Federation (the territories of living of small groups of indigenous peoples) essentially differs in number of normative acts intended for organization and protection of original habitat and traditional way of life of small groups of indigenous peoples and it also differs in content of the rights given to small groups of indigenous peoples. This brings about significant and not always justified differences in determination of legal status of small groups of indigenous peoples in the Russian Federation.
Panteleeva, I. A.
Candidate of philosophy, assistant professor, Art History and Cultural Studies department, Institute for the Humanities,
Siberian Federal University
This report proposes a solution of two problems. The first problem is connected with the study of the scientific field of «visual anthropology», history of its formation, subject matter and object, its capacities and limitations. The second problem implies demonstration of the method of visual anthropology in the study of concrete empirical data (works of art dedicated to «North theme» (life and culture of the indigenous peoples living in the North of Krasnoyarsk region) painted by Krasnoyarsk artists in the second half of the 19th and at the beginning of the 21st centuries).
«Visual anthropology» term has been found out in Russian human sciences only recently, and the practice of visual-anthropological
investigations carried out by the Russian researchers has been formed for the last 2025 years. However the roots of that domain of scientific knowledge are very strong.
It is believed that one should seek the sources of visual anthropology in documentary film. The earliest ethnographic films contained a fixation of the only episode of human behaviour. Jay Ruby, a famous American cultural anthropologist, writes that, probably, Felix-Louis Reno was the first anthropologist shooting scientific film. In 1900, he suggested that museums should collect «moving pictures» of human behaviour to study and expose [7, p. 399].
Robert Flaherty (1884-1951), an American film-director coming from an Irish immigrant family, and Dziga Vetrov (1896-1954), a Soviet director and scriptwriter of documentary films, one of the founders of documentary films theory, must be mentioned as the first visual anthropologists. Robert Flaherty is known due to a series of ethnographic documentary films; among them the most famous are «Nanook from the North» (1922) about life of the Eskimos, «Moana of the South Seas» (1926) about everyday life of the Polynesian peoples, «Man of Aran» (1934) where again he turns to life of the fishermen living in the remotest island in the North Sea far away from civilization. Dziga Vetrov (the original name Denis Kauffman) is an author of the thematic newsreel «Cine-truth» (1922-1924), the articles «We», «He and me», «Kinoki», «Breakthrough», etc. He was a director of such films as «Life unawares» (1924), «A man with a camera» (1929), and «To you, Front!» («Kazakhstan to the Front») (1942).
The status of visual anthropology in science was formulated by Margaret Mead in the 1930s, who, together with Gregory Batson, enunciated the thesis about an absolutely new type of information, which didn’t duplicate verbal information, but discovered new possibilities of reflection of reality
in science [1]. The results of M. Mead and G. Batson’s field studies were the films «Bathing of children in three cultures» (1941) shot on purpose that the obtained visual data were available for other researchers. Important audiovisual materials greatly influencing on turning of visual anthropology into an independent discipline had been stored and still were being stored in the West countries in that period.
The interest in audiovisual anthropological materials increased intensely after the Second World War. The encyclopedic cinema project involving the filmed archive and the centre of study of human behaviour started in Hattingen in the 1950s. There was formed Committee for Ethnographic and Sociologic Cinema, UNESCO in 1952 [7, p. 400-401]. The festival in Florence, conferences on visual anthropology in Philadelphia and Paris, festival of Margaret Mead’s works in New York, and ethnographic cinema festival of the Royal Anthropological Institute in Manchester were held in the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s.
There were shot many ethnographic films for both university audience and wide circles in the USA in the 1950s and 1960s. Robert Gardner, a member of Centre for Cinema Studies at Harvard University, shot «The Dead Birds» filming the moments of ritual battles among the Dani peoples in New Guinea in 1964.
Creative work of Jean Roush, a director of documentary films, who showed importance of audiovisual materials (cinema-verity) for the further development of anthropology, significantly influenced on development of visual anthropology in the West. J. Roush put the cameras in Paris streets for extemporaneous filming when filming process became a part of the film. The authors of the film and their equipment can be seen on the screen. Then all the people filmed became co-authors even taking part in discussion of film cutting, and those scenes were
also included in the final version of the film. Roush developed his «participation approach» in many films shot in Western America during almost forty years. The peak of that idea is in his so-called ethnographic films «Jaguar» (1965) and «Inch by inch» (1968). Roush’s efforts to create collectively were reflected in the project of heritage of Alaska resulted in more than 20 films such as «Winter Drums» (1988) where the people filmed took active part in the film starting from conception up to realization.
Participation approach proposed by Roush was developed by Saul Wart and John Adair in the film dedicated to the Navajo (1966) where the American Indians were taught film-shooting technology and offered a camera, i.e. the objects of study became the authors of audiovisual materials. Only then it became clear that the camera taken by a European researcher chases quite different things than that one taken by a representative of the aboriginals. For example, in the case of the Navajo, it was found out that the most important thing of their culture is the process of walking and moving of a man from place to place for the process of moving changes the very human core.
Asen Baliksi introduced a study course based on the data of visual anthropology («Man: Study Course») into the system of general education in the USA.
Many other world researchers and moviemakers contributed to formation and maintenance of visual anthropology in society.
At present, visual anthropology enlarges the sphere of its interests; it tries to reflect other anthropological (social, artistic, pedagogical, religious, etc.) phenomena besides rare exotic or traditional cultures. Video-monitoring of culture, i.e. a long multiyear filming of representatives of some culture revealing its historical dynamics is a new instrument of visual anthropology.
Today visual anthropology cannot be reduced only to shooting of documentary (anthropological, ethnographic) films, photography and audio recording. Works of fine arts (painting, graphic, sculpture) as well as arts and crafts are considered to be important materials providing study of specific features of culture.
«Visual anthropology» term hasn’t got any canonical definition. Thus, E.V. Alexandrov [1; p. 21-22] gives such definitions of the term:
• thegeneraldefinition-«activitiesinculture studies interacting with human sciences, art and information technologies» -draws attention to synthetic and generally humanitarian characteristics of that domain of knowledge;
• the more specific definition «complex (scientific, creative, organizational and information technological) activity directed to obtainment and introduction of audiovisual information on little-known aspects of social life into social practice in order to implement dialogue of cultures» - also accentuates the complex character of visual anthropology, but it concretizes its method (operation on audiovisual information), purpose (dialogue of cultures), and subject (little-known aspects of social life).
G. Ruby, an American scientist and expert in visual anthropology, thinks that since culture is displayed in visual symbols hidden in gestures, ceremonies, rituals, and artifacts, consequently, everybody, a researcher in particular, can observe culture. A researcher can fix eternal displays of culture to analyze them later on. Visual anthropology embraces all the visual aspects of culture - from nonverbal communication up to buildings, rituals and ceremonies, dance and products of material culture. As Ruby remarks, though visual anthropologists really work in all those fields, there appears visual
and pictorial communications in development of anthropological theory [7; p. 406-408]. Ruby points out that taking into consideration fragmentary character of speculations of the contemporaries, it is unlikely that some grand theory will ever be generally accepted. For this reason, interest in pictorial media as means of communication of anthropological knowledge (ethnographic films and photos) dominates in practice above all things, only then the question about study of pictorial manifestations of culture is raised.
O.I. Genisaretskyi defines visual anthropology by its following specific features [2; p.49-58]:
1) visual anthropology puts forward such practice at human sciences where realia of various cultures, traditions, regions, and times can surround us all at once here and now;
2) the possibility of staying «behind the screen» and simultaneously «in front of the screen» and maintenance of magic (sacred) feeling with the possibility of representation of symbolic ritual inside itself;
3) visual anthropological material requires quite different attitude of researchers; it mustn’t be estranged but, on the contrary, participative and emotional for the facts of visual anthropology are the facts of living culture, which should not to be conserved and then restored and reconstructed in statics, but they should be comprehended and saved as something alive.
Having based on the «visual anthropology» definitions mentioned in this article as well as on others, we will try to synthesize them: visual anthropology is a field of cultural anthropology deriving information about little-known aspects of the culture studied by means of analysis of visual (photography, works of fine arts, arts and crafts) and audiovisual (documentary and feature films, TV programs and amateur cinema) materials as artifacts characterizing
a certain culture and emotionally influencing on a researcher. The objects of study of visual anthropology can be traditional, modern, ethnic, confessional, regional, age, marginal, creative, professional, and other cultures.
The main differences between visual and «narrative» (verbal) kinds of anthropology are ways of existence and methods of presentation of results: «narrative» anthropology applies a written text while visual anthropology refers to visual materials. If a «narrative» anthropologist deals with diary notes after his return from an expedition, i.e. he operates on the materials systematized, comprehended, thought over, undergone the procedures of analysis and synthesis and actually ready for publication, a visual anthropologist continues to be «in a field» at home because a result of an expedition is visual materials, which require the use of the whole methodological apparatus in every watching [6; p. 60-61].
There are two kinds of artifacts characterizing culture:
• visual anthropological materials made inside a culture studied, i.e. by the representatives of that culture (a vast majority of works of fine arts and arts and crafts, photographic materials, TV programs, feature and documentary films);
• visual anthropological materials on a culture studied, but they are not made by representatives of the culture studied containing «external view» on life of that culture (some kind of works of fine arts, photo materials, documentary and feature films).
Both of these kinds of artifacts can give useful information for culture studies by means of visual anthropology; however the second kind of artifacts has more risks of distortion of information especially when the question
is about works of art because they bear a very strong principle of another culture in such a case: a camera is restricted by the culture of a man standing by that camera; films and photos always concern two things: a culture of the peoples filmed and a culture of the peoples shooting films. There is a risk to make a double mistake in this case: for an artist (a film director) - it is selection of significant elements of the culture represented; for a viewer (a researcher) - it is decoding or analysis of a proposed representation of the culture studied.
Passing on to the second problem, i.e. testing of the method of visual anthropology in the study of concrete empiric materials, we should mention that the collected visual materials are the works of pictorial art (painting and graphic) by the artists working in the territory of Krasnoyarsk region from the second half of the 19th up to 21st centuries. Creative work of the artists living in the North territories of the region (V.I. Meshkov, A.G. Amelkin, S.I. Kazantzev, I.A. Ovchinnikov, and others), the artists as representatives of small groups of the indigenous peoples living in Krasnoyarsk region (Dolgan B.M. Molchanov, Nganasan M.S. Turdagin, Evenks S.G. Salatkin and N.Kh. Botulu) as well as the artists visiting those places in the expeditions (A.P. Lekarenko, D.I. Karatanov) is proposed for an analysis. In the course of collecting of materials, the field sketches drawn with a pencil or another artistic means were of special interest for the masters had elaborately depicted culture of the indigenous peoples living in the North (elements of clothes, structure of the houses, rites, and traditional crafts) in those works of art.
The collected visual materials (there have been found more than 300 items stored in the museums of Krasnoyarsk region: Krasnoyarsk Regional Museum of Local Lore, Krasnoyarsk Art Museum named after V.I. Surikov, Taimyr Centre of Arts and Crafts (Dudinka), Norilsk Art
Centre, the private collection of O.Krashevskyi (Norilsk)) were systemized according to several important lines:
1) religious ideas: the visual materials demonstrate ideas about organization of the world, illustrations of the myths, and rituals (kamling, sacrifice) of the small groups of indigenous peoples living in the North of Krasnoyarsk region;
2) rites: the rituals of transition such as birth, marriage, and burial are fixed first of all;
3) appearance of the representatives of indigenous peoples living in the North (clothes, ornament system, ethnic characteristics visualized in portraits);
4) the idea of a house (encampment places; kinds, forms and materials used in the building; features of inner structure of the houses);
5) traditional trade (reindeer breeding, hunting, fishing);
6) meeting with the super-ethnos: the visual materials demonstrating importance of communication with «the main land» and «superethnos», i.e. the Russians, for the indigenous peoples of the North for the last 150 years.
There have been analyzed the visual materials concerning Nganasan, Dolgan, and Evenk cultures by now; cultures of the Kets and the Selkups have been less considered. Acquisition, systematization and analysis of the visual materials on cultures of other ethnoses living in the North of Krasnoyasrsk region are to be expected.
Method of visual anthropology can be demonstrated in the analysis of works of art representing such a rite of transition as burial in the study of culture of indigenous peoples living in the North of Krasnoyarsk region. The further study of cultures of small groups of indigenous peoples living in the North of Krasnoyarsk region according to the lines mentioned above and below.
The rites of transition, burial in particular, are represented in the works of some artists. The collected painting and graphic materials afford to distinguish specific features of the burial rite in cultures of each ethnoses analyzed.
The Nganasan burial rite is represented in the works of Motyumyaku Sochupteyevich Turdagin (1939 - 2002), a Nganasan artist. First and foremost, it is a wash drawing «The funeral» (1989, TDRM, Dudinka) with the burial of a child as a subject. The artist quite emotionally depicted an air burial - a small coffin tied to a tree. Severe grey and blue clouds and broken branches of the tree, to which the coffin is tied, are the centre of the piece of art acutely shifted up and to the right. The height of the tree with the coffin in relation to other trees shows the present status of the child - he lives together with the celestials. The Nganasans used air burials when they buried children and adolescents until 15 years old because such children were believed to have been like birds and they belonged to the type of «light» deceased. The «light» dead were also suicides, drowned, strayed in the snowstorm or perished in the cold because they were taken by the nguos (mothers (nyams)) of elements, phenomena of nature, materials, animals, etc [3; p. 161]: Mou-nyams (Earth Mother), Byidy-nyams (Water Mother), Tui-nyams (Fire Mother), Kou-nyams (Mother of the Sun), Kicheda-nyams (Mother of the Moon), Syirada-nyams (Mother of the Subterranean Ice), Ta-nyams (Reindeer Mother), etc.).
The «heavy» dead, i.e. those, who had lived for many years, had had a family and had been attached to peoples and things, were buried differently (M.S. Turdagin «Sepulture», 1990. Paper, watercolour. O. Krashevskyi’s collection. Norilsk city). Old men and old women were considered to have been the «heaviest» because it is very hard to leave them and they could take somebody with them. The typical
way of burial of the «heavy» Nganasan dead is on the pulk with a construction called matalira (conical burial tent like an ordinary tent with poles). A deceased is provided with a pulk with implements and food. L.V. Khomich writes that «most of the implements were prepared for an old woman: she was to take everything she had worn and even made, i.e. everything where her nilu (life energy) had existed» [5; p.52]. After the pulk with a deceased and matalira were set, they stuck or suffocated the reindeers drawing the pulk of a dead, which were left there. Turdagin’s work shows that the sepulture compositionally divides and simultaneously connects two worlds (heavens and earth) pointing the status of a deceased in the Universe [4; p. 36].
The Nents and the Ents made ground sepultures though they didn’t have such a complicated burial rite like the Nganasan did. The dead were buried the next day; there weren’t used any special burial clothes. The dead were brought to the burial place on a pulk (men were dressed in light male clothes; women worn female dresses). The dead were buried in quadrangular wooden coffins fastened with vertical and horizontal ledges. The dead were left with their things they had used in their lives as well as the pulks. All the things were damaged. Such kind of burials are represented in Andrey Prokopyevich Lekarenko’s (1895-1978) works «The pulk» (Paper, watercolour, 26,5*42,5. KAM named after V.I. Surikov). As the watercoloured work shows, the burials weren’t solitary (typically, from two to dozens) and they were located a high river-bank.
The Evenks mainly made air burials on trees (Vladimir Ilyich Meshkov «Let us pray for the son», KAM named after V.I. Surikov). A deceased was wrapped in fur or birchbark (children were laid in a birchbark coffin) and hung to the branches of a tree or put on the wooden platform.
Today air burials are mainly applied for sepulture of a shaman.
Selkup sepultures are depicted in A.G. Vargin’s works («The graveyard in Nalimka ulus». Cardboard, watercolour, gouache. 1920. 25,1*27,9. Krasnoyarsk Regional Museum of Local Lore; «The dead Selkup’s things hung above the grave». Cardboard, pencil, watercolour. 1920. 29,7*21,4. Krasnoyarsk Regional Museum of Local Lore). Judging by the pictures, one can say that burials of the Selkups differ from those ones of the Evenks, the Nganasans, the Ents, and the Nents. The Selkups buried in the ground. For this reason, they dug a deep grave where they put a wooden coffin. Then the coffin was covered with birchbark and earth. They built a wooden roof of a truncated form above the grave called «the dead house». The things given to a deceased were to be necessarily damaged because they were believed to have become intact in the afterworld. It is also known that the Selkups left such a burial place and tried to pass it by as rarely as possible.
Thus, the graphic sheets and pictorial works of such artists as M.S. Turdagin, V.I. Meshkov, A.P. Lekarenko, A.G. Vargin demonstrate specific features of burial rites of the Evenks, the Nganasans, the Selkups, and the Kets. Since the question is of a work of art, not a documentary, protocolary and formal shot, each picture and graphic sheet is saturated with emotional attitude of the artist towards the things depicted, which can’t be ignored in the research. On the one hand, it is pain, grief, losses, loneliness, terror of impermanence of human existence; on the other hand, it is impassive realization of the fact that a human being is just a small crumb of the world invoked to build his life according to the laws of nature in order his ancestors could find their places by the celestials and descendants could peacefully wander in their native land.
Thus, works of fine arts can be considered as documentary visual sources in the study of
specific features of one or another culture (in this case, culture of small groups of indigenous peoples living in the North of Krasnoyarsk region). The works of painting and graphic art are veracious visual documents as far as many of them were painted by the representatives of those indigenous peoples and the works truly reflect the elements of culture important for each of them.
Pimenova, N.N.
Assistant, Art History and Cultural Studies
department, Institute for the Humanities,
Siberian Federal University
The traditional kind of art of the peoples living in the North is arts and crafts, decorated articles of everyday life. The traditions of northern arts and crafts are topical for the indigenous peoples up to date. Although the traditions of arts and crafts of the northern peoples obtained status of «signs of special northern mode of life» during the 20th century, which was estimated from the point of the ways of economic management of those nations. Touristic interest has estimably influenced on national art lately, the traditional forms gradually lose their original value transforming into souvenir production, and functions of things begin to comply with market requirements.
There are very few investigations of works of native art of the peoples living in the North. The main course is of conservative character. It is the texts of researchers and experts intended for conservation of traditions: classification of ornament, kinds of products, materials, materials production, and techniques of arts. Still there are scientific texts defining national culture as a fixation of a nation’s world outlook and also asserting national arts and crafts, which have world-organizing function. The system of ornaments in its structuring function is considered from this point: a man obtains his essence as microcosm and the religious unity of
a man and the world is achieved. The material of these investigations is Slavonic and Caucasian arts. The research works concerning the North art in relation to religiosity of a nation are limited to partial interpretations or records of comments of bearers of culture (masters, shamen). The publications most often classify materials by techniques and technologies, describe in detail and fix specific features of the use of articles. Masters keep the national kinds and techniques of arts and crafts with care (needlework, fur mosaic, beaded embroidery, reindeer hair under-needle embroidery, and bone-carving).
Art of the peoples living in the North is closely related to art of the peoples living in whole Siberia, which means their interrelation in the origin and analogous character of world outlooks represented by those articles as far as the religious system of those peoples is shamanism. Shamanism is an original religion of the small groups of indigenous peoples living in the North saved in spite of active conversion to Christianity of the population of the North and Siberia since XVII-XIX centuries. Shamanism is a harmonious and complex system of world outlook regulating people’s ways of life. Its basis is an idea of the world, which includes a structure of the world (the Superior and the Inferior worlds of spirits and the Medial world of people), and connection of its parts (the world axis). Shaman is a person-mediator in the human world, who plays role of connection between people and supernatural forces, the world of spirits.
The main artistic means of the northern arts and crafts is ornament, its geometrical type with included zoomorphic forms. It has relationship with dozens of archaic ornaments of peoples of the world, which might be correlated with each other from the point of relational models of the world they visualize. Geometrical ornament goes back to the models of foundations of the world - its elements and their interactions. Every ornamental
composition is a visualized model of the world with the correlation of its parts. The ornamental decoration of a national costume still has its protective function (the tradition of elaborate ornamentation of funeral and wedding dresses and bridal presents - dylachakar and kumalan). The northern art still retains zoomorphic ornament with the name and configurations going back to zoomorphic forms: reindeer horns («oron ielik» -the Tungus), diver’s legs («chipicha manakarin» -the Tungus), which is connected with the sacred animals and birds - an elk/a deer, a bear, a diver / a swan.
The investigations of Tungus shamanism fix the special role of a deer, a bird and a bear in accomplishment of the religious connection between a human being and the world. The Tungus shamanism system includes the concepts of spirits-helpmates of a man and shaman represented as a deer and a bear while a bird is an indispensable part of the northern cosmogonies. A deer traditionally descends from the Heavenly She-Elk/She-Deer, the first celestial goddess. The Bear is a son of Torum, a grandson of Kors, the supreme gods of the pantheon of shamanism. The Deer and the Bear are personifications of gods on earth given to a man for help. A man extremely needs a reproduction of connection between the Superior and the Inferior Worlds of spirits; the harmony with them promises a man stable life. The main point of a shaman’s function is to obtain aid given to a man and community by spirits of the Superior and the Inferior worlds. According to the model of the world, a shaman’s costume is traditionally made of two types of material -fur and skins of a bear and a deer as his special companions and guides. The Bear is a guide to the Inferior world of spirits while the Deer is a guide to the Superior world. A shaman uses a timbrel and a maul made of appropriate materials in his travel to the Superior or the Inferior world. A shaman’s costume has a form of bird, which embodies
his possibility of flight to the world of spirits. It is decorated with a heap of dangling details imitating feathering. There are amulets used in the costume: images of a deer, a bear, and a bird, buckhorn and a bear claw. The system of feasts of the peoples living in the North fixes the same chief images of a reindeer and a bear. The bear holiday traditionally goes along with ritual bear hunting while spring and summer kumiss feast day, a reindeer holiday, is associated with kuniss libations out of big wooden goblets, games, and competitions. Researchers traditionally describe the bear holiday as a ritual act, and the reindeer holiday is estimated in its household significance in reindeer-breeding culture exceptionally.
In the 20th century, comprehension of art of the peoples living in the North as well as their way of life on the whole was gradually reduced to fixation of specific features of national way of everyday life in its household aspect. Nevertheless, the articles of art allow us to understand the way of life of the northern peoples not only as a sphere of economy but also as a space of special connection between a man and the world, i.e. the sphere of culture preserving and fixing ethnicity of representatives of the indigenous peoples.
Shevyirnogova, L.A.
Candidate of Philosophy, professor,
Department of Ecological Informatics,
Institute of Space and Information
Technology,
Siberian Federal University
Education and training of every person are greatly influenced by the programs of genetic and socio-cultural inheritance.
Cultural and anthropological approach to education includes questions of adaptation of representatives of small groups of indigenous peoples (in particular, the peoples living in the North of Krasnoyarsk region) to the new environment of university. Such an approach
involves knowledge and understanding of the questions of reactions of students’ cerebral hemispheres to the information obtained in the process of education.
Nature appointed the fundamental principle of functional inter-hemispherical asymmetry of human brain. Two hemispheres are two different subsystems; each of them processes information in its own way.
Perception and information processing of the left and the right cerebral hemispheres differ: the left hemisphere provides logical and verbal type of perception and information processing while the right one develops spatial and presentative
type.
Wide experience in teaching and investigation of the problem of a student’s abilities for philosophical reflection (including students-representatives of small groups of the North peoples) afford ground for a hypothesis. The main point of the scientific proposition is following: the right hemisphere type of thinking of the representatives of small groups of indigenous peoples (i.e. spatial and presentative type and intuitional thinking and world outlook) prevails. It’s clear that it doesn’t shut out logical and verbal type of information processing when artificial signs are interpreted but it generally happens to the representatives of small groups of indigenous peoples within the frames and conditions of their indigenous population group. The reasons are obvious: geographical farness and selective approach to information when an individual receives mainly natural (intuitional) signs connecting him with the outside world.
An indigenous population group tries to organize behaviour of its members so they could preserve entirety of all characteristic features securing the deep essence of world outlook of the members of a group.
In such conditions, the left cerebral hemisphere works on inclusion into society
through the programs of behaviour of an indigenous population group.
The essence of world outlook lies in the fact that a concrete group represents a form of the humaneness, value system, principles of interaction with nature and the very ethnos. Accordingly, a certain kind of information selection and processing is cultivated.
Theoretically, both of the hemispheres are to be equally involved in information processing. The real kinds of world outlook influenced either by the left hemisphere type of thinking or the right one are quite different.
Relating to the representatives of small groups of indigenous peoples living in the North, we should mention not the absolute, but statistical majority of the representatives with the right hemisphere type of thinking. The strength of «collective unconsciousness» (Jung) is enormous here: mind of ancestors, the ways they comprehended life, the world of gods, human beings, etc. Videlicet the question is of significance of group selection of information and cultural inheritance when information displays itself as a factor of control.
We should presuppose that the representatives of small groups of indigenous peoples living in the North have difficulties in adaptation to the new environment of university. They have difficulties in perception of logical structures on which our pedagogy is mainly based. But development of logical type of thinking becomes «dire necessity» for them.
The observation on the representatives of small groups of indigenous peoples shows that they try to grade up to other students in education still preserving their own principles of thinking, system of communication, stress control characteristics, etc. But it takes some time for that, and teachers should display understanding of the fact that the question is not about the students who are «better» or «worse», but that the
mechanisms of solution of problems of various people are different and can differ in time and energy expenditure.
Harmonious activity of two hemispheres is «the golden mean» and goal of every person, and teachers should help to achieve it. Information given in the educational process shouldn’t be turned into a stress factor. The cultural and anthropological principles of pedagogy according to nature are to take care of a student’s nervous system and bring it neither to lethargy nor to very long and strong fever.
The individual approach is the most effective one in the organization of training and educational process; it implies knowledge about the types of reactions of the hemispheres and phenotypes with high level of heritability.
Spiritual and moral development of a person is based on panhuman values accepted by everyone. In this case, the representatives of any ethnos would feel equal to others.
We should assume that under the condition of pedagogy according to nature, the representatives of small ethnoses, in their turn, can influence on harmonious way of thinking of their coevals, especially those ones, who make their brains operate only with schemes and algorithms impoverishing their presentative thinking.
Natural pedagogy is cultural and anthropological as well as cultural and psychological approaches to education and upbringing, admission of significance of genetic inheritance as a basis while cultural and social inheritance is a process which must be a social process directed in a humanistic way.
Humanistic principle of education excludes expansion of one culture in another and in respect of the peoples as cultural bearers. Otherwise, the words about conservation of cultural gene pool of the humankind would be vain and there would always appear somebody who is interested in declaration of some peoples and ethnoses inferior
and invalid. Training and education are not to violate the right of the peoples to be themselves in their cultural roots and the right to be houseled to panhuman values and knowledge.
Such an approach allows a specialist of any ethnos to satisfy needs of his group and to be admitted by the whole world.
Ryizhenkova T.V.
Candidate of Philosophy, Assistant professor,Ethics, Aesthetics and Culture Department, Institute of Professional Development,
Siberian Federal University
What is a human being? The problem of definition of human essence has always commoved human mind. The correlation of social and biological aspects in a person is of special importance in our crisis time.
It has been discovered that the reason of origin of «homo sapiens» is not labour but disturbance of the principle of unity of an organism and environment, which the ancestor of a human being had. Labour and its collective character became means of solution of this contradiction and a basis of nature of society. The latter is a specific kind of adaptation (in terms of phylogenesis) of an individual (in terms of ontogenesis). Such kind of adaptation is socialization of an individual. It has been proved that the content of sociogenesis process is a dialectical removal of biological aspects by social ones, which means limitation of the role of biological factors (natural selection, for instance), filling of biological qualities with social and historic content, and limitation of the role of genetics for behaviour motivation and reinforcement of its spiritual regulators. In consequence of this, biosocial human essence hasn’t got ontological nature and it means the difference between a man and animal kingdom. Apart from specific essence of a man, there has
been substantiated the necessity for distinction of tribal one (conventional operative denomination) conveying taxonometric human features inside the species and bearing evaluative character. Tribal human essence is defined as a complex of characteristics reflecting tendencies of the main line of species development (constructive and creative principles, unicity, and freedom). There has been pointed out the necessity for humandimensional approach to all forms of organization of human life. It is expressed in the interrelation of all forms of existence, in tribal (not specific) nature of a man, and inadmissibility of the forms which don’t correspond to that essence. It has been proved that methodological significance of philosophical principles and categories connected with conception of human essence is implemented through specificity of concrete types of social practice (constructive way of realization of methodological orienting points). It is a correlation between biological and social aspects in a disease in medicine; it can be criminal acts in legal practice (especially in criminology); it can be implemented in such general categories of social philosophy as «personality» and «socialization of a personality» («socialization of a student’s personality» applied in a more concrete category) in a pedagogical theory and education. It has been proved that perfection of consciousness is a mechanism and field of development of anthropogenesis. There has been substantiated the hypothesis (speculative function of philosophy) that a man won’t have any ways to survive except for further development of consciousness and harmonization of its forms in future critical situations.
Nevertheless, harmonization of human consciousness is possible to be carried out through the study of early forms of organization of human life, such as small groups of indigenous peoples living in the North of Krasnoyarsk region.
The methods proposed by ethology turned out to be attractive for field studies.
Ethology of a man represents behavioral anthropology as science studying the interaction of biological and social aspects in human behaviour.
It suggests such method as structural and dynamic one.
1. Functional analysis is an analysis of external and internal factors of behaviour;
2. Comparative analysis is an evolutional and genetic analysis of behaviour;
3. Morphology of behaviour is a description and analysis of elements of behaviour;
4. System analysis.
Contemporary analysis of behaviour implies:
1. hierarchy;
2. dynamism;
3. quantity accounting;
4. system approach taking into account that forms of behaviour are closely connected with each other.
Thus, such methods of study of small groups of indigenous peoples living in the North of Krasnoyarsk region will promote identification of criteria and structure of «human-dimensional» approach in specification of programs and proj ects in social practice.
Vasilyev, V.K.
Candidate of Philology, Assistant
professor,Russian and Foreign Literature
Department, Institute of Philology
and Language Communication,
Siberian Federal University
The subject of my report today logically continues the topic we discussed in the previous session.
V.V. Ivanov, an academician, reproached philologists that «there is no any history of literature <...> entirely based on formal and /
or structural characteristics» [1]1. In point of fact, a considerable part of the 20th century was under the sign of morphology («form studies»), formalism, and structuralism, one way or another, the interest in a problem of study of structure of a literary text is great today but the ways to concrete generalizing approaches are unknown in this sphere. Is there any possibility for history of native literature based on clear and evident structural / structural and typological characteristics2? There is definitely. If there is any question about the reason of such conviction, I will answer that such history3 is being written and my monograph published recently can be its basis [2]. Having started the work with the subject «Typology of hagiography genre» in the second half of the 1980s, I didn’t expect such result at all, but still I obtained it (and now I am rather not sure that this result is final4).
Here is what has been done. There has been revealed and described a structure of the subject-archetype about Christ and Antichrist as a basis of all the rest models.
Unlike the life of Christ represented in the Tetraevangelion, the life of Antichrist has never been described by anybody. However theologians and scientists reconstructed it in a greater or lesser degree. The Bible, exegetics, the Apocryphal works, and folk Christian legend are the sources of the basis of reconstruction of «the subject of Antichrist» in my works. If we
1 Here is mentioned «the program planned by Yakobson and Tynyanov»
2 I think that we should set aside the question about «for-mal characteristics» but speak about «structural» ones.
The concepts «structure» and «element of structure» («motif», «function», etc.) have an advantage that they synthesize form and content.
3 Or «one of such histories» - the topic is free and to be developed.
4 There is a suggestion that the discovered structural typology will make possible description of unity «literary
text» of Christian area of culture. There is also a regular question of interrelation between this typology and the
typologies of cultures representing the other World religions.
mention the archetypical nature of the examined subject in Jung’s manner, the very problematics connected with the character of Antichrist has an obvious quality of unconsciousness - it conceals the secret of evil.
The life, character and doctrine of the Son of God is an incarnation of truth, holiness, and absolute good in Christianity; those are the sources maintaining life while the prefix «anti» of the name of His enemy, «the man of sin», points at the substitution of those sources for something mendacious making the essence of evil and the energy of destruction and death. Thus, evil, which is not quite clear to us, is a change of signs and conversion of good to its contrast, a deformed mirror reflection.
The subject of Christ and Antichrist consists of two parallel descriptions of life; each of them is a complex of motifs connected by cause-and-effect relationship, and together they are selforganized in a system of binary oppositions. The beginning of Christ’s life is the Immaculate Conception and the Virgin birth of Christ5. The beginning of Antichrist’s life is the birth by whoredom and fornicatress (a nun, an earthly woman and Satan, incest); he is a bastard6. Christ personified truth and the way of salvation with His life while Antichrist embodied falsehood and the way of perdition. Antichrist changes the meanings of Christ’s doctrine into the opposite ones: he permits everything prohibited and abolishes all things enjoined. He takes the role of impostor obsessed by arrogance (arrogance is the
5 These motives are connected with the subject of the Fall of Adam and Eve. Christ incarnates the possibility of redemption of original sin by non-participation and opposition to it in His Nativity.
6 The meanings of «bastard» idea in the birth of Antichrist can be seen very clearly. The conception and birth repeat the story of original sin in their own way. The sinful birth determines the malevolent fate and death of Antichrist. He is deprived of choice between good and evil; his destiny is to do evil only. But one must not bring those meanings in life for, in reality, every person regardless of his birth has an opportunity for choice between good and evil, God and the Devil, Christ and Antichrist.
key psychological feature of his character) and a false counterpart of Christ, a pretender to his place and power over human souls. Antichrist disguises his true essence with a mask: he gives himself out for Christ and will appear to be Him to those whom he will manage to deceive. Like Christ, he is endowed with miracle-working power, but that power is given by the Devil; seduction/temptation, preaching of lie and fornication, murder are the main subject functions attributed to him. The death of Christ is a voluntary martyrdom and redemption with blood of the original sin. The Son of God opens the gates of heaven with that blood and gives back an opportunity of the lost immortality to a man. Antichrist’s death (one of its variants is suicide) is the divine scourge for evil he did on earth, inheritance of hell.
Christianity is chiefly connected with the practice of life-building: the image of the Son of God gave a model for a Christian to be likened in life - in his actions and deeds. Art and literature are also practices of life-building1 (they can be called secondary ones2). The genetic function of «the subject of Christ» is directly connected with this: it engenders a great number of hagiographies in medieval and new literature. The same situation is with «the subject of Antichrist»: it appears that a very large number of biographies of characters, whose deeds were embodiment of evil, genetically go back to him (Antichrist is an archetype of those characters). Having described a structure of the subject-archetype and literary models genetically connected with it, we obtain a matrix, in point of fact, a basis for structural-typological «History of Russian literature in XI-XXI centuries» and consideration it as a space of one kind. The analysis of millenary national historical and literary process on the underlying,
1 The question is of traditional art; many modern trends have gigantic destructive power.
2 But they are very important for they present essential expression of the search for sense of existence of the hu-
mankind and a man.
archetypical level doesn’t show any breaks and qualitative transformations pointing at different typologies.
The matrix (a system of elements) sets the rules of selection of texts, description procedure and their amplitude. The suggested approach has extra-expressed methodological nature, and we should especially underscore that we gain great advantages in comparison with other approaches to the study of a text of culture: the subjective factor is maximally eliminated and guessing in the search for «concepts»/«key words»/«motives» (all the problematics to be described) is excluded.
As we can see, the subjects of Russian literature appeared before the written language in Rus and even before the very Rus. It is not surprising that their origin is the central subject of Christian culture3.
The analysis of this subject-matter makes us draw many other striking conclusions. In our opinion, the most important one is that God and the Devil, Christ and Antichrist are real categories of the matrix. Those are the deepest, very powerful and differently directed mental energies. They determine two vectors of being: life-building, creativity, and creation -self-destruction, degradation, and necrophilia. There isn’t any neutral space in the matrix. Those energies proceed from the sphere of unconsciousness (in other words, God and the Devil are beyond consciousness). A man can consciously regulate those energies with his will «in the situation of choice». Its meanings are extreme: God or the Devil / life or death. If we try to abolish God and the Devil as religious categories, we will find out that they can’t be abrogated on the level of archetypical and
3 Today high school, still using the models of «Soviet teachers’ training colleges», supplies the universities with the school-leavers, who completely don’t understand the fundamental significance of religion in formation of culture. In point of fact, they have to be educated anew overcoming the acquired inadequate attitudes. And that is the problem.
unconscious energies (their function is build or destroy life!), i.e. they can’t be abolished at all. Nevertheless, we always deal with negative results in estimation of importance of choice as a dispensable problem (good and evil are illusive categories in modern society). The problem doesn’t obey us and remains super essential irrespective of us1. There is a possibility for a supposition that the drawn conclusions are true for binary types of culture and we have to deal with variants of something mental and the borders beyond which a man can never pass. Then it becomes clear why a person as well as a nation repudiating God, in spite of his good intentions, condemns himself to self-abasement. The bright examples are Russian nihilism, communism,
The same conclusions are to be drawn while reading K.G. Jung’s works. Properly speaking, he himself arrived at the similar conclusions. We are surprised by only one thing in this situation: Jung’s discoveries incomprehensible for the scientific community and that they are unclaimed.
fascism, destructive mental processes in the countries of Christian area.
Implementation of «History of Russian literature of XI-XXI centuries» project requires development of methodological, theological, religious, historical, art critical, psychoanalytical (mental) and other problematics. It means that the project can be realized only as interdisciplinary and cultural. In point of fact, the result will be the meeting with underlying «we», and «History of literature» inevitably transforms into «Mental history of the nation».
Realization of such project is above strength of a single researcher: an academic collective should work at it. We have to acknowledge that it is so, gather such collective and provide for support of its activities. In my opinion, evident ponderability of the result speaks for the fact that the project should be fundamentally supported and realized as soon as possible in the situation of nihilism today.
Материалы пятого заседания учебно -научно-методического семинара «Теория и практика прикладных культурных исследований»,
прошедшего на базе факультета искусствоведения и культурологии Г уманитарного института Сибирского федерального университета,
Красноярск, 17 июня 2010 года
Н.П. Копцева
Сибирский федеральный университет Россия 660041, Красноярск, пр. Свободный, 79
Материалы пятого заседания учебно-научно-методического семинара «Теория и практика прикладных культурных исследований», прошедшего 17 июня 2010 года на базе факультета искусствоведения и культурологии Гуманитарного института Сибирского федерального университета (г. Красноярск), представляют дискуссионное обсуждение актуальной в
современном мультикультурном пространстве темы коренных и малочисленных народов Севера Красноярского края. Предлагаются методы и подходы культурно-антропологического исследования с учетом современных представлений о практических задачах культурологии и с опорой на классические методики культурно-антропологических исследований за рубежом и в России. Ставится проблема существования и изменения этносов в условиях глобальных трансформаций.
Ключевые слова: культура, культурно-антропологическое исследование, этнос, коренные и малочисленные народы Севера Красноярского края, глобальные трансформации.
