Научная статья на тему 'The image of Russia through the eyes of German exchange students'

The image of Russia through the eyes of German exchange students Текст научной статьи по специальности «Науки об образовании»

CC BY
118
22
i Надоели баннеры? Вы всегда можете отключить рекламу.
Ключевые слова
everyday practices / Actor-network theory / multiple objects / academic mobility / social communication. / повседневные практики / акторно-сетевая теория / множествен- ность объектов / академическая мобильность / социальная коммуникация.

Аннотация научной статьи по наукам об образовании, автор научной работы — A. A. Soboleva, N. А. Pshegorskaia

This article analyzes the sources of the formation of a certain image (stereotype) about Russia by students from Germany. Process of adaptation of exchange students influence their involvement in educational procedures and social communication. The effectiveness of adaptation of students and their expectation compared to real situation affect their perceptions of the country they visit. Based on the Actor-Network Theory, an analysis of conceptualized representations of foreign students was carried out before and after arriving in Russia.

i Надоели баннеры? Вы всегда можете отключить рекламу.
iНе можете найти то, что вам нужно? Попробуйте сервис подбора литературы.
i Надоели баннеры? Вы всегда можете отключить рекламу.

ПРЕДСТАВЛЕНИЕ О РОССИИ ГЛАЗАМИ НЕМЕЦКИХ СТУДЕНТОВ ПО ОБМЕНУ

В данной статье представлен анализ источников формирования определённого образа (стереотипа) о России студентами из Германии. Процесс адаптации студентов по обмену влияет на их вовлеченность в образовательные процедуры и социальную коммуникацию. Эффективность адаптации студентов и их ожидания по сравнению с реальной ситуацией, влияют на их восприятие страны, которую они посещают. На основе акторно-сетевой теории был проведён анализ концептуализированных представлений иностранных студентов до и после приезда в Россию.

Текст научной работы на тему «The image of Russia through the eyes of German exchange students»

THE IMAGE OF RUSSIA THROUGH THE EYES OF GERMAN EXCHANGE STUDENTS

A.A. Soboleva, students N.A. Pshegorskaia, students Saint-Petersburg state university (Russia, Saint-Petersburg)

DOI: 10.24411/2500-1000-2018-10166

Abstract. This article analyzes the sources of the formation of a certain image (stereotype) about Russia by students from Germany. Process of adaptation of exchange students influence their involvement in educational procedures and social communication. The effectiveness of adaptation of students and their expectation compared to real situation affect their perceptions of the country they visit. Based on the Actor-Network Theory, an analysis of conceptualized representations of foreign students was carried out before and after arriving in Russia.

Keywords: everyday practices, Actor-network theory, multiple objects, academic mobility, social communication.

Exchange programs are pretty famous among students not only in European, but in other countries. Participation in international academic programs provides students with many opportunities: to gain experience of cooperation in the international academic environment, develop skills of intercultural communication and teamwork, increase the level of knowledge of a foreign language, to get acquainted with the educational systems of other countries, to open new career prospects, to make new friends and to view the world. The specifics and problems of academic mobility in Russia lie in the unplanned nature of this activity, the lack of material and financial support, the lack of specialists in this field, the inadequacy of special methods and mechanisms for academic exchanges, the insufficient number and quality of joint programs, and the lack of infrastructure that ensures effective cooperation. Also there are other issues like poor knowledge of foreign languages among professors and staff, shortages of buddy programs, accommodation challenges and cultural features of the country.

Nevertheless, exchange students adapt to social reality and try to maintain integration into the host society without losing their cultural identities.

Research objectives:

1. To observe the main resources of German students' perception of Russia before their arrival;

2. To investigate everyday practices of students and to find out with whom Germans communicate mostly and how this communication is going on;

3. To observe differences in university schedule, spending of free time, life organization in general etc;

4. To determine how their attitude to Russia have changed after exchange semester.

Our main research question is: How the image of Russia is constructed through everyday practices among German students?

Theoretical groundings. In our project we strongly draw upon achievements of Actor-Network theory, especially on the version represented by John Law and Annemarie Mol. Actor-network theory provides a researcher with an opportunity of seeing reality (including social) not as something external and independent of people's actions, but as a result of their actions. Different practices construct different realities, and a researcher face ontological multiplicity and often ontological instability of a studied phenomenon. John Law, gathering together the arguments, introduces two interrelated concepts: method-assemblage and hinterland. Method-

assemblages are defined as "enactments of relations that make some things (representations, objects, apprehensions) present 'inhere', whilst making others absent 'out-there'" (Law, 2004:14). Method assemblages also "craft hinterlands in the form of (a) inhere objects, (b) visible or relevant out-there contexts, as well as (c) out-there processes, contexts, and all the rest, that are both necessary and necessarily disappear from visibility or relevance" (Law, 2004:55). When we talk about Russia, we talk about a multiple object in terms of multiplicity of its ontologies, enacted through practices, actions, beliefs, material objects and their breakdowns, etc. It means that what is said to be «Russia» for those students we had an opportunity to talk to is the result of moves between those regions of reality which are enacted and made actual and those which became "put aside", "forgotten", etc. and thus became the region of "otherness". Thus we define ontology as the result of enacting an object (Russia) through shifting between different regions of realities. With the help of this simple framework we will examine how successful actions and practices allow redefining and rearranging the regions of reality in terms of subsequent "perceiving" of Russia and how unsuccessful ones also participate in shifting between those regions or reinforcement of already established.

Empirical analysis. Our main research method is semi-formalized interview. We interviewed 15 German exchange students participating in SPSU programmes who had their first experience of travelling to Russia. To analyse collected data we used method of grounded theory focusing on the level of open coding. In process of analysis we distinguished two major groups of students: 1) those students who did not have any concrete image of Russia, and 2) those students, who had concrete images of Russia. The former group is seen in terms of not having enacted any presence of Russia, the country was in the region of "otherness" that was going to be enacted in presence only after arrival. The latter group was involved in enacting "presence" through communicating with mates (i.e. one of informants has in Germany "a friend,

whose parents are from Russia" and "they (this family) really like the country (Russia) and they like to spend time here", another has "friends(in Germany), who have Russian roots", parents and relatives, a part of which were Russian or related to Russia somehow (Lithuanian or Kazakh roots, i.e. the student whose mother was from Kazakhstan told that her image of Russia was mainly based on "warm and like "private" moments from mum's experience") and perceiving mediamessages (i.e. one of informants "had a bit critical point of view, regarding the Russian State, because of its relations with other states and the political system, the war in Syria and the Crimea-crisis", other just mentioned the media as one of the source.

In order to structure the results we obtained, in answering our main research question we will follow the logic of distinguishing between those two groups of students mentioned above. Those students, who already had some established conception of Russia were likely to engage in such practices, which were reinforcing image actual for them. For example, one of our informants was convinced before the arrival to Russia in rudeness of Russian people: "The people are rude as I said, more rude than I expected. And, They are seen really superficial, especially women". We can observe that his practices were performative in terms of reinforcement regions of reality actual for him. The region of "out-thereness" represented in his image of Russia as a country of rude people was being reaffirmed in his "in-hereness".

In the other example of foreign students with existing certain image of Russia we can see how the regions of actual hinterland can be changed, yet it does not change so easily. Staying in dormitories for foreign students shows us not the only limitation as a lack of engaging in substantive dialogue with Russians, but also limited contacts with representatives from other countries. Therefore, due to such limitations of spatial arrangements the only way for exchange students to communicate with Russian people more closely than just in the streets or supermarkets was to find some friends among their group mates. For those informants who had no negative image concerning Russian people

initially, the communication with Russian group mates was successful. Thus, it can be assumed that those informants who had initially negative images of Russia reinforce them, whereas those who had initially positive images reinforce them as well. Students without any initial images constructed the image of Russia and Russian people based on the success of practices in which they were involved. In all our cases practices were mainly successful which led to positive attitude to Russia and Russian people in the end.

Conclusion. To sum up, we analyze six interviews with students (a) who had a certain image of Russia and with students (b) who did not have any concrete image. Thus, for some exchange students, Russia was ontolog-ically the region of "out-thereness", while for students with existing certain image of Russia it was the region of "otherness". We obtained how practices in which students were involved during their exchange period in Russia may involve the region of "in-hereness", incidentally change, challenge or reinforce the other regions. In general the assemblage of those three regions at the time of giving an interview is represented at more or less the same degree as their general perception of Russia. Students without any established conception of Russia before their exchange semester construct the regions of "in-hereness" and "out-thereness" from scratch. Those students who had a concrete image of Russia were inclined to choose practices which can enhance their established images, thereby reinforcing the "out-thereness". After involving in practices which engage the irrelevant re-

change their views in the case of success (here we mean successful practices). However, in spite of success, the established regions of reality are less mobile, so shifting between regions becomes challenge every time when student engage in those practices. It was indicated through the modalities of the statements (maybe, a bit, really, only, a lot, in some way, at all, etc.).

What is more, we examined that the exchange programs as a way to enhance the efficiency and competitiveness of the country's education system and Russian culture, in general, does not totally fulfill their function. There is number of following reasons. Firstly, the program of integration into Russian culture is not designed for a long-term perspective. Adaptation sessions and buddies programs help mainly for the first months, while after that period students have to travel, search and attend events and learn Russian culture on their own. Secondly, they live in special dormitories only for foreign students. Therefore, students have not enough level of communication with Russians, as a consequence, they have continuously been involved in the international environment, rather than been integrated into Russian culture. Thirdly, for foreign students language barrier is a kind of problem of adaptation. They can communicate with Russian students in a foreign language, while they experienced certain difficulties in communicating with dormitory stuff, public transport stuff and passers on the street as well, which also does not help to overcome the language barrier and to dip into Russian language and culture.

gion in their current spheres students could

References

1. Austin, J. L. (1970) "Performative Utterances". In Austin, "Philosophical Papers", 233-52. London: Oxford University Press.

2. Latour B. (2005) Reassembling the Social: An Introduction to Actor-Network Theory. London: Oxford University Press.

3. Latour B., Woolgar S. (1986) Laboratory Life: The Construction of Scientific Facts. Princeton University Press.

4. Law John (2004) After Method: Mess in Social Science Research. London and New York: Routlege.

ПРЕДСТАВЛЕНИЕ О РОССИИ ГЛАЗАМИ НЕМЕЦКИХ СТУДЕНТОВ

ПО ОБМЕНУ

А.А. Соболева, студент Н.А. Пшегорская, студент

Санкт-Петербургский государственный университет (Россия, г. Санкт-Петербург)

Аннотация. В данной статье представлен анализ источников формирования определённого образа (стереотипа) о России студентами из Германии. Процесс адаптации студентов по обмену влияет на их вовлеченность в образовательные процедуры и социальную коммуникацию. Эффективность адаптации студентов и их ожидания по сравнению с реальной ситуацией, влияют на их восприятие страны, которую они посещают. На основе акторно-сетевой теории был проведён анализ концептуализированных представлений иностранных студентов до и после приезда в Россию.

Ключевые слова: повседневные практики, акторно-сетевая теория, множественность объектов, академическая мобильность, социальная коммуникация.

i Надоели баннеры? Вы всегда можете отключить рекламу.