Empirical methods in cultural studies – are used at the initial level of research, based on the collection and description of factual material within the framework of humanitarian cultural studies.
Historical method– is aimed at studying how a given culture arose, what stages of development it went through and what it became in its mature form.
Structural-functional method - consists in decomposing the object under study into its component parts and identifying the internal connection, conditionality, relationship between them, as well as determining their functions.
Semiotic method – considers culture as a sign system, i.e. use semiotics.
Biographical method - involves analyzing the life path of a cultural figure for a better understanding of his inner world, which reflects the system of cultural values ​​of his time.
Modeling model - associated with the creation of a model of a certain period in the development of culture.
Psychologicalmethod - involves the ability to find out, through the analysis of memoirs, chronicles, myths, chronicles, epistolary heritage, treatises, the most typical reactions of people of a particular culture to the most significant phenomena for them: famine, wars, epidemics. Such reactions manifest themselves both in the form of social feelings and mentality in general. The use of the psychological method allows, through understanding the nature of a particular culture, to perceive the motivation and logic of cultural actions.
The diachronic method involves elucidating the chronological, that is, time sequence of change, appearance and course of a particular cultural phenomenon.
The synchronic method consists of analyzing changes in the same phenomenon at different stages of a single cultural process. In addition to the above, the synchronic method can also be understood as a cumulative analysis of two or more cultures over a certain period of their development, taking into account existing connections and possible contradictions.

History of world and public culture(this is the foundation, the basis of science) is knowledge about achievements in science, art, about the development of religious thought; cultural history explores the real process of continuity of cultures of different eras and peoples.
History of cultural theoriesis a story about the process of formation and development of cultural thought, i.e. history of cultural studies.
Theory of culture - the main complex scientific concepts in the field of culture, study of basic theoretical problems cultural studies.
Sociology of culture - studies the process of functioning of culture in society, the characteristics and values ​​of various social groups, the specifics of lifestyle and spiritual interests, explores various forms of deviant behavior common in society.
Cultural anthropology– represents a section related to the peculiarities of interaction between culture and man, culture and personality.
Applied cultural studies– cultural studies, focused on practical actions in the field of culture. This is about social work

, about activities to preserve cultural values ​​and assist in the transfer of spiritual experience to other generations.
Question 2. The concept of culture, its essence, structure and functions. Culture
, understood in a broad sense, covers the entire set of social values ​​that create a collective portrait of the identity of each particular society. In a broad sense, the concept"culture"(Latin "cultura") is used asopposition to “nature”, “nature”
(Latin “natura”). “Culture is everything that is not nature,” i.e. the entire set of material and ideal objects, social achievements, thanks to which a person stands out from nature. In a narrow sense, – cultureit's synonymous with art
, i.e. a special sphere of human activity associated with the artistic and imaginative understanding of the world in the form of literature, architecture, sculpture, painting, graphics, music, dance, theater, cinema, etc.
Culture is the link between society and nature. The basis of this connection is a person as a subject of activity, cognition, communication, experience, etc. Talking about structureculture should be defined as two spheres of its existence -material and spiritual
. Such manifestations of culture are associated with two spheres of human activity: material and spiritual. In them, on the one hand, there is an expression of human powers, on the other hand, their formation and improvement. Culturologists highlight the following functions

crops:Basic (human)
- Man lives not in nature, but in culture. In it he recognizes himself. There are also moments of worldview, formation, education and sociologization of a person.
Otherwise, it is also called the transformative function, since mastering and transforming the surrounding reality is a fundamental human need. (epistemological) – aimed at ensuring human knowledge of the world around us. It is expressed in science, in scientific research, aimed at systematizing knowledge and discovering the laws of development of nature and society, and at man’s knowledge of himself.
Communicative– ensures the process of information exchange using signs and sign systems.
Regulatory (regulatory or protective function) - is a consequence of the need to maintain a certain balanced relationship between man and the environment, both natural and social.
Value (axiological) – culture shows the significance or value of what is valuable in one culture is not so in another.
Spiritual and moral– educational roles of culture.

Question 3. The evolution of the understanding of the term “culture”: from antiquity to modernity.
Initially, the concept of culture (cultura) came into use as a word of Latin origin. It was used inThe Roman Empire in the understanding of cultivating, cultivating, cultivating; to inhabit, to inhabit the earth.
Those. culture meant the settlement of a person in a certain territory, cultivation, cultivation of the land. This is where the term comes from agriculture - agriculture, land cultivation. Thus, the concept of culture is directly connected with such an important concept for the life of society as agriculture (as a purposeful human activity). In Latin, the harbinger of culture is the term cultus - “care, care for the deity, cult (veneration).”
Thus, the ancient complex of the concept “Culture” reflects three facets of a single meaning and represents a holistic formula: arrangement of the place where a person lives, cultivation of the land, veneration of the gods.
For the first time, the concept of culture was used in a figurative sense in his work by the outstanding Roman politician, orator and philosopher Marcus Tullius Cicero (106-43 BC), calling philosophy “the culture of the soul.”
The term culture began to be perceived somewhat differently during the heyday of the Christian worldview in Europe. If we talk about the main difference in the worldview and science of that period, then from the cosmocentrism inherent in antiquity, European thought comes to the complete worship of God, worship of God. Man, his desires, his body, his needs become insignificant, only the spirit remains, which is eternal, the salvation of which must be taken care of, and in the Christian world another meaning of culture comes first -reverence, boundless and undivided veneration of God.It was the veneration of the triune God that became the basis of human spiritual development in Christianity. Thus, in the Middle Ages, the religious cult became the main thing in the formation of a person.
As for secular culture, some Christian theologians interpret it as a preparation for religious insight, while others interpret it as a path of error that leads away from the truth in the face of God.
Renaissance became the second stage on the path to the justification and definition of the concept of culture. The very attitude towards a person as a separate creative unit, an individual, is changing. An anthropocentric picture of the world is being formed. In the Renaissance there is a constant Delight human creative abilities, new breakthroughs in art, literature, painting, architecture. The study of the culture of ideology continued in the direction of identifying the boundary between the innate and acquired in a person.
In the Age of Enlightenment, it was believed that culture was not just an inherent desire for freedom or mercy, but an activity illuminated by the light of reason. And in this new model of the Enlightenment project, reason, rationalism dominates, and it is on this foundation that the edifice of European culture is erected. Before this period, the word "culture" was used only in phrases, denoting the function of something, but in contrast to thisGerman educators began to talk about culture in general or about culture as such.
So, in the Age of Enlightenment, the concept of “culture” meansactive transformation of the world by man. Unlike Cicero, educators consider culture not only the spiritual, but also the material activities of people. This is improving people's lives through agriculture, crafts, and various techniques. But first of allculture is the spiritual improvement of the human race and individuals, the instrument of which is the mind.
Over the centuries, the understanding of culture has varied, evolved, and certain thinkers have given their meaning to a given word in a certain era.
Today, culture is a special spiritual experience of human communities, accumulated and transmitted from generation to generation, the content of which is the value meanings of things, forms, norms, and ideals, relationships and actions, feelings, intentions, expressed in specific signs and sign systems – cultural languages.

Question 4. Enlightenment theories of culture of the 18th century (I.-G. Herder, J.-J. Rousseau, G. Vico)
In the Age of Enlightenment treatises and essays appear devoted to the study of culture as an integral world created by man. Among those who laid the foundations for the study of culture as an integral phenomenon are calledJ. Vico (1668-1744) and German thinker I. Herdera (1744-1803). The fact is that before them the word “culture” was used only in phrases, denoting the function of something. In contrast to this, German enlighteners, in particular I. Herder, leadtalking about culture in generalor about culture as such. According to Herder's views, highThe purpose of man is in the development of two universal principles - Reason and Humanity.For this purpose, education and upbringing, overcoming ignorance, serve. To explore the root cause, the spirit of humanity, is the true task of the historian.The highest humanity is manifested in religion. Therefore, reason, humanity and religion are the three most important values ​​of culture.
J. Vico- historian and philosopher, doctor of law and rhetoric from the University of Naples in his main work"Foundations of the New Science of the General Nature of Nations"» puts forward ideas about the cultural unity and diversity of the world, the dynamics of the cyclical development of culture and the change of eras.In his statements, he relies on the ancient ideas of the Egyptians, according to which they divided the time that passed before them into three main periods: the age of the gods, the age of heroes and the age of people, and he accepts these views as the basis of the universal history that he intends to create. Historical evolution, according to Vico, is formed and replaced by different eras or “centuries”.Each era differs only in its inherent characteristics of art and morality, law and power, myths and religion, but the cycle of cycles reflects the infinity of human development. Throughout the entire work, Vico consistently illustrates the coincidence of phenomena and causes, and finds analogies in the development of human history and culture.
Over the course of time, eras succeed each other, and Vico talks only about the endless evolution of history. Speaking about the change of cycles in history and culture, Vico draws attention to the emergingat the end of the cycle, barbarism into which all nations fall.From his point of view, barbarism is considered as an integral period in the progressive development of mankind. He divides this phenomenon into two types -natural barbarism, the story begins with him; the second - more refined and aggressive is inherent in historical development in subsequent cycles, people of a higher level of culture, the cruelty of this barbarism is distinguished by more skillful and secret means. (We can draw parallels with fascism).
Such ideas of Vico formed the basis of future cultural studies, cultural anthropology.
J.J. Rousseau created his own “concept of anticulture.” In his treatise "Discourse. Has the revival of science and the arts contributed to the improvement of morals?" he says that everything beautiful in a person comes out of the bosom of nature and spoils in him when he gets into society.

Question 5. The formation of cultural studies as a science. L. White's theory.
Beginning with the European Enlightenment, interest in culture as an integral social and anthropological reality is gradually but steadily emerging. Subsequently, historical researchers and cultural scientists will call this a culture-centric picture of the world.
Question 2. The concept of culture, its essence, structure and functions. in all its diversity and richness is the focus of attention of philosophers, anthropologists, as well as writers, artists, and politicians.
If we look at different cultures and traditions, including in the temporal plane, we will see that every nation has an economic way of life, creates tools, all social life is regulated by legal norms, all cultures develop, are at different stages of development and progress. He begins to move away from the positions of Eurocentrism and realize the significance and uniqueness of each culture, whichall cultures are equal, have equal rights, there are no worthy or despised cultures, they are all original, this diversity is the main wealth of the cultural life of the world. Such areas of science as cultural anthropology, ethnography and sociology are emerging. The term cultural studies appears in the work of the English anthropologist E. Tylor (1832-1917), “Primitive Culture”, he substantiates the concept of culture, determines the natural connections between cultural phenomena, develops methods for classifying the stages of cultural development, compiles an ethnographic and anthropological description of the cultures of more than 400 peoples and ethnic groups of different countries.
Anthropologist Leslie White (1900-1975) devoted his works to the substantiation of cultural studies as a science; in 1949 he published the scientific work “The Science of Culture,” in which he proposed calling the branch of humanities cultural studies. It was he who brought worthy arguments in favor of this science being separated from the complex of humanities knowledge about culture into a separate discipline. This allows us to consider him the founder of cultural studies. L. White viewed culture as a symbolic reality. Man has a unique ability to attach a certain meaning to objects and phenomena surrounding him, to endow them with meaning, and to create symbols. It is this ability to symbolize, according to White, that creates the world of culture.These are values, ideas, faith, customs, works of art, etc., which are created by man and endowed with a certain meaning; outside this circle, objects lose value and turn into material - matter, clay, wood, nothing more.A symbol is the starting point for understanding human behavior and culture.
White identifies 3 types of symbols: ideas, relationships, external actions, material objects.All these types relate to culture and express a person’s ability to symbolize. Culture is not just objects, without the human thought process, without its ability to evaluate and symbolize, it is emptiness, but endowed with symbols and meanings, this environment turns into a person’s habitat, and in turn contributes to the value understanding of human existence, helps a person adapt to the world around him . Thus,White views it as a holistic system, divided into three interconnected areas:

technological- equipment, protective equipment, transport, materials for housing construction, this ensures human interaction with nature
social – relationships between people in all spheres of society, it determines a person’s mastery of the social environment
spiritual sphere. Knowledge, faith, customs, myths, folklore, on this basis religion, mythology, philosophy, art, morality, etc. develop. This creates the spiritual world of man.

Question 6. Typology of culture: ethnic, national, world, regional cultures.
Typology means a certain classification of phenomena according to the commonality of some characteristics. The type of culture can be understood as a community of traits, characteristics, manifestations that distinguishes a given culture (culture) from others, or the fixation of certain, qualitatively homogeneous stages of cultural development.Typology of culture is knowledge, understanding, description, classification of manifestations of culture according to some principle.
Any typological scheme is based on the general idea that human history includes two main periods:archaic (primitive) and civilizational.
It is worth distinguishing between the concepts of typologization of cultures - this is a method of cultural-historical analysis, and typology of cultures is a system of identified typical models of cultures, the result of applying the method.
The typology distinguishes the following types of culture:

Ethnic culture– the culture of a certain ethnic group (social community of people), the creative form of its life activity for the reproduction and renewal of existence. The basis for identifying ethnic culture isethnic community: she initially has a biological nature, the oldest go back to prehistoric times. They are based ongeneral hereditary psychophysiological characteristics of people,connected by a common origin, and in the early stages by a specific area of ​​habitat.Ethnic culture – totality cultural traits relating primarily to everyday life and everyday culture.It has a core and periphery. Ethnic cultureincludes tools, morals, customs, values, buildings, clothing, food, means of transportation, housing, knowledge, beliefs, and types of folk art.Formation ethnic culture occurs

in progress :

synthesis of primary factors: language, development of territory, location, climatic conditions, features of farming and life;
synthesis of secondary generative factors: systems of interpersonal communication, the evolution of cities, the predominance of a particular religion; the formation of a certain economic and cultural type in the economy;

creation of an education system, ideology, propaganda; influence of political factors; psychological characteristics, behavioral stereotypes, habits, mental attitudes; external interactions with other ethnic groups within the national state and beyond. National culture unites people living over large areas and not necessarily related by blood. new type social communication,associated with the invention of writing, with the birth of the literary language and national literature.It is thanks to writing that the ideas necessary for national unification gain popularity among the literate part of the population.The concept of national culture cannot be defined without the existence of state structures in this culture. So nations can bemonoethnic and multiethnic.It is necessary to distinguish between the concepts of “nation” and “people”.

A nation is a territorial, economic and linguistic association of people with a social structure and political organization . National culture includes, along with traditional everyday, professional and everyday culture, also specialized areas of culture. Ethnic cultures are part of the national culture..
World – this is a synthesis of the best achievements of all national cultures of the peoples inhabiting our planetRegional culture -Regional culture is a variant of national culture and at the same time an independent phenomenon with its own patterns of development and logic of historical existence.

It is distinguished by the presence of its own set of functions, the production of a specific system of social connections and its own type of personality, and the ability to influence the national culture as a whole.
Behind the differentiation of concepts lies the understanding that there are forms and mechanisms that transform the culture of a region into a regional culture. On the other hand, this allows us to include the concept of regional culture in the typological series of historical and cultural phenomena. Question 7. Elite and mass culture. Concepts of mass culture in cultural studies.Elite (high) culture created and consumed by the privileged part of society - the elite(from fr.Elite- best selected, chosen),or commissioned by professional creators.The elite represents the part of society most capable of spiritual activity.High culture includes fine art, classical music and literature. It is difficult for an unprepared person to understand. The circle of consumers of high culture is a highly educated part of society (critics, literary critics, theatergoers, artists, writers, musicians). This circle expands when the level of education in the population increases.and the practice of "pure art".The meaning of elite culture is in the search for beauty, truth, and the cultivation of moral qualities of the individual..
Mass culture(from Lat. massa- lump, piece and cultural- cultivation, education)does not express the refined tastes or spiritual quest of the people. It appeared in the middle of the twentieth century, whenMedia (radio print, television)penetrated into most countries of the world and became available to representatives of all social strata. The term "mass culture" was first introduced by the German philosopher M. Horkheimer in 1941 And by the American scientist D. MacDonald in 1944
Mass culture May beinternational and national. She has less artistic valuethan elitist. She has the mostwide audienceand it is the author's. Pop music is understandable and accessible to all ages, all segments of the population, regardless of education level, because Mass culturesatisfies the immediate needs of people.
Therefore, its samples (hits) quickly lose relevance, become obsolete and go out of fashion. This does not happen with works of elite and popular culture.
Mass culture is a state, or more precisely, a cultural situation corresponding to a certain form of social structure, in other words, culture “in the presence of the masses.”In order to be able to talk about the presence of mass culture, it is necessary that its representative - a historical community called the mass - appear on the historical arena, and also that the corresponding type of consciousness - mass consciousness - acquires dominant significance.Mass and mass consciousness are connected and do not exist in isolation from each other. They act as both an “object” and a “subject” of mass culture. It is around the masses and mass consciousness that his “intrigue” revolves.
Accordingly, only where we find the beginnings of these social and mental attitudes do we have the right to talk about the presence of mass culture. Therefore, both the history and prehistory of mass culture do not go beyond the framework of the modern European past. The people, the crowd, the peasants, the ethnic group, the proletarians, the broad urban “lower classes”, any other pre-modern European historical community and, accordingly, speak, think, feel, react in specific cases.She models situations and assigns roles.
The purpose of mass culture is not so much to fill leisure time and relieve stress for a person in an industrial and post-industrial society, butstimulating consumer consciousness in the recipient(viewer, listener, reader) thatforms a special type of passive, uncritical perception of this culture in a person. This creates a personality that is easily manipulated.
The mass consciousness formed by mass culture is diverse in its manifestations. It is characterized by conservatism, inertia, limitations, and has specific means of expression. Mass culture focuses not on realistic images, but on artificially created images (image) and stereotypes, where the main thing is the formula. This situation encourages idolatry.
Mass culture has given rise to the phenomenon of a consumer society in which there are no spiritual values.

Question 8. Mainstream, subculture and counterculture: typology, main features.
Mainstream(main current) - the predominant direction in any field (scientific, cultural, etc.) for a certain period of time.It is often used to designate any “official”, mass trends in culture and art to contrast with the alternative, underground, non-mass, elitist direction.I highlight meistirim in cinematography and music.
Mainstream cinema , is usually used in relation toNorth Americancinema - blockbusters, and films by famous European directors. In the Russian Federation the term mainstream in relation to cinema began to be especially actively usedafter the reform of the system of state financing of domestic cinema with priority allocation of budget money to “major” film studios, whose high-budget films form the basis of the “mainstream” of Russian cinema.
Musical mainstream is used to denote the most radio-friendly and commercially profitable movement in popular music, which may mix elements of the most popular in this moment styles. The concept originated in the USA in the 40s of the 20th century. The most powerful influences on the musical mainstream are the USA (Billboard), Great Britain, Germany and Scandinavia.
You can also highlightmainstream in literature is, for example, the great popularity of the detective genre among modern readers.
Subculture(Latin sub - under + cultura - culture; = subculture) -part of the culture of a society that differs from the prevailing one, as well as social groups of carriers of this culture.The concept was introduced in 1950 by the American sociologist David Reisman . A subculture may differ from the dominant culture in its own value system, language, behavior, clothing and other aspects. There are subcultures,formed on national, demographic, professional, geographical and other bases. In particular, subcultures are formed by ethnic communities that differ in their dialect from the linguistic norm. Another famous example is youth subcultures. A subculture can arise from fandom or hobby. Most often, subcultures are closed in nature and strive for isolation from mass culture. This is caused both by the origin of subcultures (closed communities of interests) and by the desire to separate from the main culture.
Subcultures:

They highlight the musical subculture that is associated with certain genres music (hippies, rastafarians, punks, metalheads, goths, emo, hip-hop, etc.). The image of musical subcultures is formed largely by imitation of the stage image of popular performers in a given subculture.
Art subculture arose from a passion for a certain type of art or hobby, an example is anemo.
Interactive subcultures appeared in the mid-90s with the spread of Internet technologies: fido communities, hackers.
Industrial (urban) subcultures appeared in the 20s and are associated with the inability of young people to live outside the city. Some industrial subcultures emerged from fans of industrial music, but computer games had the greatest influence on them.
To sports subcultures include Parkour and football fans.

Question 9. The problem of “East-West”, “North-South” in cultural studies.
East-West. When getting acquainted with the eastern countries, even an uninitiated person is struck by theiroriginality and dissimilaritysimilar to what we are used to seeing in Europe or America. Everything is different here: architecture, clothing, food, lifestyle, art, the structure of language, writing, folklore, in a word, the most obvious components of any culture. Is it true,To the European eye, the East appears as something uniformly "oriental", although in reality the differences between the countries of this region are sometimes very large.In fiction of the 20th century. The most prominent exponent of the idea of ​​​​the incompatibility of Western and Eastern cultures was the famous English writer Rudyard Kipling (1865-1936), whose work was largely intended to show thatEast is East and West is West and that they will never understand each other. True, this last statement is now refuted by life itself.
Differences between East and West, although they are being smoothed out under the pressure of modern technotronic civilization, they are stillremain very significant.
This is not least explained by a certain “Eastern” type of thinking, closely associated with Eastern religions, which, with the exception of Islam, seem to be more tolerant, more prone to pantheism, i.e. deification of nature, and more “inscribed” in the very matter of culture.
In the East, particularly in India, religion and culture practically coincided for thousands of years.An Eastern person, unlike a European, is characterized by: greater introversion, i.e. focus on oneself and one’s own inner life; less tendency to perceive opposites, which are often denied; great faith in the perfection and harmony of the surrounding Universe, and hence the orientation not towards its transformation, but towards adaptation to a certain “cosmic rhythm”.
In general, to put it somewhat schematically,The eastern type of thinking in relation to the surrounding world is more passive, more balanced, more independent of the external environment and focused on unity with nature.
One might suspect that it was precisely these “compensatory” qualities of the Eastern worldview in our turbulent times that became the reason for what is now observed in Europe, America, and in Lately and in our country, passion for Eastern religions, yoga and other similar beliefs, aimed not at “conquering” nature, but at mastering the secrets of man himself.
North South. Along with the East-West problem, the North-South problem has recently become increasingly important. The “South” refers to the social and cultural world of the peoples of the subtropical zone - the African continent, Oceania, Melanesia. The peoples living to the north form the sociocultural world of the “North”, in which dance plays a leading role. Thus, improvisational jazz has become widespread in our time (starting with the “hot five” of L. Armstrong, who introduced traditions born in Negro music into the culture of the North).
The art of the South left its mark on the work of such outstanding European artists of the late 19th and early 20th centuries as Gauguin, Vlaminck, Matisse, Picasso, Dali, etc. African culture was one of the sources of expressionism and cubism in painting. Many European and American poets and writers (Apollinaire, Cocteau, etc.) reflected its motifs in their works. An echo of African culture is present in philosophy (for example, in the concept of “respect for life” by the 20th century European thinker A. Schweitzer, for a long time spent in the wilds of Africa). Thanks to black athletes, with their passion, refined technique and rhythm of movements, many sports spectacles became livelier, sharper and more dynamic: football, basketball, boxing, athletics, etc.
Thus, the culture of the South is already having a noticeable impact on the North. At the same time, the southern peoples are also intensively mastering the cultural achievements of the northern countries. Further strengthening of contacts between the North and South will undoubtedly contribute to the mutual enrichment of these social and cultural worlds.

Question 10. Religion as a cultural phenomenon, main features and characteristics.
Religion is a multifaceted, branched, complex social phenomenon, represented by various types and forms, the most common of which are world religions, including numerous directions, schools and organizations.
In the history of culture, the emergence of three world religions was of particular importance:Buddhism in the 6th century. BC e., Christianity in the 1st century. AD and Islam in the 7th century. n. e.These religions made significant changes to culture, entering into complex interaction with its various elements and aspects. The term “religion” is of Latin origin and means “piety, sacredness.”Religion is a special attitude, appropriate behavior and specific actions based on belief in the supernatural, something higher and sacred.In interaction with art, religion turns to the spiritual life of a person and interprets in its own way the meaning and goals of human existence. Art and religion reflect the world in the form of artistic images, comprehend the truth intuitively, through insight. They are unthinkable without an emotional attitude to the world, without developed imagery and fantasy. But art has broader possibilities for figuratively reflecting the world, going beyond the limits of religious consciousness. Primitive culture is characterized by the lack of differentiation of social consciousness, thereforein ancient times, religion, which was a complex synthesis of totemism, animism, fetishism and magic, was merged with primitive art and morality.All together they were an artistic reflection of the nature surrounding man, his work activity - hunting, farming, gathering. First, obviously, dance appeared, which was magical body movements aimed at appeasing or intimidating spirits, then music and the art of mimicry were born. Religion had a huge influence on ancient culture, one of the elements of which was ancient Greek mythology.Ancient Greek mythology had a great influence on the culture of many modern European peoples. Religion has had a great influence on literature. The three main world religions - Buddhism, Christianity and Islam - have given the world three great books - the Vedas, the Bible and the Koran.The role of religion in the history of world culture was not only that it gave humanity these sacred books - sources of wisdom, kindness and creative inspiration. Religion has had a significant influence on the fiction of different countries and peoples.
Thus, Christianity influenced Russian literature.

Question 11. The theory of cultural-historical types N.Ya. Danilevsky.
Nikolai Yakovlevich Danilevsky (November 28 (December 10) 1822 - November 7 (19), 1885) - Russian sociologist, cultural scientist, publicist and naturalist; geopolitician,one of the founders of the civilizational approach to history, the ideologist of Pan-Slavism.
In my work "Russia and Europe" Danilevsky criticized Eurocentrism, which dominated the historiography of the 19th century, and, in particular, the generally accepted scheme of dividing world history intoAntiquity, Middle Ages and Modern Times. The Russian thinker considered such a division to have only conditional meaning and completely unjustifiably “tying” phenomena of a completely different kind to the stages of European history.
The concept of “cultural-historical types”– central to Danilevsky’s teaching. According to his own definition,a distinctive cultural-historical type is formed by any tribe or family of peoples characterized by a separate language or group of languages ​​that are quite close to each other, if it is generally capable of historical development in its spiritual inclinations and has already emerged from its infancy.
Danilevsky identified Egyptian, Chinese, Assyrian-Babylonian-Phoenician, Chaldean or Ancient Semitic, Indian, Iranian, Jewish, Greek, Roman, New Semitic or Arabian and Germanic-Roman as the main cultural and historical types that have already realized themselves in history or European, as well as Mexican and Peruvian, which did not have time to complete their development.
Main attention Danilevsky paidGerman-Roman and Slavic types: considering the Slavic type more promising,he predicted that in the future the Slavs, led by Russia, would take the place of the declining German-Roman type on the historical stage. Europe, according to Danilevsky’s forecasts, should be replaced by Russia with its mission of uniting all Slavic peoples and high religious potential.The triumph of the Slavs would mean the “decline” of Europe, which is hostile towards its “young” rival – Russia.
Like the Slavophiles, Danilevsky believed that European and Slavic statehood arose from different roots. Considering the characteristics that determine the identification of types, namely large ethnographic differences,Danilevsky points out the differences between the Slavic peoples and the Germanic ones in three categories: ethnographic features (mental structure), religiosity, differences in historical education . This analysis represents a continuation and expansion of the cultural comparative analysis of the early Slavophiles.
Danilevsky’s book contains many thoughts, the value of which increased significantly at the end of the 20th century. One of them is the warning of the author of "Russia and Europe" aboutdangers of denationalization of culture.The establishment of worldwide dominance of one cultural-historical type, according to Danilevsky, would be disastrous for humanity, since the dominance of one civilization, one culture would deprive the human race of a necessary condition for improvement - the element of diversity. Believing that the greatestevil is the loss of “moral national identity”, Danilevsky decisivelycondemned the West for imposing its culture on the rest of the world.Earlier than most of his contemporaries, the Russian thinker realized that in order for the “cultural power” not to dry up in humanity in general, it is necessary to resist the power of one cultural-historical type, it is necessary to “change the direction” of cultural development.
He insisted that“the state and the people are transitory phenomena and exist only in time, and therefore, the laws of their activity can only be based on the requirement of this temporary existence of theirs”. Considering the concept of universal human progress as too abstract, Danilevsky practically excluded the possibility of direct continuity in cultural and historical development.
“The beginnings of civilization are not transmitted from one cultural-historical type to another.”Various forms of influence of one cultural type on another are not only possible, but actually inevitable.
Actually, the key point in Danilevsky’s concept, which is still included in sociology history courses all over the world, iscyclicality of the civilization process.Unlike Toynbee and Spengler, Danilevsky does not focus his attention on signs of decline or progress, but collects extensive factual material that makes it possible to see the repeatability of social orders behind many historical features.

Question 12. The doctrine of the “ideal types” of culture by M. Weber.
Maximilian Karl Emil Weber (21 April 1864 – 14 June 1920) was a German sociologist, historian and economist.
The most important place in Weber's social philosophy is occupied by the concept of ideal types.By ideal type he meant a certain ideal model of what is most useful to a person, objectively meets his interests at the moment and in general in the modern era.In this regard, moral, political, religious and other types can act as ideal types. values , as well as the resulting attitudes of behavior and activity of people, rules and norms of behavior, traditions.
Weber's ideal typescharacterize, as it were, the essence of optimal social states - states of power, interpersonal communication, individual and group consciousness.Because of this, they act as unique guidelines and criteria, based on which it is necessary to make changes in the spiritual, political and material lives of people. Since the ideal type does not completely coincide with what exists in society, and oftencontradicts the actual state of affairs(or the latter contradicts him), he, according to Weber, carries inyourself the features of a utopia.
And yet, ideal types, expressing in their interconnection a system of spiritual and other values, act as socially significant phenomena. They contribute to introducing expediency into people’s thinking and behavior and organization into public life. Weber's doctrine of ideal types serves for its followers as a kind of methodological installation for understanding social life and solving practical problems related, in particular, to the ordering and organization of elements of spiritual, material and political life.
Weber identifies twoideal typical organizations of economic behavior: traditional and purposeful. The first has existed since ancient times, the second develops in modern times. Overcoming traditionalism is associated with the development of a modern rational capitalist economy, which presupposes the existence of certain types of social relations and certain forms of social order. Analyzing these forms, Weber comes to two conclusions: idealhe describes the type of capitalism as the triumph of rationality in all spheres of economic life, and such development cannot be explained solely by economic reasons.

Question 13. Psychoanalytic concepts of culture (3. Freud, K. Jung, E. Fromm).
Of particular interest in the cultural studies of psychoanalysis is psychoanalysis and the concept of culture of the Austrian psychiatrist S. Freud.
Z. Freud replaced the problem of death,identical to it in essence, but not leading to transcendencebirth problem. The concepts of “death” and “birth” really merge together, and the task of cultural studies within the framework of classical psychoanalysis can be designated asstudy of three the most important stages, birth-death of the substantial system “man-culture”:
1. The culture of birth together with the first proto-man as a system of his phobic (phobia-fear) projections,functionally breaking down into a set of provoking prohibitions and a set of obsessive rituals of their symbolic violation.
2 . Culture turns to its productive side, acting as a program of humanization worked out over centuries, a symbolic series of “ancient temptations”, lures of individuation. It awakens ancient, archetypal experiences in the child’s memory field with the help of their symbolic real or fantasy repetition during early childhood - in fairy tales, games, dreams.
3. Culture manifests itself exclusively repressively;its purpose is to protect society from the free individual,rejected both biological and mass regulators, and means - total frustration, distillation of freedom into guilt and expectation of punishment,pushing the individual either towards the depersonalization of mass identifications, or towards auto-aggressive neuroticism, or towards outward-directed aggression, which increases cultural pressure and aggravates the situation. Culture is consolidated as the enemy of any manifestation of human individuality.S. Freud developed a universal methodology for monitoring the degree of repressiveness of culture, which he called “metapsychology”.
Carl Gustave Jung- a Swiss psychologist, philosopher and psychiatrist developed his own version of the doctrine of the unconscious, calling it “analytical psychology” and thereby wanting to emphasize both his dependence and independence in relation to Freud.Jung considered the “psychic” to be the primary substance, and the individual soul appeared to him as a luminous point in the space of the collective unconscious.If Freud saw the essence of the personal and general cultural evolutionary process in rationalization (according to the principle: where there was “it”, there will be “I”), then C. G. Jung associatedthe formation of personality with harmonious and equal “cooperation” of consciousness and the unconscious, with the interpenetration and balancing of “male” and “female” in a person, rational and emotional principles, “eastern” and “western” elements of culture, introverted and extroverted orientations, archetypal and phenomenal material of mental life.
The next step towards complicating the model of personality structure and behavior in culture was the theory E. Fromm. Erich Frommdevelops an original version of the anthropology of culture, tries to build a new humanistic religion. He places the emphasis not on revolution or medical measures, but on the tasks of cultural policy. Psychoanalysis , according to Fromm, combined with Marx's theory of alienation, class struggleallows us to reveal the true motives of human actions.
From the position of modern existential-personalist ethics, Fromm rebels against any authoritarianism, insisting that inIn each historical and individual situation, a person must make a choice himself, without shifting responsibility to anyone and without boasting about his past achievements.
The meaning of cultural historical process Fromm sees in progressive “individuation”, i.e. in the liberation of the individual from the power of the herd, instinct, tradition, but history is not a smoothly ascending, but a reciprocating process, in which periods of liberation and enlightenment alternate with periods of enslavement and darkening of the mind, i.e. "escape from freedom". Fromm derives the specificity of culture not only from human nature, determined by existential needs, but from the characteristics of the “human situation.”Reason is man's pride and his curse. The desire for spiritual synthesis is a strong side of E. Fromm’s work, but it also turns into eclecticism. But the spirit of optimism, humanism and courage in posing the most painful and confusing questions of civilization, faith in the possibility of their reasonable solution make Fromm’s cultural studies fascinating and inspiring.

Question 14. The concept of local civilizations by A. Toynbee.
Among the most representative theories of civilizations is, first of all, the theory of A. Toynbee (1889-1975), who continues the line of N.Ya. Danilevsky and O. Spengler. HisThe theory can be considered the culminating point in the development of theories of “local civilizations”.A monumental study by A. Toynbee"Comprehension of History"Many scientists recognize it as a masterpiece of historical and macrosociological science. The English cultural scientist begins his research with the statement thatthe true field of historical analysis must be societies extending, both in time and space, greater than nation-states. They are called "local civilizations".
Toynbee has more than twenty such developed “local civilizations”.These are Western, two Orthodox (Russian and Byzantine), Iranian, Arab, Indian, two Far Eastern, ancient, Syrian, Indus civilization, Chinese, Minoan, Sumerian, Hittite, Babylonian, Andean, Mexican, Yucatan, Mayan, Egyptian and others. He also points tofour civilizations that stopped in their development - Eskimo, Momadic, Ottoman and Spartan and five “stillborn”».
The formation of civilizations cannot be explained either by a racial factor, or by a geographical environment, or by a specific combination of such two conditions as the presence in a given society of a creative minority and an environment that is neither too unfavorable nor too favorable.
Toynbee believes thatthe growth of civilization consists in progressive and accumulative internal self-determinationor the self-expression of civilization, in the transition from grosser to more subtle religion and culture. Growth is a continuous “retreat and return” of the charismatic (God-chosen, destined from above to power) minority of society in the process of an always new successful response to always new challenges of the external environment.
No less than 16 of the 26 civilizations are now “dead and buried.” Of the ten surviving civilizations, “the Polynesian and the nomadic... are now on their last legs; and seven of the eight others are, to a greater or lesser extent, under threat of destruction or assimilation by our Western civilization.” Moreover, no less than six of these seven civilizations show signs of breakdown and incipient decay. What leads to decline is that the creative minority, intoxicated by victory, begins to “rest on their laurels” and worship relative values ​​as absolute. It loses its charismatic appeal and most do not imitate or follow it. Therefore, it is necessary to use force more and more to control the internal and external proletariat. During this process, the minority organizes a "universal (universal) state", similar to the Roman Empire, created by the Hellenistic dominant minority to preserve themselves and their civilization; enters into wars; becomes a slave to the inert establishment; and itself leads itself and its civilization to destruction.
According to Tylor civilizations are divided into three generations.First generation - primitive, small, unliterate cultures. There are many of them, and their age is small. They are distinguished by one-sided specialization, adapted to life in a specific geographic environment; superstructural elements - statehood, education, church, and even more so science and art - are absent from them.
In second-generation civilizations, social communication is aimed at creative individuals who lead the pioneers of a new social order.Second-generation civilizations are dynamic, they create large cities, like Rome and Babylon, and the division of labor, commodity exchange, and market develop in them. Layers of artisans, scientists, traders, and people of mental labor emerge. A complex system of ranks and statuses is being approved. Here the attributes of democracy can develop: elected bodies, legal system, self-government, separation of powers.
Civilizations of the third generation are formed on the basis of churches: from the primary Minoan the secondary Hellenic is born, and from it - on the basis of Christianity that arose in its depths - the tertiary, Western European is formed. In total, according to Toynbee, by the middle of the 20th century. Of the three dozen existing civilizations, seven or eight have survived: Christian, Islamic, Hindu, etc.

Question 15. The concept of sociocultural styles by P.A. Sorokina.
The Russian scientist Pitirim Sorokin (1889-1968) created an original concept of the sociology of culture, believing that the true cause and condition for the natural development of society or the “world of society” is the existence of a world of values, meanings of pure cultural systems.A person is a carrier of a value system, and therefore represents a certain type of culture. According to Sorokin, each type of culture is determined by the social system, the cultural systems of society and the person himself, the bearer cultural meanings. The type of culture is revealed in people's ideas about the nature of the existing real world, about the nature and essence of their needs, and about possible methods of satisfying them. These ideas characterizethree main types of culture - sensual, ideational and idealistic.The first of them, the sensory type of culture, is based on a person’s sensory perception of the world, which is the main determinant of sociocultural processes. From Sorokin’s point of view, modern sensual culture is under the sign of inevitable collapse and crisis. The ideational type of culture, according to the scientist, represents the dominance of rational thinking, and it characterizes different peoples in certain periods of their development. This type of culture, Sorokin believes, is especially characteristic of Western European countries. And finally, the third type of culture is the idealistic type, which is characterized by the dominance of intuitive forms of knowledge of the world.
If for the world modern culture characterized by a passion for science and the dominance of materialism, then in the future humanity must move away from these values ​​and create a new type of sociocultural processes based on the values ​​of religion and creative altruism.
Sorokin's work had a significant influence on the work of other cultural scientists, drawing their special attention to the study of the origins of the ancient cultures of Asia and Africa. By studying the systems of value orientations of a particular society, cultural scientists obtain data on the impact of values ​​on various aspects of sociocultural life - law and legislation, science and art, religion and church, social structure subordinate to a certain value system.
According to P. A. Sorokin, a certain type of culture must have the following characteristics: a) purely spatial or temporal proximity; b) indirect causal connections; c) direct causal connections; d) semantic unity; d) causal-semantic connection.
The typology itself should have the following characteristics: firstly, the enumeration of connections in this type usually exhausts itself; secondly, typology always has a single basis, that is, all characteristics have a single basis. However, the creation of a typology can be hampered, firstly, by the instability of the cultural characteristics themselves, and secondly, in the course of development, differences between certain cultures can be erased; thirdly, the ideological and semantic core inherent in any culture can cause unequal social consequences; fourthly, with the rapprochement of cultures within the dominant culture, certain, initially imperceptible, phenomena contrary to its spirit arise, which in the future can significantly transform the very appearance of this culture.

Question 16. O. Spengler about the relationship and fate of culture and civilization.
Book by Oswald Spengler (1880-1936) " Decline of Europe "has become one of the most significant and controversial masterpieces in the field of sociology of culture, philosophy of history and philosophy of culture. World history represents the alternation and coexistence of different cultures, each of which has a unique soul. The title of Spengler's work "The Decline of Europe" expresses its pathos. He claims , WhatThe heyday of Western European culture was over. It has entered the phase of civilization and cannot give anything original either in the field of spirit or in the field of art.. History breaks up into a number of independent, unique closed cyclical cultures that have a purely individual fate and are condemned to survivebirth, formation and decline. Philosophers usually classify as culture everything that rises above nature. Vast ethnographic material collected by researchers after Spengler testifies:Culture is actually a unique creative impulse.This is truly a realm of the spirit, which is not always inspired by the needs of practical benefit. Primitive man, if you look at him with modern eyes, did not understand his own benefit. However, following Spengler, we can say that anyculture inevitably turns into civilization. Civilization is destiny, the rock of culture. The transition from culture to civilization is a leap from creativity to sterility, from formation to ossification, from heroic “deeds” to “mechanical work.” Civilization, according to Spengler, usually ends in death, for it is the beginning of death, the exhaustion of the creative forces of culture.Culture comes from cult, it is connected with the cult of ancestors, it is impossible without sacred traditions. Civilization, as Spengler believes, is the will to world power.Culture is national, but civilization is international.Civilization is a world city. Imperialism and socialism are equally a civilization, not a culture. Philosophy and art exist only in culture; in civilization they are impossible and unnecessary. Culture is organic, but civilization is mechanical.Culture is based on inequality, on qualities. Civilization is imbued with a desire for equality; it wants to settle in numbers. Culture is aristocratic, civilization is democratic. Each cultural organism, according to Spengler, is predetermined for a certain period (about a millennium), depending on the internal life cycle. Dying, culture is reborn into civilization. The decline of Europe, above all the decline of the old European culture, the depletion of creative forces in it, the end of art, philosophies, and religions. European civilization does not end yet. She will celebrate her victories for a long time. But after civilization there will come death for the Western European cultural race. After this, culture can only blossom in other races, in other souls.

Question 17. E. Tylor and D. Fraser about primitive culture.
The main work was published in 1871 Tylor, which made his name famous - “Primitive Culture”.Culture here is only spiritual culture: knowledge, art, beliefs, legal and moral normsetc. In both earlier and later works, Tylor interpreted culture more broadly, including at least technology.Tylor understood that the evolution of culture is also the result of historical influences and borrowings. Although Tylor was aware thatCultural development does not occur in such a straightforward manner.Yet for Tylor, as an evolutionist, the most important thing was to show the cultural unity and uniform development of mankind, and in pursuing this main goal, he did not often look around. Much attention is paid in "Primitive Culture" to the theoretical justification of progress in the cultural history of mankind. Tylor resolved the question of the relationship between progress and regression in human history quite unambiguously.“Judging by the data of history, the initial phenomenon is progress, while degeneration can only follow it: after all, it is necessary to first achieve a certain level of culture in order to be able to lose it.”
Taylor introduced the concept into ethnography"primitive animism"Tylor illustrated his animistic theory of the origin of religion with impressive comparative ethnographic and historical material designed to show the spread of animism to globe and its evolution over time.In our time, the prevailing opinion is that the original layer of religious beliefs was most likely totemism,in which people, in the only form possible for them at that time, realized their inextricable, as if family connection with their immediate natural environment.
Fraser was the first to suggest the presenceconnections between myths and rituals. His research was based onthree principles are laid down: evolutionary development, the mental unity of humanity and the fundamental opposition of reason to prejudice. First job " Totemism "was published in 1887. Frazer’s most famous work, which brought him worldwide fame, is “ golden branch "("The Golden Bough") - was first published in 1890. This book collects and systematizes a huge amount of factual material on primitive magic, mythology, totemism, animism, taboo, religious beliefs, folklore and customs different nations. This book draws parallels between ancient cults and early Christianity. The work was expanded to 12 volumes over the next 25 years.
D. D. Fraser derived three stages spiritual development humanity: magic, religion and science.According to Frazer, magic precedes religion and almost completely disappears with its appearance. At the “magical” stage of development, people believed in their ability to change the world around them in a magical way. Later, people lost faith in this and the dominant idea became that the world obeys the gods and supernatural forces. At the third stage, a person abandons this idea. The prevailing belief is that the world is not governed by God, but by the “laws of nature,” which, once known, can be controlled.

Question 18. Culturogenesis, the origins of culture and its early forms.
Culturogenesis is the process of the emergence and formation of the culture of any people and nationality in general and the emergence of culture as such in primitive society.
The culture of primitive society covers the longest and perhaps least studied period of world culture. Primitive, or archaic culture dates back more than 30 thousand years.Primitive culture is usually understood as an archaic culture that characterizes the beliefs, traditions and art of peoples who lived more than 30 thousand years ago and died long ago, or those peoples (for example, tribes lost in the jungle) that exist today, preserving the primitive image intact life. Thus, primitive culture covers mainly the art of the Stone Age.
The first material evidence of human existence is tools. Thus, the manufacture of tools, the emergence of burials, the appearance of articulate speech, the transition to tribal community, the creation of objects of art were major milestones on the path to the formation of human culture.
Based on data from archaeology, ethnography and linguistics, we can identify basic features of primitive culture.
Syncretism primitive culturemeans the indistinction of various spheres and cultural phenomena in this era.The following manifestations of syncretism can be distinguished:
Syncretism of society and nature . The clan and community were perceived as identical to the cosmos and repeated the structure of the universe.Primitive man perceived himself as an organic part of nature, feeling his kinship with all living beings.This feature, for example, manifests itself in the following form primitive beliefs How totemism.
Syncretism of personal and public. Individual sensation in primitive man existed at the level of instinct, biological feeling. But on a spiritual level, he identified himself not with himself, but with the community to which he belonged; found himself in the feeling of belonging to something non-individual. Man initially became precisely man, displacing his individuality. Actuallyhis human essence was expressed in the collective “we” of the family. It means that primitive always explained and assessed himself through the eyes of the community. Unity with the life of society led to the fact thatthe worst punishment, after the death penalty, was exile.For example, in many archaic tribes, people are convinced that the hunt will not be successful if the wife, who remains in the village, cheats on her husband, who has gone hunting.
Syncretism of various spheres of culture . Art, religion, medicine, productive activities, and obtaining food were not isolated from each other.Objects of art (masks, drawings, figurines, musical instruments, etc.) have long been used mainly as magical means. Treatment was carried out using magical rituals. For example, hunting. To modern man For hunting success, only objective conditions are needed. For the ancients, the art of throwing a spear and silently making their way through the forest, the desired wind direction and other objective conditions were also of great importance. But all this is clearly not enough to achieve success, because the main conditions were magical actions.The hunt began with magical actions over the hunter. At the very moment of the hunt, certain rituals and prohibitions were also observed, which were aimed at establishing a mystical connection between man and animal
etc.................

Until recently, culture was studied, including in higher education, within the framework of long-established scientific disciplines: philosophy, history, linguistics, ethnography, art history, archeology. Traditional sciences studied individual species and elements of culture: language, law, morality, art. However, it gradually became clear that this approach is narrow and does not provide a holistic view of culture as a complex, multifaceted phenomenon, represented in all spheres of public life. In the middle of the 20th century, the formation of cultural studies began as a general, integral science of culture, as an independent scientific discipline.Cultural studies gradually acquires its status, subject, and corresponding research methods. The term “cultural studies” itself began to be used from the beginning XIX century.At the beginning of the 20th century, an American scientist L. White (1900-1975)introduced the term “culturology” into broad scientific circulation and substantiated the need for a general theory of culture.

At present, cultural studies has not yet completely separated from philosophy and specific sciences. It is formed on the basis of these sciences and takes a lot from them: categorical apparatus, principles, methodology and research techniques.

At the present stage cultural studies appears as a science that studies culture as a complex system that is in constant development and in relationships with other systems and society as a whole.

Cultural studies includes two main sections:

Theoretical cultural studies;
- empirical and applied cultural studies.

TO theoretical level includes all types of cultural knowledge that ensure the development and construction of a scientific theory of culture, i.e. a logically organized system of knowledge about culture, its essence, patterns of functioning and development. In the system of theoretical knowledge of culture, a distinction is made between general and specific theories of culture. To the main problems general theory of culture These include problems of its essence, structure, functions, genesis, historical dynamics, typology. Particular theories of culture study individual spheres, types and aspects of culture. Within their framework, economic, political, legal, moral, aesthetic, religious culture, everyday culture, service sectors, management, personal culture, communication culture, cultural management are studied.

TO empirical level includes those forms of scientific knowledge of culture, thanks to which the accumulation, recording, processing and systematization of material about specific cultures and their components is ensured. The empirical level provides the most specific, detailed and diverse knowledge about culture.

Applied cultural studies uses fundamental knowledge about culture to solve practical problems, as well as to predict, design and regulate cultural processes.

The theoretical and empirical levels of cultural research are organically interconnected and presuppose each other. Empirical research provides material for theoretical generalizations and is a criterion for testing the truth and effectiveness of a theoretical concept. The theory logically combines empirical data and gives them a semantic explanation and interpretation.

In addition, theory guides empirical research. Whether the researcher is aware of it or not, it is the theory, the theoretical concept, the idea that provides guidance on what to study, how to study and why to study.

2) The Eastern Mediterranean is the birthplace of three world religions.

In the world historical process, different religions play different roles.

The most noticeable, as indicated, is performed by those that are accepted

be called world-class by the number of believers: Buddhism, Christianity, Islam.

It was these religions that showed maximum adaptability to changing

public relations and went far beyond the territory where

originally arose. World religions have never remained unchanged, but

transformed in accordance with the course of history. Origin of the world

religions is no different from the origin of religions in general. They became world-class

immediately, but only during the historical process.

Buddhism arose in India in the 6th-5th centuries. BC e. under domination

slave relations. Early Buddhism is characterized by the desire

indicate a way out of the difficult situation of people in recognition of their spiritual equality,

supposedly giving the opportunity to achieve salvation for everyone, regardless of their

social status. Having developed at the beginning as one of the many sects

(or philosophical schools) of Northern India, Buddhism then spread widely

throughout India, and later in the countries of South, Southeast and Central Asia. He

showed great plasticity, incorporating religious beliefs and cultures

different countries.

Christianity originated initially in the Eastern Mediterranean in

Jewish ethnic environment as one of the sects of Judaism, later, although not immediately,

but decisively broke with this maternal basis, entering into

contradiction. Almost driven out of its homeland, Christianity discovered

extraordinary power of expansion. In the 1st century n. e. it spread among the slaves -

freedmen, poor or disenfranchised, conquered or dispersed by Rome

peoples And then, in the course of the historical process, it penetrated into all zones of the earth.

ball.

This was greatly facilitated by Christianity’s rejection of ethnic,

social restrictions and sacrifices. Basic ideas of Christianity -

redemptive mission of Jesus Christ, second coming of Christ, Last Judgment,

heavenly reward, establishment of the kingdom of heaven.

Christianity has three directions: Catholicism, Orthodoxy and Protestantism,

which, in turn, includes movements - Lutheranism, Calvinism,

Anglicanism.

Islam arose in Arabia in the 7th century. n. e. in other social conditions. In contrast

from Buddhism and Christianity it did not arise spontaneously, but as a result

purposeful actions of the feudal Arab nobility interested in

joining forces to carry out territorial conquests and trade

expansion. Islam spread widely among many countries in Asia and Africa.

The historical fate of all three world religions, despite all their differences

historical environment has something in common. Originating initially in one

certain ethnic cultural environment, each of these three religions in

subsequently spread widely across different countries, finding themselves in different conditions,

adapting flexibly and influencing them at the same time. That alone

this circumstance speaks volumes from the point of view of the interaction of these religions

and the arts of various peoples.

3) The Bible as a cultural monument.

The Bible is a collection of works of ancient folklore.

The Bible is rightfully considered the Book of Books. She consistently takes 1st place in

world in terms of venerability and readability, total circulation, frequency of publication and

translations into other languages. About its significance for Christian believers in general

there is no need to talk. The Bible is a symbol and banner of culture of almost two

millennia. The Bible is the life of entire nations and states, cities and villages,

communities and families, generations and individuals. According to the Bible they are born and

die, marry and are given in marriage, educate and punish, judge and rule,

learn and create. They swear on the Bible as the most sacred thing that ever exists.

can be found on the ground. The Bible has long and irrevocably entered flesh and blood

everyday life and colloquial. Biblicalisms with which our

speech and which have long turned into sayings, many do not even notice (voice

crying in the wilderness, scapegoat, he who does not work does not eat, bury

talent into the ground, Thomas the Unbeliever, etc.).

There is hardly any other monument in the history of writing about which

They wrote so much, they would argue so much, like the Bible. And they were hardly given alone

there are so many different assessments of the book - from religious admiration for it to

humorous retelling of biblical stories (Leo Taxil “Entertaining

Bible"). In religious literature we also find many works

The Bible is a collection of several dozen books of religious, historical,

legislative, prophetic and literary-artistic content. IN

It is divided into two parts: the Old Testament and the New Testament. Christians recognize

both of these parts are sacred, but the New

covenant. Only the Old Testament belongs to the history of the ancient East, the most

volumetric parts of the Bible.

The Old Testament is divided into three large sections: 1 – Pentateuch; 2 –

Prophets; 3 – Scriptures. The five books of the first section are Genesis, Exodus,

Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy. The second section includes the books “Jesus

Joshua", "Judges", two "Books of Samuel", two "Books of Kings", stories about

twelve "minor prophets". The third section includes “Psalms”, “Proverbs”

Solomon", "Job", "Song of Songs", "Ruth", "Lamentations of Jeremiah", "Book

preacher" ("Ecclesiastes"), "Esther", the books of the prophets Daniel, Ezra, Nehemiah,

two books of Chronicles.

4) Cultural ideals of the Enlightenment.

The Age of European Enlightenment occupies an exceptional place in history

human civilization thanks to its global scale and long-term

meaning. The chronological framework of this era is determined by the large German

scientist V. Windelband as a century between the Glorious Revolution in England and

The Great French Revolution of 1789. Socio-economic prerequisites

culture of the Enlightenment are the crisis of feudalism and the beginning of three

centuries earlier, the development of capitalist relations in Western Europe.

The defining feature of the culture of the Enlightenment is the idea of ​​progress,

which is closely intertwined with the concept of “mind”. Here you need to take into account

change in the understanding of “mind” - until the middle of the 17th century. mind, perceived

philosophers as “part of the soul”, after Locke it becomes more of a process

thinking, simultaneously acquiring the function of activity. Closely related to

science, reason turns into its main tool. It was during the Age of Enlightenment

the concept of “faith in progress through reason” was formulated, which determined

development of European civilization for a long time and brought a number of destructive

consequences for humanity.

The culture of educators is characterized by an absolutization of the importance of education in

formation of a new person. It seemed to the figures of that era that it was enough

Short description

Until recently, culture was studied, including in higher education, within the framework of long-established scientific disciplines: philosophy, history, linguistics, ethnography, art history, archeology. Traditional sciences studied certain types and elements of culture: language, law, morality, art. However, it gradually became clear that this approach is narrow and does not provide a holistic view of culture as a complex, multifaceted phenomenon, represented in all spheres of public life. In the middle of the 20th century, the formation of cultural studies began as a general, integral science of culture, as an independent scientific discipline. Culturology is gradually acquiring its status, its subject, and its corresponding research methods. The term “cultural studies” itself began to be used since the beginning of the 19th century. At the beginning of the 20th century, the American scientist L. White (1900-1975) introduced the term “cultural studies” into broad scientific circulation and substantiated the need for a general theory of culture.

Cultural studies(lat. culture

Culturology sections:

2. Culture as a subject of interdisciplinary research (connection of cultural studies with other sciences).

Important place in the system of cultural sciences occupies philosophy of culture. For a long time, general theoretical problems of culture were developed within the framework of the philosophy of culture. Now, as already noted, cultural studies is acquiring an independent status, but still maintains close theoretical relationships with the philosophy of culture. The philosophy of culture acts as an organic component of philosophy, as one of its relatively autonomous theories. Philosophy of culture represents the highest, most abstract level of cultural research. She acts as methodological basis of cultural studies.

At the same time, philosophy of culture and cultural studies differ in the attitudes with which they approach the study of culture. Culturology considers culture in its internal connections, as an independent system, and philosophy of culture analyzes culture in accordance with the subject and functions of philosophy in the context of philosophical categories - such as being, consciousness, cognition, personality, society.

Philosophy is the science of the most general principles and laws of existence and knowledge. She strives to develop a systematic and holistic view of the world. And the philosophy of culture seeks to show what place does culture occupy in this general picture of existence?. Philosophy tries to answer the question of whether the world is knowable, what are the possibilities and boundaries of knowledge, its goals, levels, forms and methods. Philosophy of culture, in turn, seeks to determine originality and methodology of cognition of cultural phenomena. An important branch of philosophy is dialectics as a doctrine of universal connection and development. The philosophy of culture reveals how dialectical principles and laws manifest themselves in the cultural and historical process. It defines the concepts of cultural progress, regression, continuity, heritage. Thus, the philosophy of culture considers culture in a system of philosophical categories and this is its difference from cultural studies.

In the system of knowledge about culture, a special place occupies sociology of culture. The importance of this science has recently increased. The specificity of the sociological approach to society lies in the study of it as an integral system. All social sciences, within the framework of their subject, try to present the sphere and aspect of social life they study as a whole. Sociology (and this is its specificity) studies society as a whole in two directions:

1. Clarifies the connections of coordination and subordination between the components of the social system.
2. Analyzes the place and role of individual components of the system in the life of society, their structural and functional status in the social system.

In accordance with the specifics of the sociological approach sociology of culture

Explores the place of individual elements and spheres of culture, as well as culture as a whole in the social system;
- studies culture as a social phenomenon generated by the needs of society;
- considers culture as a system of norms, values, ways of life of individuals and various communities, as well as social institutions that develop and disseminate these values.

Like sociology in general, sociology of culture is multi-level. The difference between its levels lies in the degree of historical commonality of the analyzed phenomena. Within the sociology of culture, there are three levels:

1. General sociological theory of culture, which studies the place and role of culture in the life of society.
2. Particular sociological theories of culture (sociology of religion, sociology of education, sociology of art, etc.). They are exploring the place and role of individual spheres and types of culture in the life of society, their social functions . For example, the sociology of art studies the relationship between art and the viewer, the influence of social conditions on the process of creation and functioning of works of art, problems of perception and artistic taste. In addition, cultural problems are considered in the form of certain aspects in industrial sociology, urban sociology, rural sociology, youth sociology, family sociology and other particular sociological theories.
3. Specific sociological studies of culture. They collect and analyze specific facts of cultural life.

Unlike the philosophy of culture, the sociology of culture is distinguished by its practical orientation. The sociology of culture is directly related to solving practical problems. It is designed to explore ways and means of managing cultural processes, to develop recommendations regarding the comprehensive development of culture.

Close connections exist between cultural studies and cultural history. Cultural history studies spatially - temporary modifications of the world cultural and historical process, the development of the culture of individual countries, regions, peoples. Stage - regional type of culture, historical era, cultural space, cultural time, cultural picture of the world - the key concepts of historical and cultural research. The history of culture is at the intersection of historical science, on the one hand, and cultural studies, on the other.

A fruitful approach to the analysis of cultural history was proposed by French historians who united around the journal Annals of Economic and Social History. It was founded in 1929 M. Blok(1876 - 1944). The research of the Annales school allowed us to look at the problem of history as a relationship different cultures. It should be dialogue of cultures, when one culture asks questions and receives answers from another culture through a historian striving for extreme objectivity, paying attention to texts, the vocabulary of culture, tools, maps taken from ancient fields, and folklore. All this was done in the works of M. Blok. In his classic work “Feudal Society,” he uses not only legal and economic documents, but also literary works, epic, heroic legends.

Thus, The Annales school developed a multifactorial approach to the analysis of historical phenomena. Representatives of this trend believed that social facts should be studied in a comprehensive manner. Main role a combination of social and cultural analysis is at play here. The ideas of this school were picked up by historians from many countries, and today this direction is considered the most productive. These methodological principles are also used by Russian scientists in their research. These are works on medieval Western culture AND I. Gurevich, according to the European Renaissance L.M. Batkina, ancient and Byzantine culture S.S. Averintseva, historical cultural studies MM. Bakhtin.

Adaptive function of culture

The most important function of culture is adaptive, allowing a person to adapt to the environment, which is a necessary condition for the survival of all living organisms in the process of evolution. But man does not adapt to changes in the environment, as other living organisms do, but changes his environment in accordance with his needs, adapting it to himself. This creates a new one, artificial world- culture. In other words, a person cannot lead a natural lifestyle like animals, and in order to survive, he creates an artificial habitat around himself.

Of course, a person cannot achieve complete independence from the environment, since each specific form of culture is largely determined by natural conditions. The type of economy, housing, traditions and customs, beliefs, rites and rituals of peoples will depend on natural and climatic conditions.

As culture develops, humanity provides itself with increasing security and comfort. But, having gotten rid of previous fears and dangers, a person comes face to face with new threats that he creates for himself. So, today there is no need to be afraid of such formidable diseases of the past as the plague or smallpox, but new diseases have appeared, such as AIDS, for which no cure has yet been found, and in military laboratories other deadly diseases created by man himself are waiting in the wings. Thus, a person needs to protect himself not only from the natural environment, but also from the world of culture.

The adaptive function has a dual nature. On the one hand, it manifests itself in the creation necessary for a person means of protection from the outside world. These are all the products of culture that help the primitive, and later civilized man survive and feel confident in the world: the use of fire, the creation of productive agriculture, medicine, etc. These are the so-called specific means of protection person. These include not only objects of material culture, but also those specific means that a person develops to adapt to life in society, keeping him from mutual destruction and death. These are government structures, laws, customs, traditions, moral standards, etc.

There are also non-specific means of protection human being is culture as a whole, existing as a picture of the world. Understanding culture as “second nature”, the world created by man, we emphasize most important property human activity and culture - the ability to “double” the world, highlighting sensory-objective and ideal-figurative layers in it. Culture as a picture of the world makes it possible to see the world not as a continuous flow of information, but to receive this information in an ordered and structured form.

Significative function

Culture as a picture of the world is connected with another function of culture - iconic, significative, those. naming function. The formation of names and titles is very important for a person. If some object or phenomenon is not named, does not have a name, is not designated by a person, they do not exist for us. By assigning a name to an object or phenomenon and assessing it, for example, as threatening, we simultaneously receive the necessary information that allows us to act to avoid danger. After all, when labeling a threat, we not only give it a name, but enter it into the hierarchy of existence.

Thus, culture as an image and picture of the world represents an orderly and balanced scheme of the cosmos, serving as the prism through which a person looks at the world. This scheme is expressed through philosophy, literature, mythology, ideology, as well as in the actions of people. Its content is understood fragmentarily by the majority of members of the ethnos; it is fully accessible only to a small number of cultural specialists. The basis of this picture of the world are ethnic constants - the values ​​and norms of ethnic culture.

2.3 Cognitive (epistemological) function.

An important function of culture is also cognitive (epistemological) function. Culture concentrates the experience and skills of many generations of people, accumulates rich knowledge about the world and thereby creates favorable opportunities for its further knowledge and development. This function manifests itself most fully in science and scientific knowledge. Of course, knowledge is acquired in other areas of culture, but there it is a by-product of human activity, and in science, obtaining objective knowledge about the world is the main goal.

Science for a long time remained a phenomenon only of European civilization and culture, while other peoples chose a different path to understanding the world around them. Thus, in the East, the most complex systems of philosophy and psychotechnics were created for this purpose. They seriously discussed such ways of understanding the world, unusual for rational European minds, as telepathy (transfer of thoughts at a distance), telekinesis (the ability to influence objects with thought), clairvoyance (the ability to predict the future) and much more.

Cognitive function is inextricably linked with function of accumulation and storage of information, since knowledge and information are the results of cognition of the world. A natural condition for the life of both an individual and society as a whole is the need for information on a variety of issues. We must remember our past, be able to evaluate it correctly, and admit our mistakes. A person must know who he is, where he comes from and where he is going. In connection with these issues, the information function of culture was formed.

Culture has become specific human form production, accumulation, storage and transmission of knowledge. Unlike animals, in which the transfer of information from one generation to another occurs mainly genetically, in humans information is encoded in a variety of sign systems. Thanks to this, information is separated from the individuals who obtained it and acquires an independent existence without disappearing after their death. It becomes public property, and each new generation does not begin its life path from scratch, but actively masters the experience accumulated by previous generations.

Information is transmitted not only in a temporal aspect - from generation to generation, but also within one generation - as a process of exchange of experience between societies, social groups, and individuals. Exist reflective(conscious) and unreflective(unconscious) forms of translation of cultural experience. Reflexive forms include targeted training and education. Non-reflective - spontaneous assimilation of cultural norms, which occurs unconsciously, through direct imitation of others.

Sociocultural experience is transmitted through the action of such social institutions as the family, the education system, mass media, and cultural institutions. Over time, the production and accumulation of knowledge proceeds at an ever faster pace. IN modern era Information doubles every 15 years. Thus, culture, performing an information function, makes possible the process of cultural continuity, the connection of peoples, eras and generations.

Axiological function

People's value orientations are related to axiological (evaluative) function their cultures. Since the degree of significance of objects and phenomena of the surrounding world for the life of people is not the same, a certain system of values ​​of a society or social group is formed. Values ​​imply the choice of a particular object, state, need, goal in accordance with the criterion of their usefulness for human life. Values ​​serve as the foundation of culture, helping society and each person to separate good from bad, truth from error, fair from unfair, permissible from forbidden -

The selection of values ​​occurs in the process practical activities. As experience accumulates, values ​​form and disappear, are revised and enriched. Different peoples have different concepts of good and evil; it is the values ​​that provide the specificity of each culture. What is important to one culture may not be important to another. Each nation develops its own pyramid, hierarchy of values, although the set of values ​​itself is of a universal human nature. The core values ​​can be roughly divided (classified) into:

* vital- life, health, safety, welfare, strength, etc.;

* social- position in society, status, work, profession, personal independence, family, gender equality;

* political- freedom of speech, civil liberties, legality, civil peace;

* moral- goodness, goodness, love, drrkba, duty, honor, selflessness, decency, loyalty, justice, respect for elders, love for children;

* aesthetic- beauty, ideal, style, harmony, fashion, originality.

Many of the values ​​mentioned above may not be present in a given culture. In addition, each culture represents certain values ​​in its own way. Thus, the ideals of beauty differ quite greatly among different nations. For example, according to the ideal of beauty in medieval China, aristocratic women were expected to have tiny legs. The desired was achieved through painful foot-binding procedures, subjecting girls from the age of five to it, as a result of which these women became crippled.

With the help of values, people navigate the world, society, determine their actions, their attitude towards others. Most people believe that they strive for goodness, truth, love. Of course, what seems good to some people may be evil to others. And this again indicates the cultural specificity of values. All our lives we act as “evaluators” of the world around us, relying on our own ideas about good and evil.

Professional culture

Professional culture characterizes the level and quality vocational training. The state of society is certainly not influenced by the quality of professional culture. Since this requires appropriate educational establishments providing qualified education, institutes and laboratories, studios and workshops, etc. therefore, a high level of professional culture is an indicator of a developed society.

In principle, everyone who is engaged in paid work, whether in the public or private sector, should have it. Professional culture includes a set of special theoretical knowledge and practical skills related to specific type labor. The degree of proficiency in professional culture is expressed in qualifications and qualification ranks. It is necessary to distinguish between a) formal qualifications, which are certified by a certificate (diploma, certificate, certificate) of completion of a certain educational institution and implies a system of theoretical knowledge necessary for a given profession, b) real qualifications obtained after several years of work in this field, including a set of practical skills and abilities, i.e. professional experience

Eastern type of culture

Eastern culture refers primarily to its two varieties: Indian culture and Chinese culture.

Indian culture- this is, first of all, Vedic culture. It is based on Vedic literature, on ancient texts - the Vedas, written in Sanskrit and dating back to the 5th millennium BC. Ancient period Indian culture is called Vedic. The Vedas contain people's first ideas about reality. The Vedas (from the Sanskrit word “veda” - “knowledge”) is knowledge about man and the world, about good and evil, an idea about the soul. Here for the first time it is said about the law of karma, i.e. about the dependence of a person’s life on his actions. The Vedas convey knowledge about systems for achieving perfection and liberating a person from various kinds of addictions. The Vedas also give subject symbols (such as a circle, a swastika - the sign of infinity, the wheel of Buddha and other symbols of perpetual motion).

Vedic literature is the oldest in human history. The most ancient of the books - the Vedas - is the Rig Veda. Her hymns anticipate the Bible. The human world, according to the Vedas, was subordinated to a strict cosmic hierarchy. Since ancient times, there was a division into varnas (colors and categories). Brahmins are sages, interpreters of the Vedas, their symbolic color is white, the color of goodness and holiness. Kshatriyas are warriors and rulers, their symbol is the color red - power and passions. Vaishyas are farmers, cattle breeders, their symbol is yellow, the color of moderation and hard work. Shudras are servants, the color black is ignorance. The cycle of birth, life and death corresponded to natural cycles.

According to the Vedas, the cycle of births, lives and deaths of people corresponds to natural cycles. The idea of ​​the eternal cycle of life and the idea of ​​an eternal spiritual Source are the foundation of ideas about the eternal immortal soul. According to these ideas, the soul continues to live after the death of the body, moving into the body of the born creature. But what body? This depends on many circumstances and is consistent with the so-called. the law of karma. It states that the sum of a person's good and evil deeds (i.e. his karma), received in previous lives, determines the form of subsequent births. You can be born a slave, an animal, a worm, a roadside stone. The cause of all your suffering is in you. This idea of ​​karma is the most important; it is a powerful ethical incentive that determines a benevolent attitude towards nature (since in every natural creation one can see a reborn person, perhaps a recently deceased relative or friend).

Vedic books provide methods and means of liberation from the law of karma. This is a moral and ascetic life, hermitage, yoga(the word is translated as connection, connection). Yoga is given great importance. It forms a system of self-preparation of a person for a special spiritual life and getting rid of addictions.

Eastern culture is largely based on mythology. Thus, ancient Egyptian sculpture produces a religious and mystical impression. The greatness of the pyramids and the mysterious sphinxes inspired the idea of ​​the insignificance of man before the powerful forces of the universe. Ancient Egypt peculiar to the cult of the pharaoh and the cult of the dead, immortalized in mummies and pyramids. Indian culture was not as religious as Egyptian culture; it was more drawn to the world of the living, and therefore paid a lot of attention to the development of moral requirements for man, the formation of moral law (dharma) and the search for ways of human unity.

Indian culture, more than other eastern cultures, is focused on self-development person and society, concentration of efforts to develop internal and external culture. God's intervention is only the completion of human activity aimed at improving the world. In Eastern culture, prosperity does not come from outside, but is prepared by the entire cultural work of humanity.

Apparently, here lie the origins of inner depth and psychologism oriental culture compared to the West. It is focused on self-comprehension, in-depth, internal, immanent religiosity, intuitionism and irrationalism. This is generally the difference between Eastern culture and Western culture.

This specificity is reflected in modern manifestations of Indian culture. We are also deeply interested in Tibetan medicine; and methods of healing modernized to European thinking (“Raja Yoga”, Hatha Yoga, Transcendental Meditation), and the activities of the Krishna Consciousness Society, and the philosophy of life under Rajnesha and others. Vl. Soloviev, in his work “Historical Affairs of Philosophy,” spoke about the “living fruits” of Indian philosophy, which continues to nourish world human thought with life-giving juices. No philosophy has had such an influence on Western culture as Indian. Russian cultural figures N. Roerich also became its followers and D. Andreev, and German thinkers and writers - R. Steiner and G. Hesse, and many, many others G. Hesse, the author of world-famous novels. Steppenwolf” and “The Glass Bead Game”, in the poem “Siddhardha” expressed his great love to Indian culture.

The spiritual potential of ancient Indian culture and its moral values ​​have remained almost unchanged to this day. India gave the world the culture of Buddhism and excellent literature. Love for man, admiration for nature, the ideals of tolerance, forgiveness and understanding are reflected in the teachings of the great humanist of our time - M. Gandhi. The beauty and uniqueness of Indian culture are embodied in the works of Russian and European artists and thinkers.

Ancient Chineseculture- another important culture of the East. Comparing it with Indian shows how different ethnic groups are capable of creating qualitatively different cultures. The Chinese ethnos has given rise to a socially oriented culture, in contrast to the Indian one, which is focused mainly on the inner world of man and his capabilities.

The same role that Buddhism and Hinduism played in Indian culture was played in Chinese culture. Confucianism. This religious and philosophical system was founded by one of the most famous sages of antiquity - Confucius. His name comes from the Latin transcription of the Chinese Kunzi - "teacher Kun". Confucius lived from 551-479 BC. and created a doctrine that was the ideological basis of the Chinese empire for more than 2 thousand years. Confucius continued the traditions of Chinese culture, laid down in the 2nd millennium BC. Special attention he devoted not to issues of cosmology, but to practical philosophy: what a person needs to do in order to live with all people in peace and harmony.

The main content of Confucius's books is related to moral teachings and justification of ethical standards. Within the framework of Confucianism, a system of state-political and individual ethics, norms of regulation and ritual life was developed. The patriarchal nature of Confucian culture is reflected in its requirement of filial piety (xiao), which extended to both family and state relations. Confucius wrote: “It rarely happens that a person full of filial piety and obedience to elders would like to annoy the ruler. And it does not happen at all that someone who does not like to annoy the ruler would have a tendency to rebellion. A noble husband takes care of the root; when it is laid root, then the path is born, filial piety and obedience to elders - isn’t it in these that humanity is rooted?”

In addition to Confucianism, a special role was played in ancient Chinese culture Taoism, whose ideals were in many ways similar to the moral quests of the Vedic culture of India.

One of the features of Chinese culture was excessive bureaucratization. Since ancient times (at least since the 18th century BC), a bureaucratic system of government has developed in China. Even then, a layer of educated bureaucrats emerged, concentrating state power in their hands and regulating the entire life of ancient Chinese society with the help of moral, legal norms and principles of etiquette.

The bureaucracy monopolized the education system, since literacy provided higher social status and advancement on the government ladder. Lengthy training and a system of difficult exams had no equal in ancient world. Chinese culture gave the world gunpowder and paper, unique martial arts systems and unique philosophical doctrines.

Eastern culture contains such a wealth of human thought that leaves few people indifferent, both in the East and in the West. The peculiarity of Eastern culture is especially pronounced when compared with Western culture.

Western type of culture

The European (Western) cultural and historical tradition, correlated with the East, shows us, first of all, a unique sequence of eras (stages) in the development of civilization, which arose in the Aegean Sea basin as a result of the collapse and on the basis of the Kritomycenaean culture. This sequence of historical eras is as follows:

classical Hellenic culture;

Hellenistic-Roman stage;

Romano-Germanic culture of the Christian Middle Ages;

new European culture.

The last three stages can be considered (against the background of the ancient Greek classics) as unique variable forms of Westernization of the traditional culture of the Romans and Germans, and then of the entire Romano-Germanic Europe. In Hegel and Toynbee, the first two and two second eras are combined into independent civilizational-historical formations (ancient and western worlds). For Marx, European antiquity and the Middle Ages, although they form a parallel to the societies of the East, based on the Asian mode of production, still constitute with them a single pre-capitalist stage of historical development, followed by the sharply opposed universal capitalist era of modern times.

One way or another, but at the origins and in the very foundations of all societies and cultures of the European (Western) civilizational tradition there is something unimaginable from a normal (traditional or Eastern) point of view: an economy, society, state, culture, lying entirely on the shoulders of one single person, independently , at his own peril and risk, carrying out his “works and days”, his activities and communication as a person. Man-society, man-state, man-worldview, a truly integral personality, free and independent in thoughts, words and actions, Odysseus (as M.K. Petrov says). And, perhaps, it is not at all by chance that the paths traversed by European spiritual culture begin and end with Homer’s “Odyssey” and James Joyce’s “Ulysses”: together with the Odysseys, the market and democracy, civil society and a free personal worldview entered and strengthened in European culture .

The most important inventions of European culture at the linguistic and symbolic level of its representation in the spiritual and ideological sphere are philosophy in the above-mentioned meaning of this concept and science as a specific form of cognitive activity, characteristic of the last era of the existence of Western cultural tradition. The line between the “Sophian” and “scientific” forms of culture in general (as well as in relation to the specifics of the corresponding ideological forms) is so significant that very often only two major periods are distinguished in the movement of European culture, taken in its relative independence from the socio-economic and national culture. ethnic areas of manifestation of civilizational and historical life. Namely:

from the middle of the 1st millennium BC n until the 17th century;

period XVII-XX centuries. (two main terms are used to designate it: the period of modern European culture or the period of technogenic civilization).

Taking into account other criteria, and, above all, the representation of Christianity in European culture, this simple periodization becomes more complicated: usually in this case they speak (meaning the first large period) about the eras of ancient, Greek and Roman culture, about the culture of the Middle Ages and about the culture Renaissance (from this last era, some authors begin the countdown of new European culture). Within the second major period, the culture of the Enlightenment, Romanticism and the classical German cultural era are often distinguished late XVIII- beginning of the 19th century This initial period of new European culture coincides chronologically with the era of bourgeois and national revolutions in Western Europe and America. It is also the time of approval of the economic formation of society (capitalism).

Second half of the 19th - 20th centuries. are characterized differently. But it is absolutely obvious that over these one and a half centuries the situation in the culture and social spheres of Western technogenic civilization - despite the constant flow of updates and a number of social and national-state cataclysms - has stabilized. Including in relation to the ever wider coverage of the value orientations of Western civilization of non-European cultures. As a result, modern Western culture is assessed either in line with Spengler’s mythology of “The Decline of Europe” or in optimistic and at the same time clearly Eurocentric tones.

Cultural studies as a science. Characteristics of the main sections.

Cultural studies(lat. culture- cultivation, agriculture, education, veneration;

Culturology as a science began to take shape in the 18th century. It was mainly formed at the end of the 19th century. The name of the science was finally established by the American scientist White in 1947.
Culturology studies culture in all its forms and manifestations, interrelation and interaction various forms culture, functions and laws of its development, interaction of man, culture and society.

Culturology sections:

social - studies the functional mechanisms of the sociocultural organization of people's lives.
- Humanitarian - concentrates on the study of the forms and processes of self-knowledge of culture, embodied in various “texts” of culture.”
- Fundamental - develops a categorical apparatus and research methods, studies culture with the aim of theoretical and historical knowledge of this subject.
- Applied - uses fundamental knowledge about culture to solve practical problems, as well as to predict, design and regulate cultural processes.

Table No. 3. Sections of cultural studies

Fundamental cultural studies

Goal: theoretical knowledge of the phenomenon of culture, development of categorical apparatus and research methods

Ontology of culture

The variety of definitions of culture and perspectives of cognition, social functions and parameters. The ontology of culture is the fundamental principles and concept of the existence of culture

Epistemology of culture

Foundations of cultural knowledge and its place in the system of sciences, internal structure and methodology

Morphology of culture

The main parameters of the functional structure of culture as a system of forms of social organization, regulation and communication, cognition, accumulation and transmission of social experience

Cultural semantics

Ideas about symbols, signs and images, languages ​​and cultural texts, mechanisms of cultural communication

Anthropology of culture

Ideas about the personal parameters of culture, about a person as a “producer” and “consumer” of culture, about a person as a subject of culture.

Sociology of culture

Ideas about social stratification and spatio-temporal differentiation of culture, about culture as a system of social interaction

Social dynamics of culture

Ideas about the main types of sociocultural processes, the genesis and variability of cultural phenomena and systems

Historical dynamics of culture

Ideas about the evolution of forms of sociocultural organization

Philosophy of culture - examines culture from a certain unified point of view, reflecting the views of a particular author.

Applied cultural studies

Goal: forecasting, designing and regulating current cultural processes taking place in social practice

Applied aspects of cultural studies

Ideas about cultural policy, functions of cultural institutions, goals and methods of operation of a network of cultural institutions, tasks and technologies of sociocultural interaction, including the protection and use of cultural heritage.

Culturology today includes a fairly wide range of disciplines that study culture in its infinitely diverse aspects using various methods.

The structure of cultural studies make up three layers of sciences about culture:

anthropological , based primarily on ethnology, i.e. science that studies the composition, origin and cultural and historical relations between the peoples of the world;

humanistic , which includes the entire complex of so-called sciences "about the spirit"(philosophy, philology, pedagogy, psychology, etc.);

sociological , where the study of modern popular culture, the ways of its production and functioning and society.

Functions of cultural studies how the sciences are in some sense traditional. Epistemological The (cognitive) function is common to science as a whole. In relation to cultural studies, it has specificity due to the need to combine various principles and methods of understanding the world inherent in science, art, religion, and philosophy.

Heuristic The function of cultural studies is set based on the understanding of culture as a dialogue. Culture in its various manifestations (for example, growing cultivated plants and domestic animals, making products, crafts, creating monuments of artistic culture, etc.) is created not only by an individual cognitive and active subject, but also by entire groups of people. This creation is accompanied by mutual understanding, co-creation, collective learning and the invention of new forms of culture. Closely related to heuristic educational function of cultural studies. In other words, collective learning and solving problems facing a given culture is accompanied by the education of individuals entering the world of culture of the past and present, the world of the culture of human relations. In turn, the elements of the educational function are aesthetic, ethical and legal functions, focusing on the formation of a person’s political, legal and moral culture, i.e. what we call a culture of behavior. And one more function of cultural studies should be highlighted - ideological. In fact, it belongs to the philosophy of culture, which is an integral part of cultural studies. The purpose of the ideological function in this case is to identify, as it were, the spiritual core that determines the cultural aspirations of one or another historical era, as well as the formation of an artistic, religious or scientific picture of the world. Let's say, for Russian culture of the 19th century. the core problem was the historical fate of Russia, which found such a diverse solution in the work of A. S. Pushkin, the ideological confrontation between Slavophiles and Westerners, in the book of N. Ya. Danilevsky “Russia and Europe”, in painting and music, in the cultural studies of supporters of the “Russian ideas."

Culturology: Textbook for universities Apresyan Ruben Grantovich

2.3. Structure of cultural studies

2.3. Structure of cultural studies

Modern cultural studies unites a number of disciplines, each of which ensures the fulfillment of the tasks facing this science. These disciplines can be very roughly divided into theoretical and historical.

The theoretical branch includes:

– philosophy of culture, which studies the most general problems of the existence of culture;

– theory of culture – studying the patterns of development and functioning of culture;

– morphology of culture – the study of various forms of cultural existence, such as language, myth, art, religion, technology, science.

The historical branch, in turn, includes:

– cultural history, which deals with the typology of cultures, comparative analysis of the development of various cultural and historical types;

– sociology of culture, which explores the functioning of culture in society, the relationship between social and cultural processes.

– practical cultural studies, which determines at what level human activity takes on a cultural character. Obviously, for each historical era this level is unique.