Review: This article is dedicated to identification of the basic risks of transformation of the cultural memory of Russian in the context of migration challenges. It is demonstrated that the intensification of migration processes and Russia’s turning into an immigration country cause a number of economic, demographic, criminogenic, sociocultural and political challenges. The article analyzes the risks of transformation of Russia’s cultural memory in the situation of migration processes at the communicative constitutional and value levels. The author examines the peculiarities of challenges of hybridization of cultural memory and identity of Russia generated by the migration processes. The possibilities of use of the concept of “hybrid identity” applicable to Russia’s cultural memory are analyzed on the basis of the constructivist interpretation of identity and culture in the works of C. Geertz, R. Brubaker, and J. Straub. The author underlines the important role of the philosophy of culture as the means for theoretical comprehension and development of the model of transformation of the cultural memory of Russia in the context of migration challenges. A conclusion is made that the contradictions generated by the migration processes overlap the incompleteness of transformation of Russia’s cultural identity. The thought is substantiated that the key challenge for Russia’s cultural memory is the hybridization of the forms of identity. At the same time, Russia’s cultural memory itself is not uniform and static. Leaning of the analysis of the major carriers of cultural memory, the author concludes on the dynamic character of its boundaries. The article substantiates the basic worldview milestones and conditions for reaching universal agreement in cultural memory of the migrants and the accepting society.

Keywords: cultural identity, collective memory, riscs of cultural memory, philosophy of culture, memory conflicts, hybrid identity, migration challenges, cultural memory, migrants, integration of migrants

Review: This article is the sequence of publications for approbation of dissertation on the topic “The Nature of Social Reality in the Context of the Modern Forms of Cynicism”. For deriving one of the methodological tools of dynamic approach in explaining the nature of social reality, Max Weber’s theory of social action was selected as the object of this research. The subject of this work implies the typology of cynic action, which manifests as such tool. The research goal consists in: 1) explication of the foundations of typology of social action; 2) analysis of Weber’s project of “purposeful rationality” as the basis of social action; 3) examination of “ideal bureaucracy” as the principle of building a society that allows cynic behavioral models; 4) substantiation of the typology of cynic action. In the course of the study, the author applied such methods of theoretical cognition as analysis, synthesis, deduction, induction and analogy; in conceptualization of the notion of “cynicism” – systemic and qualitative approaches, as well as moderate subjectivism. The author’s contribution is expressed in conceptualization of the typology of cynic actions, which in the course of dynamic examination of the essence of social reality and manifestation of cynicism, allows viewing its modern symbol structures and marker-trends that determine the dynamics of social changes.

Keywords: Desacralization, Interatism, Hypersensitivity, Indifference, Negation, Cynic subject, Cynicism, Social action, Mimicry, Pseudo-rationality

Review: The systematization of theological knowledge is a results of the reception of creedal content of Revelation in historical experience of the Church as a unique institution with a right for legitimate indoctrination, as well as authentic interpretation. The only source of this right is the Revelation itself. Correspondence of the results of such procedures with theological axiomatic is determined primarily by its succession and doctrinal intactness. The article examines the need in formation of the news mission strategies in modern world, which is a definitive motive for interpretation and systematization of the missionary aspects of Revelation. Namely the Revelation defines the method if reception, interpretation and systematization of the genuine content. At the present stage, the actualization of missionary aspects of the Revelation is preceded by a short, but extremely important process of the emergence and development of Orthodox missiology. This process carries an incomplete character, and its relevant results are interval, and this controversial. Therefore, the modern Orthodox missiology is in the stage of intense problematization of its research field and method. The paramount obstacle in development of this process is the ambiguous understanding of the role and theoretical-methodological status of the Orthodox missiology within the system of theological knowledge.

Keywords: Divine Revelation, research program, methodology, academic institutionalization of theology, missiology, religious studies, Theology, explication, missionary service, academic discipline

Review: This article raises the question about generation as a subject of cultural memory of migration community. The relevance of this research is defined by the increased mobility in modern society, complication of connections and contacts between the memorial cultures of various communities. The article describes the main approaches towards the analysis of generation within modern humanitarian literature and determines the characteristics of generation as a subject of cultural memory. Intricacy of the subject of research is governed by the combination of several scientific topics – methodology of studying cultural memory, migration communities, and generational dynamics of the society. The author applies the structural-functional approach of S. Eisenstadt for viewing generation as a specific social group, which existence is determined not by the biological rhythms, but the dynamics of social transformation. For the analysis of generational memory, great importance gains  the cultural semiotic approach of J. Assmann that views collective memory as an assemblage of models of the translation of cultural meanings. The author classifies the key approaches towards the analysis of generation within modern humanitarian literature, and for the first time highlights the following characteristics of generation as a subject of cultural memory: constructible nature, variability of age characteristics, absolutization of communicative memory. Using the example of migration community, the article examines competitiveness between the diverse types of cultural memory, in which generational memory yielded its place to the more adaptive types – family and religious memory.

Keywords: social structure, designing, communicative memory, social dynamics, migration community, generation, cultural memory, collective memory, society, memorial culture

Review: The subject of this research is the liminality of society as a result of influence of globalizational transformations. The article analyzes the transformations of social consciousness in the era of universal building of information society and digital revolution. Such changes in the spiritual life are reduced to the concept of liminality, in other words, marginality between the entirely human and machine-like state. The study  demonstrates the possible ways of overcoming the liminal state, associated with weakening of the impact of mass culture through introduction to the traditional folk forms of spiritual life, as well as production of mid-culture. The philosophical-anthropological method along with the approaches of existentialism, Freud-Marxism, and cognitivism were used in the course of research. The author’s special contribution into the study of the topic of social liminality lies in the analysis of its correlation with globalization, as well as in the formulated conclusions that namely globalization and the related trends of informatization, digitalization, computerization, and automation lead to the liminal state of society. A thesis is proposed on the mass consciousness as the emanation of liminality.

Keywords: mass culture, informatization, world integration, cognitivism, computer metaphor of consciousness, affects, consciousness, limiting, western civilization, mid-culture

Review: This article gives special attention to examination of the development trends of modern era based on the use of practical experience in environmental design. The result of detecting the characteristic features of modernity became the creation of the project “Sixteen Experiences”, which represents an interactive wall with movable details inscribed with the altered Chinese hieroglyphs. Studying the structure of Chinese language, as well as the differences between the Chinese and Russian languages, the author created the new hieroglyphs reflecting the peculiarities of online communication. In other words, the article describes the relations between the art and language, space and time, theory and practice, cultural and social role of the designers. Environmental design initially develops as a cross-disciplinary area of arts. Therefore, the research is based on the methods inherent not only for the field of design, but philology as well. In particular the author uses the graphic method in design along with the linguistic method. The scientific novelty consists in exploring the modern world via the description of the original designer project. Due to  studying the structure of Chinese language, peculiar features of online communication, the author was able to create the new hieroglyphs, retaining the traditional methods of development of the Chinese language. Moreover, the author presents the theory on the potential changes of the established spatial structure, and validates it in practice. Thus, the sculpture “Sixteen Experiences” reflects the critical nature and social importance of art in the context of modern realities.  

Keywords: Interactive wall, Russian language, Chinese language, Buddhism, Social isolation, Fragmentation of information, Multiculturalism, Environmental design, Interdisciplinarity, Internet