Abstract: The subject of this research is the content and direction of the modern cultural processes that lead to the qualitative changes of local cultures, as well as the global cultural space as a whole. The goal of this work consists in determination of trends and prospects of the modern cultural dynamics. The authors examine the essence and content of the processes of globalization and unification of cultural space, virtualization and simulation of sociocultural reality, formation of quasi-society on the basis of Internet communication, features and peculiarities of functionality of the new “galactic of the social-network communication”. Methodology of the study includes the general development trends of the modern culture; its near and future prospect are analyzes from the perspective of the philosophy of life, symbolic interactionism and system-structural approach. A number of conclusions was made during the course of this work: with regards to modernity, can be acknowledged the homogenization of cultural landscape, emergence of the generalized cultural field as a result of globalization – a planetary trend of cultural dynamics. A positive impact of these processes can be observed from the perspective of the philosophy of life of Georg Simmel, according to which the flow of life sweeps away the created by it, but having become confined cultural forms, and leans towards the new, previously unknown. The signs of formation of that new detects another important and noticeable direction in transformation of the modern culture – virtualization and concurrent simulation of the entire sociocultural reality that grasp the economy, politics, social sphere, cultural and leisure, and mass communication. Virtual reality gradually obtains the status of primacy in relation to reality; and the manipulations with the symbols of things substitute the actions with the things themselves. The third trend in cultural dynamics that has powerfully asserted itself is the formation and rapid development of the “galactic of the social-network communication” that generates the quasi-society.

Abstract: The article is devoted to the analysis of the correspondence sent by George Grebenstchikoff to the newspaper Zhizn Altaya from the World War I frontline in 1916. The scholars who have been researching George Grebenstchikoff’s heritage have emphasized mostly his fiction while journalistic texts are yet underexplored and his reports for Zhizn Altaya are still rather archive items than challenges for scholars. The subject of the article is the philosophy of war by George Grebenstchikoff represented in the analyzed set of his correspondence. Scientific works on the essence, sense and structure of the philosophy of war shape the methodological background for this research. Scientific originality of the research is achieved both through penetration into a most underexplored side of George Grebenstchikoff’s writing, namely his war correspondence, and through revealing his attitude towards the war, his understanding of its nature and manifestations, the authors prove that in the analyzed set of correspondence the war is represented as the disaster possessing the features peculiar to a mythical creature who is destroying nature with its iron plod, barbed wire, fire spits, nickel flies and metal frogzillas. The unwritten is crucial for the philosophy of war in the correspondence. It is what the journalist regards as insignificant and not deserving to be written out. War reports by George Grebenstchikoff show no battles and attacks, nor the concept of the enemy, nor the purpose of the military actions, nor heroic words, nor descriptions of offensives or retreats, mediocre or gifted commanders, nor victories and defeats as the false values of wartime. Siberia is regarded by George Grebenstchikoff as the antithesis of the war. It is another dimension, remedy and relief, vivifier and soul purifier. Siberia smells and sounds good, is colorful and beautiful all the year round. It is the true and absolute value.

Abstract: The inter-university interdisciplinary round table of the scholars “The Dynamics of Language in Realities of Modernity” united the representative of various higher education facilities of Altai Krai: language experts, literary historians, journalists, and philosophers to explicate and detect the processes taking place in language under the influence of the modern sociocultural situation. During the course of the discussion, the following most significant issues according to the opinion of the participants were determined: the “pressure points” of the dynamics of language in the modern sociocultural reality; postmodernist trends in the language picture of the world; mentality as the inherent property of language; foreign language borrowings and language mixes, and their cultural meaning; dynamics of the conceptual structure of the world in the consciousness of native-speakers; reduction in the informative semantic sphere of texts within the modern mass communication; positive trends in discourse of the modern mass communication, and others. Analyzing the dynamics of language in the current sociocultural realities, the authors determined the factors that explain its changeability and sustainability, positive and negative trends in the development of language as a whole alongside the language of mass communication, changes in the language picture of the world, cultural effects of the foreign language borrowings and unsubstantiated attempts to reform the language, possibilities for overcoming the “clipping” of the modern media text and its understanding, and positive trends in modernization of the media discourse.

Abstract: The subject of this article is the book “A First Look at Communication Theory” by Em Griffin, which is claimed as a scientific overviews and systematization of the communication theories, and aimed at «helping to see the order in the field of communication theory which may seem chaotic». The conducted expertise, however, demonstrated that in the course of rendition the goal of scientific systematization of the theories, according with the suggested by the author foundations, moves to the background, and the main attention becomes focused on the practical recommendations pertaining to the formation of communicative competencies of the students. Familiarization with the text showed that the author supports the pragmatic approach in rendering the material, which signifies not the description of a theory or comprehensive overview, but rather applicability of one or another theory for the formation of communicative competencies among students. The book gains great importance as the theoretically substantiated methodological guidebook on teaching the ways of structuring the efficient communication and attainment of the corresponding skills.

Abstract: The subject of this research is the optimal model of systematization of the theory of mass communication. The authors analyze the existing models of systematization of theories of mass media, particularly presented in the following works from the position of their grounds and didactic optimality: “Mass Communication in Modern World: Methodology of Analysis and Practical Studies” by M. Nazarov, “Communication Theory by G. Pocheptsov, A First Look at Communication Theory” by E. Griffin, “Mass Communication and the Problem of Reality Construction: Overview of the General Theoretical Approaches” by E. Dyakova and A. Trakhtenberg, and “Mass Communication: Western Theories and Concepts” by G. Bakulev. The authors suggest their own model of systematization  of the theories of mass communication, which is based on the most essential characteristics of mass communication as the social system (theory of social essence of mass communication, theory of structure, functions and dysfunctions of mass communications, theory and concept of the effects of mass communication, theory of the normative status of mass communication processes, “new media” as a factors of transformation of the communication system, as well as their characteristics), and grouping of the theories by the principle of examination and understanding of these characteristics from the perspective of most reputable and renowned authors in communication science.