Abstract: The article is devoted to the role of the UNESCO Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage in the sphere of intangible cultural heritage safeguarding. The author of the article analyzes the content of the Convention and established institutional structure. The author also studies the examples of the implementation of particular projects on intangible cultural values safeguarding. The author concludes that the Convention had played the primary role in protecting intangible cultural values. According to the author, this can be proved by the fact that one of the results of the Convention was the creation of the list of intangible cultural values. The list attracted attention of different states and popularized intangible cultural values. The author also notes that the Convention created the institutional grounds for the safeguarding of intangible cultural values and established such authorities as the Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage and the Intangible Cultural Heritage Fund. Based on the author of the article, that allowed to assign responsible authorities at the international level. The author also states that the establishment of the Intangible Cultural Heritage Fund financed collectively by the states participating in the project as well as creation of the programs and other initiatives aimed at preservation of intangible cultural values were the guarantee of an efficient execution of activities on preservation of cultural values.

Keywords: International law, UNESCO, Convention, cultural heritage, intangible cultural values, heritage, safeguarding, protection, Intangible Cultural Heritage Fund, List of Intangible Cultural Heritage, National Cultural Center.

Abstract: The author describes the definition and genesis of American individualism forming the basis of subcivilizational particularity of the USA compared to Europe and especially Russia. Individualism is a result of a certain ‘life style’ and colonization of a new continent. The main ideals of individualism are a ‘self made man’, ‘American dream’, success, competition and risk. The American individualism is viewed based on the examples of such typical American phenomena as land, gold, oil, meat ‘rush’, growth of cities and colleges, development of technology, education, science and culture. In his research the author has carried out comparative historical analysis by using the developed conceptual framework centered on the concepts of civilizational and subcivilizational communities that are being formed around the ‘cultural core’. Besides describing an important element of North American subcivilizational cultural core the author also shows that it is the subcivilizational particularity of American individualism created during the formation of the USA in the 17th – 19th centuries which is the main cause of the USA’s leading position in the modern post-industrial world. The author also describes the socio-cultural grounds of the American tendency towards the ‘direct action’ and simpler forms of high culture.

Keywords: Post-industrial, the cult of rush, land rush, life style, self made man, the cult of success, American dream, individualism, subcivilization, direct action.

Abstract: The article is devoted to the semiotic interpretation of the theoretic heritage of a film director Sergey Eizenshtein by Vyacheslav Ivanov whose jubilee was celebrated this year. Sergey Eizenshtein foresaw the structural methodology that became so popular after the 60s. Vyacheslav Inavov has a wide range of academic interests. The present article is devoted only to his interest towards cinematograph, in particular, the theoretic heritage of a film director Sergey Eizenshtein. Vyacheslav Ivanov is interested in Eizenshtein because Vyacheslav Ivanov believes that Eizenshtein tended to see cinema as a language or, more specifically, a sign system. Vyacheslav Ivanov couldn’t have left it without attention because the formation of semiotic methodology is closely related to Eizenshtein in Russia. So it is quite natural that Vyacheslav Ivanov wanted to interpret the pre-history of semiotics, too. In cinematograph such pre-history is directly related to Sergey Eizenshtein. Trying to clarity the significance of Vyacheslav Ivanov’s research of Sergey Eizenshtein’s esthetics, the author of the present article also touches upon applying semiotic methodology to cinematograph as a sign system in general. For this purpose, the author describes the atmosphere of those times when Russian theorists of cinematograph were interested in semiotics. However, interest towards structuralism and semiotics started to fade away decades later when new approaches related to pot-structuralism and post-modernism were introduced by the humanities. Some theorists started to speak against semiotic approaches and suggested to apply philosophical and, in particular, phenomenological approach to studying cinematographic art. These approaches are appropriate and efficient, however, they do not replace the semiotic approach. The author of the article shows that such attempts to refuse from the semiotic approach to cinematograph were too early and superficial. Vyacheslav Ivanov’s works on cinematograph are a great source that proves the efficiency of the philosophical approach. In particular, Vyacheslav Ivanov’s book ‘Eizenshtein’s Esthetics’ is devoted to this topic. Interpreting the meaning of the title, the author of the present article shows that the concept of semiotics was already created at the initial stage of the development of esthetics as a branch of philosophy.

Keywords: Semiotics, linguistics, structuralism, phenomenology, esthetics, language, cinema, sign system, formal school, culture of grammar, culture of text.

Abstract: By studying the images of the Russian capital in the Russian popular art of 1930 – 2010 (fiction pictures and TV serials) as cultural codes and reference codes that send consumers to the combination of historical, philosophical, psychological, scientific, literary, commonsense and other knowledge, we can discover unique cultural particularities as the key to understanding Russian culture as a special type of culture in general. Moreover, the given research allows to understand how the cultural code defines a set of images related to the combination of stereotypes. In her research the author has used the methods of historical classification, comparative (synchronic and diachronic), semiotic and hermeneutic content analysis of literary texts versus socio-cultural environment. Until now researchers haven’t attempted to analyze and interpret images of the Russian capital in popular cinematographic art as a cultural code. The study of artistic images allows to make the following conclusions. The dynamics of reference codes reflect the cultural dynamics in general as well as all transformations caused by the shift of Russia from the traditional culture to the post-industrial culture and society, from socialistic culture to the modern market culture, from socialistic values to the values of the consumer society. At the same time, since 1930 till the present time popular cinematographic art has been creating images related to the archetype of the Center of the World. While post-industrial culture and society are based on the principle of pluralism in all spheres which results in the declining role of former cultural capitals and increasing role of province, we don’t see the same phenomenon in the Russian culture.

Keywords: Image, Russian capital, popular art, cinematographic art, cultural code, dynamics of culture, reference code, archetype, the Center of the World, stereotype.

Abstract: The article is devoted to the problems of reading culture in modern Russia. The author of the article studies social and demographic, economic, technological aspects of modern reading practices. According to the author, the most important factor leading to the change in the form of reading is the development of information technologies and communication tools that allow to store and convey large volumes of information. This decreases the demand for traditional reading practices. Traditional reading is replaced with the search for information which complies with the modern educational strategies and standards of the information-based culture of the ‘knowledge society’. The analysis of peculiarities of transformation of reading practices in modern Russian society is based on the generalization of the results of Russian surveys as well as statistics. However, the author of the article proves that the modern society has all necessary bases to keep and develop traditional institutions and forms of reading culture. The author also notes that in terms of the development of new information technologies, we should be talking not about the ‘crisis’ of reading but about transformation of reading as a socio-cultural practice conditioned by the scale and pace of electronic communication development of modern Russian society.

Keywords: Sociology of reading, sociology of culture, social communication, modern library, reading culture, information-based society, knowledge society, e-education, Internet communication, electronic communication development of the society.

Abstract: The author of the present article views tutor’s teaching as the point of development of modern culture and assistance of personal growth. Other points of cultural growth are creative activity of personality and society as well as particular social practices. The researcher analyzes the following situation that makes it necessary to form a new practice: teaching is growing more and more focused on personal growth, however, a great variety of personality types creates new problems; teachers and scientists more and more often come to the conclusion that a traditional concept of a school student as an ‘average individual’ does not work. All children are different and have their own way of socialization and ‘evolutionary development’), therefore it is important to take into account not only individual personal differences but also individual development pathways of different personality types. The researcher compares the two interpretations of the tutor’s position at school. Noteworthy that the author accepts and discusses the approach which is close to the post-modernistic concept and which he calls ‘humanitarian methodological’ approach when a tutor diligently plans his own work and uses different knowledge and practices (on human, personality growth and development, anthropological practices and technologies and etc.). The main research method and methodology used by the author of the article is the situation analysis, problematisation, methodological schematization and scenario planning as well as case analysis. As a result, the author outlines the range of problems in tutor’ teaching as the point of development of modern culture and has creates a new teaching approach used by a tutor. The author views tutoring not only s an example of real-time social innovations. According to the author, this practice should be also viewed and studied as the point of development of modern culture.

Keywords: Tutor, teaching, personality, culture, creativity, practice, crisis, movement, growth, development.

Abstract: The author of the present article describes the differences, first of all, axiological differences, in the images f a Russian soldier and American soldier in fiction and cinematograph. The researcher compares the systems of values of Russian and American soldiers when they strive for the same goal – Victory. The author analyzes their emotions, attitudes and decisions and demonstrates differences in Russian and American attitudes to similar situations from the point of view of their values. The analysis carried out by the author covers a wide range of empiric material. The main research methods are the content analysis of fiction as well as Russian and foreign films and TV serials as well as some literary works. The author applies the comparative approach. The latest war conflicts happening all over the world including the last events in the Ukraine, wars in Iraq, Syria and Afghanistan create the need for re-considering the image of a warning man and his system of values at different historical periods – the Second World War, Vietnam, Chechen and Georgian campaigns. The article presents the results of the research and scientifically proves the main difference in values of an American soldier and Russian soldier under the conditions striving for victory in a war conflict.

Keywords: Reason, labor, the Nonpossessors movement, good, conscience, soul, religion, faith, patriotism, family.

Abstract: The subject under research is the screen as a form-making principle in culture as well as particular forms of screen art. Even though there is a great variety of modern screens, gigantic and small, private and public, interactive and linear, dynamic and static ones, we can still easily recognize the screen form as it is. It is clearly distinctive from other visual phenomena. The screen can be recognized based on several features: it has the frame (visible border between the screen and other space), surface, it demonstrates the dialectics of the hidden and discovered and has the polyscreen feature. The latter takes us to a completely new of the analysis of screen, i.e. in terms of mediality. The screen is a particular case of mediality in which regard we can only partly reconstruct the ‘movement’ given at the moment of ‘change’. In her research the author uses the approaches of media studies as well as screen studies or screenology viewing screen as a medium, i.e. the combination of many conditions related to the features of a particular data storage device (but not limited to them) allowing to make information visible. The novelty of the research is in the fact that the author is the first one to apply to the concept of mediality to the phenomenon of screen. The author’s approach allows to explain the vision effect when the image is rendered through a particular screen. The author also raises a debating question about the material nature of medium (metaxu) and the relation between the material and mediality. The author has made a great contribution to the development of the performance concept of mediality (in other words, the concept of mediality as a practice). It is concluded that the screen is a particular case of mediality. It has no ontology or chronological certainty. In other words, the screen does not exist but ‘being established’.

Keywords: Screen, medial, medium, screen culture, screen practice, TV, computer, cinematograph, surface, border.

Abstract: The article gives us an insight into one of the first Baroque concepts in Latin American cultural and literary studies introduced by a famous Peruvian modernistic poet Marin Adan. The author tries to analyze this understudied point in the history of Latin American humanities and relates Adan’s ideas to famous Baroque concepts in Latin America of the second half of the 20th century. The author also tries to describe the most important discoveries made by Adan that played an important role in cultural self-identification of Latin America. In the course of his research the author proceeds from particulars to generals and tries to describe the influence of Martin Adan’s work ‘De lo Barocco en el Peru’ (‘Concerning the Baroque in Peru) on the development of Baroque concepts in Latin America. Martin Adam’s ideas are being analyzed in comparison wit other Baroque concepts. Considering the increased interest of modern cultural studies towards the phenomena of Baroque and Neobaroque Adam’s work is growing very important because he was the first one to try to view the key stage of Latin American culture in terms of Baroque esthetics. The author of the present article tries to show the importance of Adan’s ideas for future Baroque concepts in Latin America and demonstrates that Adam’s ideas can be related to the theories of Jose Lezama Lima, Alejo Carpentier and Irlimar Kyampi.

Keywords: Concept, cultural research, Baroque, Latin America, Martin Adan, classification, modernism, avant-gardism, phenomenon.

Abstract: The article is devoted to the evolution of book from the moment when it was first created in the culture of the Ancient World and up to the present. One of the prerequisites for creating a book was the invention and development of the written language and the other prerequisite was the development of personality and society. At the first stages of the development the book ensured the consolidation of society. Later the book gained other functions such as virtual traveling, entertainment, knowledge and education. The appearance of book had a considerable influence on the humanity and formed different realities of his consciousness as well as new abilities. At the beginning of the Modern Period new readers and new requirements for a book appeared which resulted in creating a printing machine and a new type of book (technology development played an important role in that process). The last part of the article is devoted to the second technical revolution which, in its turn, resulted in the creation of a eBook and Internet. The author discusses the reasons why eBook is now superseding a paper book. The research provided in the article involved problematisation and situational analysis and was entirely based on the method of pseudo-getic analysis allowing to perform the cultural and historical reconstruction of a book. As a result of the research, the author shows that a great evolution the book has had. The main drivers of the development have been the cultural shift, technological inventions, problems and requirements of the society and personality. The ebook has led not only to the consolidation of the society and realization of personality but also constituted some sides of human consciousness and abilities.

Keywords: Book, Internet, papyrus, parchment, paper, society, personality, consolidation, thinking, technology.