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donate Summary for NZ 34
No. 34 continues our inquiry into the multifarious relations between people and things. The Liberal Heritage section presents an article by sociologist of science Bruno Latour entitled Where are the Missing Masses? Sociology of a Door. Latour argues that, beyond their mere instrumental value, there are several respects in which things need to be taken into account in social and moral considerations, and that because of this, they are the 'glue' which holds society together.
Our first thematic rubric addresses the issue of brands, prompted by the recent publication of the Russian translation of Naomi Klein's best-selling book No Logo . Alexander Tarasov reports on different attitudes to brand names found in the course of an inquiry in a number of Russian provincial cities (Not Peace but a Brand). Alexei Kozlov, an activist with various 'anti-globalisation' movements, reflects about the way in which 'anti-globalism', which struggles against brands as used by big trans-national corporations, has itself become a brand name. Kozlov argues that, rather than posing a problem, this should be welcomed by members of the movement as it increases their public visibility ('People against Brands' as a New Brand?).
In the Humane Economics column, Yevgeny Saburov recounts his experience as advisor to schoolchildren taking part in a game modelling local politics and economics in a large Russian town. He shows how, without any previous knowledge of economics, they found it useful to apply criteria of economic viability and efficiency to judge the work of the local administration (Economics Ante Portas!).
Our second topic features two different perspectives on EU enlargement, taking place a day after this issue goes to press. Sociologist Georg Vobruba reflects on the dynamics of EU expansion, while Slovenian poet Ales Debeljak strikes a cautious note and draws attention to the EU's lack of substantive cultural content, which, he writes, puts European integration on the wrong tracks. In his Sociological Notes, Alexei Levinson sets out on a search for state-independent social structures having evolved in Russia over the post-Soviet period; he concludes that the Mafia and the Internet are the most developed of them for the time being (Citizen, Which Way to Civil Society?).
In the Culture of Politics rubric, Anton Oleinik compares the Russian presidential election to the Spanish general elections which took place on the same day, and considers ways how Russia could emulate Spain's successful transformation into a functioning democracy (Spanish Lessons).
Our third topic deals with another aspect of people & things: entitled The Repair Society, it features three articles dealing with different aspects of the Soviet-era mania of never throwing anything away but instead mending and re-arranging it, sometimes out of recognition. Katerina Gerasimova and Sofia Chuikina provide a conceptual framework for thinking about this and review the making of the Soviet 'repair society'; Olga Gurova looks specifically at the fortunes of underwear under this aspect; and Galina Orlova analyses the mentality behind the practical hints on repairing household items given to readers of Soviet-era mass magazines.
The topic is taken into the present day by Olga Brednikova and Zoya Kutafyeva, who look at The Old Thing as a Character of the Flea-Market, illustrating their analysis with data gained from field-work at Saint-Petersburg's biggest flea-market.
The Politics of Culture section features an essay by Kirill Kobrin on contemporary uses of the heritage of literary scholar and memoirist Lidia Ginzburg. The New Institutions section presents a new think tank called Demos which intends to bridge the gap between the human rights community and the world of sociology and policy analysis. Our Journals Reviews section features the usual reviews of Russian journals, as well as the second part of Yakov Anderer's large-scale panorama of the Ukrainian media landscape, this time focusing on cultural and intellectual journals. Finally, the New Books rubric, as usual, presents critical reviews of a large variety of recent books in Russian and English.
Published 2004-05-04
Original in English
Contributed by Neprikosnovennij Zapas
© Neprikosnovennij Zapas
© Eurozine
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