Visnyk of V. N. Karazin Kharkiv National University. Series Sociological studies of contemporary society: methodology, theory, methods

Riskiness of Modernity and Strategies of (Re)Production of Crisis: a Theoretical Research Perspective

Andrii Krainiukov, Alexander Golikov — Wed, 30 Nov 2022 00:00:00 +0000

The article is devoted to the theoretical and methodological study of the crisis phenomenon. Based on the developments of U. Beck and N. Luhmann, the authors examine the process of how rationality, trying to get rid of external dangers and control an increasing number of elements of the environment, produces more and more risks. It is analyzed how the logic of "rationalization", "managerialization", "calculativeness", "dynamism" becomes an integral and recognized attribute of modern society and at the same time leads to the emergence of new risks. Attention is also paid to how risks are transformed into a commodity with a visible and stable audience of constant consumption. In this light, the authors aim to build a research scheme for further analysis of the strategies of social agents in the conditions of riskogenicity and chrysogenicity of modernity. For this purpose, they turn to the analysis of the societies of the Modern Other as producers and objects of specific risks. Authors analyze separately the constitutive nature of risks, that is, as chosenness, producedness and implementedness by the system, where reveals the "double paradox of unreliability". Special emphasis is placed on how the industrialization of risk production forms a new arrangement of political forces in society and how it transforms the nature of symbolic struggle at the macro level and subjectivity at the micro level. It is demonstrated that the logic of "permanent choice" and "doom to flexibility" leads to the permanence of diversity, uncertainty, instability, and fragility of the objects of choice and to their involvement in the agent's identity. The formation of the fundamental paradox of the "actor doomed to act without the guarantee of his own subjectivity" is separately investigated. The authors justify another paradox, that the crisis is constituted in the reality of everyday life only when there is also a crisis pattern among the patterns of perception and action. The authors pay attention to "layers of strength", "typed crises", "backup ways", ways of preserving "pieces" of "torn social fabric", the phenomenon of "crisis things", as well as, in particular, to the processuality of the fabrication of continuity of communication, interaction, practice, habits, discourses. Particular attention is paid to the phenomenon of integration of the "crisis" into the order of the social institution and the key parameters of this process are highlighted, noting that the social institution "expands" itself due to the integration into its order of elements from the surrounding environment.

Studying Integration Processes in Local Labor Communities: Between Interpersonal Communication and Social Structure (Based on the Theories by M. Granovetter, S. Eisenstadt, and A. Honneth)

Mariia Prystupa — Wed, 30 Nov 2022 00:00:00 +0000

In the article, theoretical provisions by M. Granovetter, S. Eisenstadt, and A. Honneth regarding the interrelation between interpersonal relationships and social structure are analyzed. It is underlined that these provisions can be used for studying transformation processes in local labor communities under the conditions of capitalistic globalization and technological advancement since it is reasonable to suggest that in this situation such communities will gradually lose their integrative function. The selected approaches are reviewed in order to identify the elements of social relations, which they consider the most significant and the ways they connect these elements. Similarities and differences between the discussed theories are analyzed, as well as the possibilities of their integration into a single conceptual framework. A number of aspects of social relations that all the three researchers consider significant are outlined, which are the following: trust, involvement (or active recognition of the counterpart’s social significance), domination / submission relations and the establishment of compliance. The interconnection between these aspects is outlined also. It is concluded that the discussed theories can be integrated without contradictions into a single conceptual framework for studying social integration processes. Moreover, different scopes suggested by the researchers complement each other which allow elaborating a complex notion of these processes. The possibilities of application of such conceptual framework for studying integration processes in local labor communities are discussed. It is argued that it is adequate for studying social transformations resulting from the inconsistencies between physical and social topology. Perspectives of further research are outlined, including the effects of the above on solidarity in labor communities and their social and political agency, as well as the balance between intentionality and contingency in social change.

Changes in Attitudes Toward the Enemy in Modern Wars: Dehumanization of Russian Soldiers in the Perception of Civilians and the Military of Ukraine

Kateryna Skorokhod — Wed, 30 Nov 2022 00:00:00 +0000

The article analyzes the possibilities and limitations of the classical sociological discourse of war for analyzing Russian aggression against Ukraine. It is emphasized that Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, has created new challenges for the theoretical substantiation of sociological studies of war. The questions are raised whether it is worthwhile to fully rely on the achievements of the "new wars" theorists who argue that due to significant changes in the conduct of modern wars, Clausewitz's postulate of the secondary "paradoxical trinity" inherent in war: people, army and government cannot be applied; or whether the arguments of the supporters of the "old wars" theory should be accepted, who note that the fundamental characteristics of war remain unchanged, only the context of war becomes different. The author emphasizes the dehumanization of Russian soldiers by Ukrainian civilians and the military. Based on the analysis of the results of the author's empirical research conducted in March-June 2022 using the method of in-depth semi-structured interviews with Ukrainian civilians, as well as with military personnel and combat veterans, it is concluded that at the stage of the full-scale Russian-Ukrainian war, the attitude of Ukrainians towards Russian soldiers, in particular their dehumanization, has reached an extremely high level. The author emphasizes the differences in the dehumanization of civilians and military personnel by the enemy. It is noted that for civilians, the dehumanization of the enemy simultaneously serves to strengthen the self-identification of their own group as a conductor of humanistic values. The dehumanization of the enemy by the military is characterized by the depersonalization of Russian soldiers, and their destruction is perceived as part of their professional work. The military mostly avoids the moral context in perceiving the enemy. In both groups, both a normative aversion to violence and tolerance of aggression as a response to the enemy based on the desire to destroy it are recorded. The general conclusion is made that classical theoretical constructs on the peculiarities of interaction in intergroup conflicts, in particular in war, can be applied to explain the attitude to the enemy in the case study, which gives grounds to consider "old" and "new" wars as similar, at least in the context of the population's understanding of the events of the war. Possible further directions for theoretical and empirical research on the issues chosen by the author are identified.

Communicative Practices in the Conditions of Mass Media Space Hybridization: Interdisciplinary Interference as the Epistemological Requirement

Olga Susska — Wed, 30 Nov 2022 00:00:00 +0000

The article is devoted to consideration of how modern information technologies have changed the nature of communicative relations, significantly expanded the possibilities and scope of communicative interaction in the information space. By subordinating their goals and results to these possibilities, in particular, the interpretive possibilities of thinking, it gave birth to a new type of information exchange and communicative relationships, which is associated with the entry into the information society. The transfer of a significant part of information flows to the worldwide Internet makes it difficult to control them by certain social institutions. The hybridization of the media space appears as a problem that is increasingly difficult to investigate within the framework of only one scientific discipline, or even field. Thus, interdisciplinary interference appears as an epistemological requirement of media space research, which can be implemented only if clear principles of an interdisciplinary approach are implemented in the field of studying communicative practices, the use of terminology, and the use of effective methodology, which allows for a real synthesis of cognitive tools. A separate issue is the study of new phenomena of the modern media space, in particular, the contamination of the subjectivity of information exchange in Internet networks and the transformation of traditional mass media audiences into interpretive communities. The emergence of new actors who impersonate themselves in Internet networks and are actually "agents of change" requires sociologists to focus their attention on these new subjects. Large-scale quantitative studies, which were relevant to the mass audiences of traditional media at the end of the last century, no longer give the expected result. The conceptual prerequisites for activating the appeal to the possibilities of interdisciplinarity are the transformations of modern communicative processes, which cause not only an increase in attention to the manifestations of subjectivity on the part of both the media communicator and the recipient, but also the importance of applying an interdisciplinary approach to the multidimensionality of transformations in the modern hybridized media space.

Psychoemotional State and Social Activity of Student Youth in the Conditions of War: a Sociological Analysis

Iryna Mirchuk , Oksana Zelena — Wed, 30 Nov 2022 00:00:00 +0000

This article presents the results of two waves of the sociological research "Students and War" conducted at Drohobych State Pedagogical University of Ivan Franko on June 20-27, 2022 and September 12-21, 2022. Based on the obtained data, the dynamics of psycho-emotional states of student youth were studied, a comparison of attitudes regarding the prospects of their future and the future of Ukraine after the victory in the war was made, the issue of social activity of student youth in war conditions was studied, in particular, their involvement in volunteer activities. It is shown that military topics have not lost their relevance in the youth environment even after seven months of the full-scale Russian-Ukrainian war. The predominant use of Ukrainian information resources by students has been demonstrated. It is emphasized that the war significantly affects the psycho-emotional state of youth. The level of accumulation of negative emotions related to the war, and at the same time the growth of optimistic moods of student youth, their confidence in the victory of Ukraine, and the reduction of anxiety, pessimism, hopelessness and confusion were determined. The increasing number of those, who was directly affected by the war in seven months of the war has been confirmed. Despite the duration of the war, it is emphasized that the level of faith of our students in victory only increased. It was found that for more than six months of the war, the level of social activity of young Ukrainians increased significantly primarily due to their involvement in volunteer initiatives. It is shown that with the duration of the war, the attitude of student youth towards the prospects of their own future has somewhat increased in doubt and confusion. Instead, the results of the study showed a noticeable increase in the sense of hope and optimistic feeling of the future of the Ukrainian state among the students.

Education System Actors on the Transformation of the Social Order of Schooling in the Context of Russian Aggression

Liudmyla Sokurianska, Dmitriy Sopilnyak — Wed, 30 Nov 2022 00:00:00 +0000

The article emphasises that Russia's aggression against Ukraine has significantly changed the social order of Ukrainian society as a whole, all its substructures, including the education system, in particular the school system. It is noted that, having analysed the definitions of the concept of "social order" presented in the sociological discourse, in particular, the definitions of this concept formulated by such classics of sociology and modern sociologists as M. Weber, R. Park, C. Polanyi, J. Padiolo, Z. Bauman, D. North and others, the authors focused on the axiological approach to the interpretation of social order. The author's definition of the relevant concept is given, namely: social order is an interaction (communication) between the subjects of a certain social system based on internalised norms and values, which ensures its successful functioning. It is emphasised that changes in the external environment of a particular system can lead (and usually do lead) to changes in these systems themselves, in particular, to changes in their functions, which, in turn, actualises changes in the existing social order and the emergence of its new forms. It is argued that under the influence of the changes that have taken place in Ukrainian society since the beginning of the Russian aggression, the functions of such a social system as education and, accordingly, the social order inherent in it have undergone a significant transformation. It is noted that this conclusion is based on the results of the research project "School in Time of War" implemented by the Wergland European Centre (Norway, Oslo) within the framework of the Programme of Support to Educational Reforms in Ukraine (2021-2024) (with the participation of one of the authors of the article). It is emphasised that this study was carried out using qualitative methods such as individual in-depth and focused group interviews (FGI). A total of 30 in-depth and 3 FGIs were conducted with Ukrainian teachers, school principals and high school students representing secondary education institutions located both in regions close to active hostilities (in cities such as Kharkiv, Mariupol, Irpin, Bucha, etc.) and in relatively safer cities (Lviv, Lutsk, Ivano-Frankivsk, Odesa). The data obtained in the framework of this study demonstrate changes in the role and functions of the national school education system in the context of war, in particular, the actualisation of its role as a space of security, organisation of volunteer activities and psychological support. It is concluded that the transformation of the content and nature of interaction between the main actors of the education system (school administration, teachers, students and their parents) has led to the emergence of a new social order within this system, transformed the previously existing hierarchical relations between educational actors into horizontal ones, and formed a new model of social order, namely, the school as a "big family".

Keywords: education system, social order, schooling, environment, Russian aggression.