Comparative studies of literature in Russia: Exploration of new paradigms

The article deals with the problem of methodological status of the modern Russian literature comparative studies. On the basis of point survey of purpose academic texts the deduction of exhaustiveness of the classical model of comparative-contrastive surveys has been given and it becomes firmly convinced of the necessity of forming new research paradigm, theoretically oriented to so called synergetic constituent of all humanities. In this respect it seems extremely important to read «occidental» (in the broad sense of the word, including Russian) literary works through the prism «oriental» metalanguage as historically primary and, apparently, reflecting not only cultural universal phenomena of oriental regional world-view proper, but - mostly in relief-anthropological experience of creative fantasy and memory. The noted thought belonging to M.M. Bakhtin about importance of involvement of long cultural contexts in the process of understanding the concrete literary phenomenon has not been exhausted yet. In the world literature, in the author's opinion of the article, and also in social life, here the law of peculiar «work distribution» is in effect, that enables to take into account the potential reader's «stand» with his own sound worldview when interpreting complicated philological artifacts. A literary text is a «geographical» map, on which a sophisticated writer traces multiple differently directed characters that require conceptual decoding in accordance with the complementary principle

About the "Buddhist view" on Russian literature

© 2015, Mediterranean Center of Social and Educational Research. All rights reserved. The article deals with the problem of interpretation of Russian classical literature texts through the prism of the conceptual and categorical framework of the Indo-Buddhist religious philosophy. The starting point of this study is the view considering Buddhism not only a traditional doctrine with a set of value-related meanings, but also a certain kind of an underlying universal "meta-language." The author of the article tries to explain the artistic consciousness of Russian writers represented by the text in terms of the "East-Centric" turning predetermined by the ambivalent cultural position of Russia (between the East and the West). Besides, the proposed model of classic works interpretation correlates with the statement of M.M. Bakhtin about the importance of involving remote cultural contexts in the process of understanding a particular literary phenomenon. The concept of "big-time" proposed in his days by the Russian philosopher has not yet exhausted. Verbal text is a kind of a "geographic" map, in which the brilliant author leaves marks that require conceptual decoding

On the conflict of public opinion: Interpretation of literary classics

Work is devoted to a question of reading literary classics and forms of its actual assessment in the modern public environment - both scientific and specialized, and connected with wide reader's audience. The Russian classical literature became object of consideration. Authors of article believe that in the Russian Post-Soviet society two tendencies determining nature of the attitude towards verbal art heritage of the past were shown. On one hand, inertia of former achievements has left, and the Russian public in general has stopped reading actively. On the other -in case of some improvement of living conditions the obvious social trend to being interested inbook and journal products was found. The classics on this background takes very modest place. However a noticeable factor of strengthening attention to it is attempt of its poly-variable interpretation today (scientific and creative, figurative). Exactly here the conflict gaining lines of public and ideological opposition between "conservatives" and "liberals" lies. The first take a guarding cultural position. Classics for them - is a form of preserving national memory, the life-meaning reference points, mental code, expression of world outlook and style harmony. The second perceive the classical text as the field for semantic experiments, bright innovations, verification of the next methodological programs. "Conservatives" reproach "liberals" with a "deconstructive" partition of classical, with withdrawal from its live, organic element, with substituting it by dead, mechanical beginning. "Liberals", in turn, blame "conservatives" of stagnancy, desire to refuse poly-cultural approach and establish the only correct, monistic view. It is clear, that the opposite interpretation of classics is only part of the general ideological conflict, even more precisely - that dialectic fight which can be designated as collision "old" vs. "new" (we use these terms without any estimation, in neutral sense). The truth, most likely, lies in the middle, as in the antique tragedy, each of the parties conducting dispute of right and wrong at the same time. From this it follows that the method of overcoming difficult situation is in that clashing friend's friend gossip, having shown the best psychological properties. Otherwise the classics will be replaced by one-sided ideological interpretation (irrespective of origin sources), and instead of authentic interest in the past in society there will be a feeling of discharge and fatigue

Dostoevsky and East

The article is devoted to the issue of F.M. Dostoevsky's works reading through the prism of Eastern religious philosophy and culture. The methodological basis of the study is presented by system-integrated approach, whose task (among other things) is to expand the problematic field of a desired product, introduce it simultaneously into a wide range of sources in order to understand the mechanisms of an image reception. The authors of the article try to explain the artistic consciousness represented by a text in the aspects of "East centered turn" when the starting point of the analytical reading is not a usual western discourse with the pool of historical concepts and definitions of complex but the eastern knowledge. The modern literary education needs a multivariative understanding of classics based on solid, verified arguments, of course. On the one hand, this is the desire to interest a new reader, to support a developed attention to the legacy of the past. On the other hand, the multivariative approach implements the internal semantic potential which carries all major word-art phenomenon in itself and reveals it within the "long period" according to M.M. Bakhtin's term. The authors of the article take F.M. Dostoevsky's novel "The Idiot" for a detailed consideration. This novel can be interpreted not only in the aspects of Western and traditional Russian ideology, but also in the eastern world. The figure of the protagonist - Prince Myshkin - is the connecting element here. The consideration of the eastern subtext allows to understand the substantive content of his words and deeds more fully

Gogol and the east

The article gives a new understanding of the forms of the presence of the "eastern text" in the artistic consciousness of N.V. Gogol, a Russian writer of the 19th century. The authors believe that some images of Gogol's works (in particular, the figure of Chichikov from "Dead Souls") can potentially be read in a nontraditional context, namely through the prism of Far Eastern cultural mentality. Naturally, there is an established canon of interpretation of N.V. Gogol's works. The authors of the article do not set forth their goal to overturn, abandon the adopted interpretations - only to supplement, correct, clarify, having in view the updated methodology of literary studies. It is based on the cornerstone of the thesis that the meaning-generating model of Russian classical literature has not exhausted itself, and thus, any measured judgment about it is of a complementary nature. The proposed model of interpretation correlates with the statement of M.M. Bakhtin, the most prominent Russian philologist of the 20th century, about the importance of attracting the contexts that are far from understanding of a particular aesthetic phenomenon in terms of ethno-culture and history. The conception of "big time", developed by M.M. Bakhtin, remains relevant. Hence, there follows the necessity to reveal its rich content potential with consideration of not only Western discourse or Russian national distinctness but also traditional Eastern knowledge. One should take into account the fact that the "eastern element" can be added to the structure of the theoretical and literary quest; Russian and European literary criticism is passing to date through a crisis of methods. In general non-science terms, this kind of experience exists. It is known that the synergetic paradigm of scientific knowledge is best described by the constants of the Buddhist-Taoist picture of the world. Modern psychological science often uses the potential of Buddhist psychotechnics. The current literary criticism needs a multivariation interpretation of the classics (of course, with the support of solid, systemic arguments, in order to avoid a meaningless play with existed meanings). In this, on the one hand, there is evinced an attempt to awake a new reader's interest, or, at any rate, to support the attention formed in him in the rich heritage of the past. On the other hand, multivariation realizes that inner semantic potential that is carried by any genius work and Gogol masterpieces, in particular

About the "Buddhist view" on Russian literature

© 2015, Mediterranean Center of Social and Educational Research. All rights reserved. The article deals with the problem of interpretation of Russian classical literature texts through the prism of the conceptual and categorical framework of the Indo-Buddhist religious philosophy. The starting point of this study is the view considering Buddhism not only a traditional doctrine with a set of value-related meanings, but also a certain kind of an underlying universal "meta-language." The author of the article tries to explain the artistic consciousness of Russian writers represented by the text in terms of the "East-Centric" turning predetermined by the ambivalent cultural position of Russia (between the East and the West). Besides, the proposed model of classic works interpretation correlates with the statement of M.M. Bakhtin about the importance of involving remote cultural contexts in the process of understanding a particular literary phenomenon. The concept of "big-time" proposed in his days by the Russian philosopher has not yet exhausted. Verbal text is a kind of a "geographic" map, in which the brilliant author leaves marks that require conceptual decoding

About the "Buddhist view" on Russian literature

© 2015, Mediterranean Center of Social and Educational Research. All rights reserved. The article deals with the problem of interpretation of Russian classical literature texts through the prism of the conceptual and categorical framework of the Indo-Buddhist religious philosophy. The starting point of this study is the view considering Buddhism not only a traditional doctrine with a set of value-related meanings, but also a certain kind of an underlying universal "meta-language." The author of the article tries to explain the artistic consciousness of Russian writers represented by the text in terms of the "East-Centric" turning predetermined by the ambivalent cultural position of Russia (between the East and the West). Besides, the proposed model of classic works interpretation correlates with the statement of M.M. Bakhtin about the importance of involving remote cultural contexts in the process of understanding a particular literary phenomenon. The concept of "big-time" proposed in his days by the Russian philosopher has not yet exhausted. Verbal text is a kind of a "geographic" map, in which the brilliant author leaves marks that require conceptual decoding

Comparative studies of literature in Russia: Exploration of new paradigms

The article deals with the problem of methodological status of the modern Russian literature comparative studies. On the basis of point survey of purpose academic texts the deduction of exhaustiveness of the classical model of comparative-contrastive surveys has been given and it becomes firmly convinced of the necessity of forming new research paradigm, theoretically oriented to so called synergetic constituent of all humanities. In this respect it seems extremely important to read «occidental» (in the broad sense of the word, including Russian) literary works through the prism «oriental» metalanguage as historically primary and, apparently, reflecting not only cultural universal phenomena of oriental regional world-view proper, but - mostly in relief-anthropological experience of creative fantasy and memory. The noted thought belonging to M.M. Bakhtin about importance of involvement of long cultural contexts in the process of understanding the concrete literary phenomenon has not been exhausted yet. In the world literature, in the author's opinion of the article, and also in social life, here the law of peculiar «work distribution» is in effect, that enables to take into account the potential reader's «stand» with his own sound worldview when interpreting complicated philological artifacts. A literary text is a «geographical» map, on which a sophisticated writer traces multiple differently directed characters that require conceptual decoding in accordance with the complementary principle

Comparative studies of literature in Russia: Exploration of new paradigms

The article deals with the problem of methodological status of the modern Russian literature comparative studies. On the basis of point survey of purpose academic texts the deduction of exhaustiveness of the classical model of comparative-contrastive surveys has been given and it becomes firmly convinced of the necessity of forming new research paradigm, theoretically oriented to so called synergetic constituent of all humanities. In this respect it seems extremely important to read «occidental» (in the broad sense of the word, including Russian) literary works through the prism «oriental» metalanguage as historically primary and, apparently, reflecting not only cultural universal phenomena of oriental regional world-view proper, but - mostly in relief-anthropological experience of creative fantasy and memory. The noted thought belonging to M.M. Bakhtin about importance of involvement of long cultural contexts in the process of understanding the concrete literary phenomenon has not been exhausted yet. In the world literature, in the author's opinion of the article, and also in social life, here the law of peculiar «work distribution» is in effect, that enables to take into account the potential reader's «stand» with his own sound worldview when interpreting complicated philological artifacts. A literary text is a «geographical» map, on which a sophisticated writer traces multiple differently directed characters that require conceptual decoding in accordance with the complementary principle

Comparative studies of literature in Russia: Exploration of new paradigms

The article deals with the problem of methodological status of the modern Russian literature comparative studies. On the basis of point survey of purpose academic texts the deduction of exhaustiveness of the classical model of comparative-contrastive surveys has been given and it becomes firmly convinced of the necessity of forming new research paradigm, theoretically oriented to so called synergetic constituent of all humanities. In this respect it seems extremely important to read «occidental» (in the broad sense of the word, including Russian) literary works through the prism «oriental» metalanguage as historically primary and, apparently, reflecting not only cultural universal phenomena of oriental regional world-view proper, but - mostly in relief-anthropological experience of creative fantasy and memory. The noted thought belonging to M.M. Bakhtin about importance of involvement of long cultural contexts in the process of understanding the concrete literary phenomenon has not been exhausted yet. In the world literature, in the author's opinion of the article, and also in social life, here the law of peculiar «work distribution» is in effect, that enables to take into account the potential reader's «stand» with his own sound worldview when interpreting complicated philological artifacts. A literary text is a «geographical» map, on which a sophisticated writer traces multiple differently directed characters that require conceptual decoding in accordance with the complementary principle