No 10 (2024)

Contemporary sociology pays more and more attention to the study of the processes of copying, imitation, and “viral” spread. Digital methods and abundant digital data have made it possible to study “social contagion” processes that were previously inaccessible to study. The “social contagion” means that sociocultural phenomena can spread in society like infectious diseases. Despite a variety of social contagion definitions, there is still no developed social theory of this phenomenon. However, the need to conceptualize the social contagion phenomenon is becoming increasingly tangible, since the conceptual framework of social contagion is increasingly used in empirical research and claims to be the optics through which the social reality of the digital society can be viewed. The article looks into some main areas of social contagion research in an attempt to reconstruct the contours of the theoretical model underlying such studies and to outline the ways of possible conceptualization of this phenomenon.

The article is devoted to the comprehension of the current vertical mobility channels in Russian politics. Not only the stability, functioning and development of the political system, but also the maintenance of the legitimacy of the ruling class depend on their parameters and efficiency. Based on long-term monitoring of the political elite recruitment, we analyzed the educational and professional experience of the current establishment members, as well as their geographical mobility. Total number of the studied group as of 01.01.2024 amounted to 885 people. The best prospects for an upward career trajectory are given to people born in Moscow, less often in St. Petersburg. People who grew up in the regions, to increase their chances, must move to 5 hub cities, from which their opportunities to enter the elite sharply increase. Our analysis of educational mobility also shows overconcentration: three universities prevail in the rating of elite universities – Lomonosov Moscow State University, St. Petersburg State University and MGIMO University. Professional upward flows are also characterized by low throughput: political career is promoted by three spheres of activity – housing, utilities and construction, finance and law. Overconcentration of upward mobility flows leads to negative consequences: the political system is perceived by citizens as unfair; the elite is largely delegitimized. This situation also hinders the development of meritocratic mechanisms selecting personnel for the establishment. To optimize the selection process, it is necessary to strengthen competition in selection, which will improve the quality of incorporated personnel and increase the ability of the system to withstand threats and challenges.

The article examines the variability of personal dispositions that contribute to the predisposition of youth to volunteerism. The study is based on the results of an online survey of youth in the Sverdlovsk region conducted in 2022. The sample was representative, error < 3%, size – N = 2500. The sample was based on quotas: gender, age, social status, place of residence. The article discusses the predisposition to volunteerism and the relationship between the propensity of the Urals youth to volunteer and their readiness for action. It examines the social consciousness of young people to evaluate the various characteristics of their inclination towards this type of social activity. The study analyzed the multidirectional nature of youth predisposition to volunteering across four dimensions: belief in social change, orientation towards activism, priority of egoistic or altruistic orientation of volunteering, and orientation towards relatives and friends or independence. Cluster analysis was conducted to identify 12 types of youth groups with unique characteristics of their members’ predisposition to volunteering. The propensity to volunteerism index was calculated for each group. The results show that the groups with a stronger altruistic orientation and an attitude towards social action (activism) have the largest number of individuals ready to volunteer. Meanwhile, the proportion of individuals willing to volunteer remains consistent even in groups where the inclination towards volunteerism is low.

The article focuses on the process of reviewing articles submitted to Russian sociological journals. Requirements for peer review procedures, its types and organization features are discussed. The problematic aspects of the review process in modern conditions are emphasized: excessive formalism, contradictory assessments, narrow circle of reviewers, dishonesty and violation of scientific ethics. The types of peer review used are discussed: main editor peer review, open peer review, single blind peer review, doudle-blind peer review. Attention is focused on the procedure for reviewing articles in the editorial office of the journal “Sociological Studies”, including taking into account changes over the past 10–15 years. The criterias and forms of assessment are being analyzed. The collegial nature of the evaluation of incoming articles is emphasized. A number of issues related to building scientific communication, in particular the interaction of the editorial board with the sociological community, are touched upon. The problematic aspects are summarized: the reduction of the scientific community, its disunity, methodological pluralism, etc., which affect the review process. The conclusion is made about the important role of peer review in the development and support of not only the sociological community, but also sociology as a science in general, because this is an important and integral part of the production of new knowledge.

The concept of open science, which is primarily a fight for free access to scientific knowledge, continues to gain support in the world. One of the goals of the concept is to solve the problems of developing countries and reduce inequality. This essay questions the feasibility of this goal. Presenting science as a world-system, the author describes its current structure in the format of academic colonialism, where the countries of the global North, located in the center of the world-system, dominate the countries of the global South, located closer to the periphery. The consequence of this model is epistemic injustice, which can be corrected in the context of open science. However, modern neoliberal trends in the form of platform capitalism do not allow us to cope with this problem within the framework of the concept in its current form, but only increase the risks of growing. The essay proposes possible solutions for the implementation of open science in Russia in an inclusive form based on the concept of bibliodiversity.

The article reveals the possibilities of applying P. Bourdieu’s symbolic capital concept to the analysis of places and territory. The initial foundations of the concept are analyzed in the context of his double structuring theory of social reality. Objective characteristics and resources of the territory are classified as first-order structuring, and associated assessments and perceptions are classified as second-order structuring. Based on the proposition that the approaches of social agents vary depending on their inherent habitus, it is concluded that it is more productive to view symbolic capital not as a sum, but as a constellation of social meanings. The ability to control these meanings becomes one of the key factors in the struggle for power, with its outspoken spatial aspect. In the context of understanding symbolic capital as distinction, the influence of symbolization practices on territorial identity is growing. It is argued that the proposed approach allows to take a deeper look at such current problems of place branding as the spread of “empty” brands, lack of attention to the needs of the local population, and the growth of social inequality. Using the example of the Kaliningrad region, it is shown that Bourdieu’s views on the essence of symbolic capital and the nature of symbolic power open up new opportunities for critical analysis of social problems associated with symbolization practices, and also allow explicating the hidden interests of political and economic actors in the field of territorial administration.

Статья посвящена изучению социальных и культурных механизмов конструирования эзотерической реальности в рамках дискурсивной практики гадания на картах Таро, демонстрирующей все большую популярность в массовой российской и глобальной культуре. В первой части рассматриваются социокультурные факторы формирования дискурса таромантии в рамках истории модернизации западноевропейского общества от «общего кризиса» XVII в. до возникновения движения новой духовности в XX в. Доказывается, что гадательная прагматика Таро не имеет отношения к древним знаниям или архетипическим символам, а конструируется как инициатическая и доктринальная система тайных обществ с целью объединения граждан в эпоху упадка инстутциональной религии ради легитимации символических универсумов альтернативной сакральности. Во второй части статьи приводятся некоторые данные многоступечатого эмпирического исследования символической и социальной структуры гадательного перформанса таромантии в онлайн-среде. Выделены типы онлайн-дивинаторов и их зрителей, их коммуникативные стратегии, показано устройство феноменологической сети ритуала гадания и его драматургический порядок.

The youth state policy is the object of a wide sector of the relationships between the young generation and society. Based on sociological survey and a series of focus groups conducted in 15 cities of republican, regional and local levels in the autumn 2022 – spring 2023, the author analyzes the ideas of young Kazakhstanis about the youth policy of the state and the features of youth work at their place of study or work. The results of the survey show that youth work is associated with educational work in educational institutions, the activities of committees for youth affairs, structures of school and student self-government. In recent years, young Kazakhstanis have noticed no serious turn of the state towards solving their urgent problems and are quite skeptical about the actions of the authorities and public structures. Hence the civic passivity and apoliticality of young people against the backdrop of social problems practically unknown to previous generations, such as unemployment, drugs, social inequality and marginalization, and the lack of effective mechanisms for their solution.