Социология молодежи: проектирование электронной энциклопедии

Abstract

The article outlines the conceptual foundations of the research and editorial project “Sociology of Youth: An Electronic Encyclopedia” that Moscow University for the Humanities has commenced working on. Our objective in this article is to prove that encyclopedias (and in particular, electronic encyclopedias) are better equipped to provide a systematic summary of knowledge within specific spheres of science. The issue of realizing these opportunities in such a field as sociology of youth lies in the fact that a large body of material, varying in quality, content and form, keeps on accumulating while it is being systematized and fashioned into compact forms. These forms are suitable for agglomerating new knowledge on the youth, on the one hand, and for practical use of the content for both better understanding of the youth and setting up practical work to achieve the youth’s comprehensive development and self-actualization in society, on the other. Comparing the existing textbooks on sociology of youth has allowed us to reach some conclusions on how the encyclopedia should be structured. In particular, we suggest that the more self-sufficient the discipline covered by the encyclopedia is, the less it should be structured along the lines of correlation with other spheres of knowledge. At the same time, it means that designing and structuring such an encyclopedia should at a certain stage of progress of scholarly knowledge be based on an authorial view of the discipline. To prove this thesis, we turn to the ideas of ‘the New Encyclopedism’ as formulated by Vladimir A. Lukov (1948–2014), and to the experience of working on encyclopedias, including electronic ones. The article demonstrates the importance of the thesaurus approach for structuring the encyclopedia. We have specified the following thematic units for the planned electronic edition: 1. Sociology of youth: basic concepts; 2. Theories of youth; 3. Socialization of youth; 4. Youth as it is; 5. Youth subcultures; 6. Youth movement; 7. Youth policy; 8. Scholars of youth issues; 9. Research centers for youth problems; 10. Major studies of youth issues; 11. Major journals on youth issues. The contribution the encyclopedia is intended to make lies in providing widest access to the ideas, theories and empirical data sociology of youth has developed and accumulated. These materials have been created by both researchers and practicians working with the youth, and the youth themselves, including early career researchers.