Frame approach towards studying cultural phenomena

Abstract

  The object of this research is the religious sphere, apprehended as a fragment of the cultural worldview. The unit, which allows conducting the analysis and studying the structure of cultural worldview alongside other, is the frame of cultural phenomenon. Cultural invariants are referred to as basic frames. The subject of this research is one of the major cultural phenomena, the basic frame of the Christian culture – “sin”. The author focuses on the structure of cultural phenomenon, analyzing its levels, vertex nodes (slots) and optional nodes (terminal slots). The key research method is the frame analysis. The commonly used in sociological, linguistic, and cognitive research frame analysis is a universal tool, effective and adequate to the goals and tasks of culturology. The novelty of this study is define by the lack of works on the frame analysis of cultural phenomena in the context of its relevance for the scientific community. This article is a contribution to the discussion that has unfolded in recent years on the capabilities of frame analysis in culturology. The conducted analysis demonstrates that the frame correlated with the concept of sin has a multi-level structure. The main attributes of the frame are the slots or vertex nodes – quality inherent to human, grounds for punishment, enemy, evil, evil spirit, illness, mistake, and misfortune. The terminal (optional) slots include the atoning sacrifice and forgiveness.