«…It was done by Soviet scientists»: Representations of scientific social practices in Soviet magazines for children (the 1980s)

Abstract

The author explores the texts of Soviet periodicals for children and sets the task to reveal how science is represented in relation to state policy, as well as defining the semiotic resources that convey grown-ups’ social practices to children’s audience. Methodologically, the study builds on content analysis and discourse analysis of the publications drawn from the magazines “Pioneer” and “Kostyor”. It has been found that publications on science occupied an important place in the magazines, sections on science were regular, and most of them had exact and natural sciences as their subject. Specific features of representations have been discovered, including references to experts’ opinions, channeling of agonality, emotions and ideologies. The validity of scientific information provided was guaranteed by the expert status of the author or commentator: their professionalism and public recognition. The texts contained argumentation tactics that were typical of academic communication, and thus, grown-ups’ social practices were transferred to children’s magazines. The author claims that the rational sphere of science was discursively constructed as a source of emotional experience, specifically — the feeling of wonder. The factual component was complemented by the emotional modus and actualized through the lexical markers of wonder, evaluative elements and stylistic devices. The journals were used as an instrument of dialogue between the state and a younger generation, and the representations of scientific social practices contained markers of ideology. The author claims that convergence of scientific, media and political discourses is taking place in the process of representation of scientific practices. The resulting representations build axiological attitudes of a younger generation, maintain ideological guidelines, and determine a scientific and ideological worldview.