Abstract This theoretical paper responds to concerns surrounding the fracturing and opaqueness of the term “sustainability” and the related metaphysical crisis that underpins an existential polycrisis. Drawing on Nietzsche’s work on order and disorder (1873, 1901), Latour’s (2013) philosophical anthropology of modernity and Rosa’s (2019) theory of resonance, the author proposes a way of considering sustainability pluralistically, as a crucial mode of existence amongst others. Revisiting the dualism of subject/object, the author proposes a more implicated, associative way of viewing how humans and non-humans relate, introducing the term sobject: interpolated, entangled being(s). As this mode of existence is explicated, the paper articulates how this could be useful in an educational sense. What is proposed is a way to “zone in” to sustainability with students; a mode through which we can learn to see our connections to and within the world, through which we can actively renew the many-pronged path of Earthly existence. Authentic transformation of dysfunctional existence on Earth, this paper argues, will not arise from harmony or consensus but from engaging the generative dissonances through which we might move beyond perpetual reconsideration of “sustainability” towards the active reconfiguration of how we live, learn and co-create a more inhabitable world.

The article examines curatorial practice as an independent form of contemporary artistic expression. Drawing on the theoretical frameworks of phenomenology, hermeneutics, relational aesthetics, visual studies, and the anthropology of modernity, it analyzes three curatorial projects by Elena Nashikian (known in professional sphere as Ellen Nash) — Fragile Angel, The Gate, and Mesozoic: Let’s Start Over. The study demonstrates that curatorial work extends beyond mediation between artist and viewer, forming autonomous conceptual structures in which space, light, and visual regimes function as instruments of philosophical and aesthetic inquiry. Special attention is paid to themes of vulnerability, ethical encounter, liminality, cyclicality, and post-catastrophic imaginaries. The projects are explored as interconnected components of a unified authorial conception that proposes new models of perception and interaction within the context of cultural complexity and global transformation. Method or Methodology of the Study The methodology of the study combines phenomenological analysis, visual theory, and relational aesthetics, allowing for an examination of curatorial practice as a form of authorial artistic expression. The research applies interpretative, comparative, and conceptual analysis to three projects by Ellen Nash, identifying the principles through which curatorial work generates modes of visibility and structures the viewer’s perceptual experience. Scientific Novelty and Conclusions The scientific novelty of the study lies in the examination of curatorial art as a form of authorial philosophical-visual expression rather than merely a mediating practice. For the first time, three projects by Ellen Nash are analyzed as conceptually interconnected artistic structures in which the curator formulates her own modes of visibility, sensory logic, and scenographic solutions. The study demonstrates that curatorial strategies can place the viewer into states of darkness, light-based perception, or spatial thresholds, creating a field for interpretation and inner work. The findings show that curatorial expression can function as an autonomous research method and a conceptual framework for reflecting on transformations of contemporary sensibility.

Boas and the metaphysics of race in the biological race debate.

Introduction. This article reviews the scientific legacy of the eminent Russian anthropologist Y.Y. Roginsky. His research had a significant impact on the subsequent development of the theoretical underpinnings of Russian anthropology. This work aims to identify the central tenets of Y.Y. Roginsky's concepts regarding the origin, evolution and differentiation of humanity, and to assess their significance for modern science. It examines his views on the initial stages of hominin formation and the role of Neanderthals in human evolution, as well as the factors that led to the success of modern humans. The hypothesis of «broad monocentrism», which explains the origin of human races, is also discussed briefly. Particular attention is paid to the scientist's ideas about the psychological and social differences between Neanderthals and early modern humans, including intragroup aggression, and the significance of art as an indicator of Homo sapiens' cognitive uniqueness. Materials and methods. This study is based on Y.Y. Roginsky's writings, recollections of him, personal diaries and contemporary publications on topics related to his work. Using the historical method and a comparative approach, the theoretical constructions of Y. Y. Roginsky could be compared with contemporary concepts. Results. Y.Y. Roginsky's interdisciplinary scientific approach is based on the comprehensive application of data from morphology, paleoanthropology, archaeology, ethology and psychology. Y.Y. Roginsky's theoretical concepts are united by one central theme: the study of patterns in the formation of modern humans and how they differ from other ancient human species. His works address issues such as the earliest origins of humans, the reality of the «Neanderthal phase» in human evolution, mono- and polycentrism in the differentiation of Homo sapiens into separate races, the reconstruction of potential differences between modern humans and their ancestors, the Upper Paleolithic art, and the uniqueness of the human personality. Conclusion. The structure, content and interdisciplinary nature of modern anthropology, as well as the broad range and depth of issues studied, are largely based on the scientific concepts and methodological approaches of one of the most notable anthropologists of 20th century, Yakov Yakovlevich Roginsky. © 2025. This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 license

ABSTRACT Grounded in collaborative research with Arrernte and Anmatyerr people in central Australia who critically interrogate the archives of late nineteenth and early twentieth century anthropologists, this paper demonstrates how complex historical and social relationships are inherently intrinsic to the future uses of these collections. Through an examination of the ways that Arrernte/Anmatyerr people now use these archives, it is shown that emergent, local methodologies for using these collections do not necessarily lead to disentanglement from settler-colonial legacies. As people re-engage with these archives a critical appreciation of anthropologists and their methods is developed, Aboriginal co-production is re-centred, and collections are used as reservoirs of diverse potentiality that might assist with the rejuvenation of tradition or to support other community aspirations. Via processes termed 'cross-walking' and ‘bridging’, a deeper appreciation of the making of these collections has come about, as well as a forward-looking action that connects oral and archival knowledge across the generations.

Introduction. The field of ethnicity research in modern anthropology, ethnography, ethnology and ethnosociology is considered through the confrontation of the main cognitive positions, primordialism and constructivism. The purpose of the article is to generalize and to refute the criticism directed at constructivism, as well as to build a perspective for the synthesis of constructivist and primordialist research positions.Methodology and sources. This is a summary of the critique of constructivism to date. Four theses of this criticism are formulated: the faintness of its ontology, the reduction of ethnicity to the individuality, the confusion of definitions of ethnicity with other social categories, and the emphasis on the controllability of ethnic processes. An apologia for constructivism is the result of a consistent analysis of these theses.Results and discussion. It is shown that constructivism has an original ontology based on the interpretation of ethnicity as a type of social relations. The key research objects of constructivism – ethnicity, boundary and classification (categorization) system – are considered, allowing to address the collective dimension of the theoretical model of ethnicity, without closing in on individual processes. An example of a research model in constructivism is presented, showing that the role of ethnicity in social processes remains a meaningful and independent category of cognition. Finally, a distinction between the ontological and epistemological status of ethnicity in constructivism is made, which allows us to conclude that the epistemological position of constructivism is not related to the characterization of the essence of ethnicity, and therefore cannot be used as a basis for concluding that ethnic processes are malleable to external control.Conclusion. This apologia of constructivism allows us to conclude that the flexibility of the constructivist paradigm makes it possible to adapt the sciences of ethnicity to the state of modern society. The prospect of integrating primordialism and constructivism by considering them as phenomena linked by reflexive symmetry is outlined in the conclusion.

For several years, the Center for Physical Anthropology at the Institute of Ethnology and Anthrop ology, Russian Academy of Sciences, has been working on the reconstruction of the appearance of warriors who perished during World War II. The aim of this work is to gather as much information as possible about the lifetime appearance of the soldiers whose remains were found many years later on the former battlefields - namely, to determine the age, gender, body length, and body types, using the standard anthropological programs. The authors studied the remains of eight warriors exhumed by search teams in 2023 at the sites of battles for the Zaitseva Gora heights near the village of Tsvetovka in the Baryatinsky district of the Kaluga region. Graphic portraits in profile and frontal views were created, based on 3D-models of the skull. As a result, tables with individual skull measurements and calculated lifetime head sizes were compiled. In addition to graphic reconstructions, verbal portraits and descriptions of the burial context, including possible causes of death, are provided for each individual.

The article examines methodological projects for research within online settings, the authors of which used images of classical, or conservative, fieldwork to design methods of digital anthropology. Digital anthropologists address various conceptual and pragmatic aspects of the fieldsite, fieldwork, and ethnography, rethinking the production of anthropological knowledge for internet research. Denying the possibility of applying classical fieldwork techniques in online settings, anthropologists engaged in virtual ethnography and user experience research have prepared an intellectual context for the anthropology of virtual worlds and social media and its methodological projects for digital fieldwork. Description of the classical fieldsite, including the version by B. Malinowski, influenced anthrop ologists to conceptualize the digital field, remove the ontological distinction between a real and virtual place, and problematize the anthropologist's position as an avatar and user. In conclusion, this methodological strategy is situated within a discussion of the political and epistemological dimensions of the field and ethnography. The author shows that methodological projects based on the images of classical fieldwork have allowed digital anthropologists not only to substantiate the corporate identity of their research area but also to demystify field practice, re-establishing its pragmatic and conceptual foundations and critical potential.

In the early decades of the German Federal Republic, the sociologist, anthropologist and philosopher Arnold Gehlen developed what is commonly referred to as conservative institutional thinking. In his major work, Der Mensch, published in 1940, he defined man as a being of culture by nature. The aim, then, is to understand how a conservative culturalist theory of man was able to develop within the movement in philosophy and the human sciences in the first half of the twentieth century. It is based both on an intellectual approach specific to the development of thought begun in the 1920s under the name of Philosophical Anthropology, and also on an original empiric approach that gives man a double definition: that of being both a challenging and an acting being. Finally, it includes what is perhaps the most fundamental category of Gehlens anthropo logy as a who le, namely the principle of Entlastung (relief), which is the cornerstone o f his conservative interpretation.

The article is devoted to the relatively unexplored question of the pre-Columbian tributary relationships in the late Yucatec Mayan Society on the Eve of the Spanish conquest in an anthropological perspective. The author insists that our sources do reflect some ritual and “prestige” aspects of the so-called pre-Columbian “tributary” system. In fact, the cultural analysis of the reports on the pre-Hispanic “tribute” reveals the features of the more “primitive” redistribution system and ideology of the “prestige economy” system in the terms of modern anthropology. The “prestige economy” was studied for the Mayan area on the basis of the relatively late ethnological data (XVII–XX cc.) related to communities reformed by the Spanish (cabildo government, cofradia brotherhoods for the catholic cult). It is impossible to apply it to the earliest times before the conquest. Still, this data exists for the conquest period, but it is largely neglected by “mesoamerican” ethnologists. We can try to examine it through information on the pre-colonial tribute among the Maya.

The article problematizes the concept of human nature in three related fields of knowledge: theology, history, and philosophy. The main problem with "human nature" as a theological concept is that it was based on ancient anthropology, primarily Aristotle. However, modern intellectual culture is separated from antiquity by the "anthropological revolution" that occurred at the beginning of the twentieth century thanks to Freud, Heidegger, Lorenz, and others. As a result, a different idea of human nature has emerged, in which, for example, sexuality, mortality, and aggressiveness are understood not as defects of human nature, but as constitutive factors of human personality. From the perspective of modern anthropology, the concept of human nature as a tool of dogmatic theology needs to be rethought. However, this conclusion itself requires historical verification, and meaningful transformations of the concept of human nature require scrupulous historical research. In turn, the historical study of semantic transformations of the concept of human nature is complicated by the uncertainty of its boundaries and content. There are at least five ways of understanding human nature, dating back to ancient philosophy: nature as the antonym of art (technē), nature as a "scheme" of a thing, setting the direction of its transformations, nature as the goal of movement, nature as a measure of perfection, norm, and nature as an ensemble of typologizing signs. In contemporary debates, the validity of the concept of human nature is called into question. Constructivist criticism of essentialism is based on anthropological data, which testify to the diversity of ideas about man and, accordingly, reinforce the thesis that "human nature" is a cultural construct that does not have an ontological status. However, over the past few decades, evolutionary biologists have sought to give stable and "objective" content to the concept of human nature. However, the possibility of using the data of modern biology, which reveals the evolutionarily established species characteristics of a person (including those that are still considered cultural), to identify a cultural norm remains in question.

Debates on the genocidal nature of Russian atrocities in Ukraine have uncovered various grey zones of the law on genocide. While most contemporary commentaries have focused on the essence and scope of the crime’s central element – the intent to destroy the group in whole or in part – little analysis has been dedicated to defining and understanding the alleged object of the destruction, i.e., protected groups themselves. Even beyond the Ukrainian context, this problem is endemic to contemporary doctrine and jurisprudence, providing a rather cursory or even contradictory analysis of the notions of protected groups seemingly without recourse to other fields studying human identities, such as anthropology. This article aims to address this lacuna by exploring the dichotomy between national and ethnic groups under the Genocide Convention through Soviet and Russian identity narratives. The article summarises the state of contemporary law and jurisprudence relevant to the definition of the protected groups, as well as associated gaps and inconsistencies. It further addresses challenging issues of the groups’ definition and delimitation through the lenses of modern anthropology, where the law is silent. The article stresses the importance of multidisciplinary and contextualised application of the legal concepts under the law of genocide in light of the meaning ascribed to them by other fields of study focusing on group identities and inter-group dynamics. Finally, the article applies relevant findings to the context of Soviet and further Russian narratives on the Ukrainian identities, illustrating the dichotomy between national and ethnic groups.

Long-term trends are classically represented by the dynamics of body length and weight. However, in order to solve practical problems associated with the development of a regulatory framework regulating the “man-machine" system, the production of clothing and personal protective equipment, including for military activities, it is necessary to create a holistic picture of the changes.Purpose: to systematize data on long-term trends in morphofunctional indicators of practically healthy individuals in combination with data from anthropometric studies. The selection of literary sources over the past 20 years was carried out in the E-library, Pubmed and Scopus databases. The exclusion criterion was the age of subjects under 16 years. The main long-term changes are associated with an increase in body mass index due to body weight, against the background of stagnation in its length. Changes in the last two decades include developmental retardation, debrachycephalization and leptoprosopia, changes in body shape, sex inversion, decreased aerobic tolerance, decreased agility, decreased certain blood biochemical parameters, cellularity of body fluids and cognitive abilities, as well as increased activity of the sympathetic nervous system. Thus, it can be stated that a wide range of organs are involved in secular trends, which requires targeted research from the standpoint of systemic anatomy.

Abstract In this autoethnographic article, I explore the “crisis of representation” and the struggle of subaltern people for reparative representation and media justice. I argue that the field of visual anthropology and its multimodal programs have emerged from the margins to be at the forefront of decolonizing media and representation in the academy and beyond, but more work still needs to be done to achieve parity. I highlight the work and programs of leading scholar‐practitioners and their methodological and theoretical approaches that have shifted the paradigm of modern anthropology and representational politics and practice more generally. I focus on the trajectory of Faye Ginsburg's scholarship and media activism working with Indigenous, disability, and reproductive justice movements and show its impact on my work in the media worlds of the United States and Afghanistan and on Middle Eastern and Asian contexts and studies more broadly.

Trying to classify the cultural patterns of behaviour, modern anthropology offers the distinction between “shame cultures” (which rely on external sanctions for good behaviour) and “guilt cultures” (which internalize the conviction of sin). Correspondingly, shame and guilt create specific ethos and therefore could be treated as factors indicating cultural meaning and function of the notion of honour in different cultural contexts. The article is an attempt to analyse the role of guilt and shame phenomena in the creation of Joseph Conrad’s Lord Jim.

The article examines the forms of representation of the idea of the diversity of being that have developed outside Western European philosophy and science. The paper presents an analysis of the proposed F. Descola, E. Cohn and E. V. de Castro reconstructions of “Indian” ontologies, which are positioned as an alternative to the West «metaphysics». The models constructed within the framework of anthropological reconstructions are based on a number of ontological assumptions (multi-naturalism, reinspectivism, multimodality), which are considered as forms of representation of diversity. The author examines the boundaries of the decentered ontology of diversity, the peculiarities of the relationship between objective and subjective complexity in the mythology of Indian collectives. In the context of the described theoretical models, complexity is considered as a relational, transversal category relevant for describing the processuality of existence, the diversity of human experience, the relationship between man, society and culture. The article also presents a comparative analysis of the ideas of diversity that have developed in “Indian” metaphysics and in the directions of modern philosophy (“new ontologies”) and science (synergetics).

Purpose. In the article, the author questions rethinking the phenomena of empathy and self-empathy as modes of self-understanding of humanity and the inner intention to self-exploration of human spirituality. Theoretical basis. The research is based on the phenomenological dimension of modern anthropology and axiology. Originality. The change of the traditional intersubjective approach in the understanding of empathy to an introsubjective one and the affirmation of self-empathy as one of the defining existences in human beings, which is adjusted by the altruism-egoism value scale and forms the skills of unconditional empathic action towards the Other as a mode of self-exploration in the spiritual essence of a person are argued. Conclusions. The commonplace in a wide palette of research views on empathy is the construct for the Self – Other disposition and the intersubjective approach emphasizing the object of empathy. Transformation of the intention vector of empathic consciousness from the object to the subject of empathic action opens up deep possibilities of spiritual improvement as a way of self-awareness in the human essence. The transformation of the intention vector of empathic consciousness from intersubjective (I in the Other) to introsubjective (I through the Other) has the potential for spiritual development according to the altruism-egoism value scale. Empathy as an introsubjective position of self-exploration is inseparably connected with self-empathy, which in the mutual integration of its three main components – benevolence towards oneself, reflexivity towards one’s own experience and a tendency to understand one’s fate as common to all mankind – forms an important regulator of self-understanding of a person’s spiritual potential and the possibility of the practical extrapolation for these skills to an empathic way of communication at all levels of anthropo-being. Anthropological accentuation on the inner essence and meanings of human existence is carried out through intuition and self-altruism as the fading of pragmatic interest in the socially conditioned Self (Ego) and immersion in the essential Self – the bearer of the universal spiritual in a person. Self-empathy is considered in the context of the ideas of Stoicism as a deep self-immersion in the human essence and sensitivity to immediate emotional internal states, as a construct of emotional intelligence and a way of realizing individual uniqueness in the context of the metamodern concept of atopy. Self-empathy is defined as one of the key existences in human beings, which forms the skill of altruistic (unconditional) implementation of empathy.

This comprehensive analysis explores the concept and development of diffusionism throughout the history of anthropology. Diffusionism, a theory that emerged in the early 20th century, posits that cultural elements are assimilated and disseminated throughout multiple nations, leading to transformative shifts in society. The German and British diffusionist schools were the primary institutions that concentrated on the transmission of cultural characteristics across temporal and spatial dimensions. The notion of "culture circles," first proposed by German diffusionism, led by figures like Wilhelm Schmidt and Robert Fritz Craebner, posited that the cultural traits of ancient civilizations spread to the surrounding regions. British diffusionism, spearheaded by Grafton Elliot Smith and V. J. Perry, emphasized Egypt as the birthplace of civilization and attributed cultural advancements to Egyptian origins. Franz Boas, the founder of the US diffusionist school, advocated for a historical-cultural perspective that opposed the idea of linear progress. Boas emphasized the importance of culture as a unified entity shaped by particular historical circumstances and dismissed notions of cultural advancement. Notable American diffusionists include J. Robert Lowie, Edward Sapir, Clark Wissler, and Alfred Louis Kroeber. Kroeber's examination of women's fashion trends and cultural zeniths demonstrates the multifaceted nature of diffusionist analysis. Lowie's study focused on challenging linear evolution ideas and emphasizing the crucial significance of spatial dispersion in understanding cultural events. Wissler concentrated on the biological components of disperse on, whereas Sapir examined how individual personalities shape cultural patterns. While diffusionism is not as common in modern anthropology, it is important for comprehending the intricacies of cultural transmission and societal progress. Diffusionism provides valuable insights into the dynamics of human culture and civilization by examining historical processes, geographic distribution, and cultural interaction.

Modern anthropology and spatial politics advocate understanding and studying the other, reflecting on oneself through the other. Great eras demand both theoretical and practical innovation, and political ethics should never be metaphysical in the ivory tower. This article takes the relevant events of Adolf Eichmann, a high-ranking Nazi official during World War II, who indiscriminately massacred numerous Jews, as an example. It reflects and analyzes the breakdown of value rationality and the disregard and trampling of moral ethics under fascist authoritarianism during World War II. Combining relevant behavioral experiments, the study explores the causes of alienation from the perspectives of alienated subjects, motives, and opportunities. This leads to a discussion of solutions to ethical alienation in the process of social development, proposing ideas for overcoming potential political ethical dislocation through emphasis on quality education, balancing social systems and ethical morals, and calling for collective reflection and nurturing a sense of responsibility for others. Maintaining a clear self-awareness under the control of desires in the high-tech era is conducive to avoiding the quagmire of alienation and provides warnings and development ideas for the long-term development of our countrys politics.

Introduction. The article investigates the peculiarities of the categorization of creativity in today’s mediatization of education. The topicality of this research stems from the fast-paced digitalization of all spheres of modern society. The study aims to specify existing interpretations of the creative matter of educational activity through the data-anthropology approach, a branch of modern anthropology. Сontent. The article substantiates the need for considering data-anthropology in evidence-based studies of mediatization and digitalization of education and presents a review of recently published papers on data-anthropology. Approaches to the use of big data for academic purposes are systematized. The relation between big data and thick data (herein referred to as helping data) in interpreting the socio-cultural context is clarified. Basing on the philosophic and cultural approaches, the authors identify the problem area limiting the categorization of creativity in education in response to human-AI interactions and the rise of neural networks. The notorious case of academic dishonesty and students’ misuse of ChatGPT is analyzed. Conclusions. Given today’s processes of mediatization and datafication of education, analyzing the categorization of creativity clarifies the attitudes towards the problem of agency in human-AI interaction adopted by those involved in such interactions. Creativity as a mark of agency indicates two distinct types of attitudes students take towards the use of ChatGPT. Neural network is considered to be, firstly, an independent entity capable of not only generating, compiling academic texts, but truly creating them (possibly, with occasional errors); and, secondly, an aid in collecting sources and clarifying issues. In the latter case, neural network is seen as having even more agency since it is perceived not only as a sophisticated search engine, but rather a bright human-like interlocutor. On both occasions, minimal agency in the participants’ perception is augmented to the supposedly full agency. Thus, minimal creative agency from the perspective of data-anthropology can be interpreted as a falsifies self-learning, capable of learning from one’s mistakes.