Cultural Crisis Research Articles

Cultural Crisis During the Pandemic and Its Reflection in Georgian and American Print Media

The pandemic became the defining event of early 2020, impacting culture as well as all other areas of life. It emerged as the main architect, artist, director of silence, and dramatist of emptiness. It brought different cities around the world closer together and made them similar with empty streets and a slower pace of life. The pandemic placed new demands on many fields of art; it was a "timeout" for both the world and culture. In some places, art adapted to open spaces, but even in this openness, creative energy remained constrained, and much of what was expressed could not be fully articulated. There were instances where the pandemic became a source of "inspiration" for some artists, prompting them to compose original music, create new works of art, or transition to the online space, finding new ways to use this platform. Covid-19, which suddenly struck the world, drastically changed the global agenda. New regulations were imposed, the usual way of life was disrupted, and the world was unprepared for many of the challenges it faced. Before scientists and researchers could develop effective methods to combat the coronavirus, humanity had already shifted to a remote format. In this paper, we will explore the impact of the pandemic on art and how this period was reflected in print media, using the example of Georgian and American magazines such as "Teatri," "Aril," "Art in America," and "ARTFORUM".

Algunos apuntes preparatorios para abordar el tema de la responsabilidad histórica de los estudios generales en un contexto de colapso mundial y crisis civilizatoria

Introduction. In the introduction to the article we set out how the global collapse and the current civilizational crisis imply the need for a permanent reflection on the role of general studies and the impulse in the academic formation of a new humanism that criticizes and overcomes the ideological prejudices of liberal humanism. Objective. The general objective of the article is to provide a propaedeutic contribution to address the issue of the responsibility of general studies to continue promoting a new humanism. Discussion. The discussion starts from a critical description of the failure of liberal humanism or that analyticaland colonial interpretation of the history of European and American thought from which a hegemonic and western identity was sought to be defined during the second half of the 20th century. Conclusions. After making this critical exposition, some general and exploratory reflections on the importance of education and generalstudies in the process of forming critical thinking of people capable of authentically acing our own societies are presented as conclusions.

Az IKT-eszközök szülői kontrollja az olvasóvá nevelés kontextusában

With digital technologies spreading exponentially, families and parents are concerned about the crisis of culture, of the book, of raising their children to be readers. In the research on which the present study is based (2022, 10 semi-structured interviews), I asked graduate mothers living in a rural settlement (Parajd, Harghita County) about their perception of ICT tools in their family literacy practices. In my previous research (Néma, 2023c), I found a significant opposition in the perception of books and ICT tools, thematising the latter as a primary obstacle in the process of literacy education. Thus, in the present study, I present the 6 groups of opinions in which the interviewed mothers detail the need to regulate children's use of devices in the context of reading - by analysing the content of 85 statements emphasising ICT control from the parental narrative.

Rudolf Eucken and the crisis of spiritual life

ABSTRACT The paper clarifies some prominent aspects of Rudolf Eucken’s Philosophy of Life that, despite its vast influence in the late nineteenth and the early twentieth centuries, is nowadays mostly forgotten. More specifically, I will reconstruct Eucken’s philosophical diagnosis of the spiritual crisis affecting European and Western civilization in relation to the concepts of culture, history, and worldview. First, I will offer an analysis of the spiritual crisis in its two core aspects: as a crisis of culture and as a crisis of the historical present stemming from the unprecedented polarization of vying worldviews. Second, I will identify the defining traits of Eucken’s original and systematic concept of Weltanschauung through a detailed comparison with Ernst Haeckel’s naturalistic worldview, an early version of scientific reductionism. Third, I will show how the problem of clashing worldviews both configures and responds to the present crisis and how such a problem hinges on a latent process of falsification of life. In doing so, I will shed light on Eucken’s belonging to Lebensphilosophie by elucidating the relation between philosophy and life as well as the task of philosophy vis-à-vis the present crisis.

A scoping review on what constitutes a good research culture

Background The crisis in research culture is well documented, covering issues such as a tendency for quantity over quality, unhealthy competitive environments, and assessment based on publications, journal prestige and funding. In response, research institutions need to assess their own practices to promote and advocate for change in the current research ecosystem. The purpose of the scoping review was to explore ‘What does the evidence say about the ‘problem’ with ‘poor’ research culture, what are the benefits of ‘good’ research culture, and what does ‘good’ look like?’ Aims To examine the peer-reviewed and grey literature to explore the interplay between research culture, open research, career paths, recognition and rewards, and equality, diversity, and inclusion, as part of a larger programme of activity for a research institution. Methods A scoping review was undertaken. Six databases were searched along with grey literature. Eligible literature had relevance to academic research institutions, addressed research culture, and were published between January 2017 to May 2022. Evidence was mapped and themed to specific categories. The search strategy, screening and analysis took place between April-May 2022. Results 1666 titles and abstracts, and 924 full text articles were assessed for eligibility. Of these, 253 articles met the eligibility criteria for inclusion. A purposive sampling of relevant websites was drawn from to complement the review, resulting in 102 records included in the review. Key areas for consideration were identified across the four themes of job security, wellbeing and equality of opportunity, teamwork and interdisciplinary, and research quality and accountability. Conclusions There are opportunities for research institutions to improve their own practice, however institutional solutions cannot act in isolation. Research institutions and research funders need to work together to build a more sustainable and inclusive research culture that is diverse in nature and supports individuals’ well-being, career progression and performance.

From ‘white man’s science’ to a ‘Brave Space’: an art of decolonising landscape from Environmental Science

In 2021, prompted by the claim of a colleague that the climate and species crises are ‘white man’s science’, two small, seed-funding research projects, explored contemporary cultural values and colonial barriers to people of colour engaging in Environmental Sciences. The project partners included organisations from diverse ethnicities, sectors, cultures and generations in specific locations across the UK. A form of deep listening (consciously focusing on people’s cultural narratives) was explored with creative storying (the making and telling of stories), as an approach to research. And from this a Brave Space emerged between the project participants; gaining the courage to face the challenges of deeply difficult and sensitive topics, such as race, power, privilege and oppression. Climate, species and cultural crises were perceived as the nexus of one crisis or emergency.

Extensive culture: expressions of endlessness in the metaverse and the limits of data accumulation

ABSTRACT Developing the central concept of extensive culture this article seeks to situate notions of the metaverse within wider and longer term cultural shifts. It places such notions within established moves toward a seeming limitlessness or endlessness in culture. It takes inspiration from Georg Simmel's (1917) piece on ‘The Crisis of Culture’, in which Simmel claimed that modernity was simultaneously becoming both more extensive and more intensive. Through its focus on extensive culture the article explores how we might approach expressions of seeming endlessness. The article deals centrally with the metaverse as an instance of such an expression. It argues that these expressions are an integral part of how culture is imagined and how transformations are envisioned, especially with regard to the expansions of data structures. The article shows how the development of a heightened extensive culture takes shape and form within the visions of seeming endlessness and apparent formlessness that accompany and define these expressions. As these expressions of extensive culture find form in concepts like the metaverse these visions of endlessness reshape the limits and frontiers of data structures. The article concludes by reflecting on how particular expressions of extensive culture can illustrate the intricate and interreliant relations between extensive modes of culture and data accumulation.

Federalism and National Integration in Nigeria: A Study of Selected States in South-South, Nigeria

Abstract : Nigeria as a multi ethnic nationalities country is faced with tremendous task of integrating a country that is deeply depleted by mirage of problems, including among others ethno-religious and cultural crises and the constitutional imperfection. Regrettably, the manner the country practices federalism has resulted to the country's inability to foster or promote national integration, and unity in diversity. The main objective of the study was to investigate the role of federalism in promoting national integration in Nigeria. Four states comprising of AkwaIbom, Bayelsa, Delta and Rivers in south south, Nigeria were selected for the study. To achieve this objective, survey correlation/research design was adopted for the study and a sample size of 384 was drawn from the population of 20,787,224, using purposive and systematic sampling techniques respectively. Data were selected using researchers developed questionnaire titled Federalism and National Integration Questionnaire (FNIQ) the instrument was administered and retrieved by the researchers with the help of two research assistants. Three research questions and three hypotheses were formulated for the study. Pearson Product Moment Correlation (PPMC) was used in testing the hypotheses at 0.5 level of significance. Three null hypotheses of the study were rejected leading to the decision to accept the alternative hypotheses. It was concluded that there was significant relationship between ethnicity, supremacy of power of having, and the Federal Constitution and the national integration in south south Nigeria. It was recommended among others, that, to foster possible breakup by the ethnic nationalities in Nigeria, government should device a federal principle through accommodation, consultation, negotiation and inclusion, instead of exclusion and denial of their rights. The sharing of political offices and opportunities should be equitable and based on the spirit of federal character principle and true federalism.

Философско-антропологическая проблематика в работе М. Хоркхаймера и Т. Адорно «Диалектика Просвещения»

The article is devoted to the analysis of the work of the Frankfurt school theorists M. Horkheimer and T. Adorno “Dialectics of Enlightenment. Philosophical fragments” from a philosophical and anthropological perspective. These thinkers became famous primarily as representatives of sociological knowledge. The study showed that their heritage also raises philosophical and anthropological issues. The work shows that in “Dialectics of Enlightenment” the authors offer an original concept of the history of European culture, presented from the perspective of the evolution of being and consciousness of the individual. Thinkers are convinced that the entire history of European culture appears as a distinction between man and nature, the removal of the natural from the consciousness of the individual. Modern culture is considered by M. Horkheimer and T. Adorno as the apogee of this sociocultural crisis, after which, according to them, “non-existence” comes. Based on the presented assessment of theorists of the Frankfurt School, a conclusion is made about the validity of understanding the current crisis of European culture (crisis of the 20th century) as a sociocultural transformation, marking the entrance to a new stage in the dynamics of the countries of this region.

Cultural Memory in the Context of the Art Episteme of Ukrainian Cordocentrism

The article attempts to comprehend the influence of cultural memory on the episteme of cordocentrism in the nation-building process in nowadays Ukraine, as well as to analyze the spontaneous activation and prove the effectiveness of the re-actualization of the gestalt of indigenous national consciousness, which manifests Ukrainian cordocentrism through the aesthetics of aísthēsis, and which, in the conditions of the Russian-Ukrainian hybrid war, becomes a reliable protection of cultural memory while preserving the sovereign existential unity of the nation. The activation of the updated art episteme in the domestic space coincides with the international search for alternatives to art forms that are derived from consumer capitalism, one of those alternatives being the paradigm conventionally named "New sincerity". This latter, stimulates cultural oscillation between the concepts of outdated, as of today, patterns of postmodernism and modernism. It is hypothesized that such transformations might allow the commodified society of consumerism to get rid of the limitations of the collective memory imposed onto it and cultivated by the market ideology of "paradigm wars" and the de-skilling of the art business in particular. These transformations might also allow the society to overcome the overwhelming civilizational crisis that has been much discussed in the recent decades in publications dedicated to art history and contemporaneity, as well as those dedicated to cultural and civilizational changes and strategies.

“Like Here You Can See”

This article studies data from civilian crisis management training to investigate how participants use smartphones to construct participation in team interaction during a task. Previous research discusses the effects of smartphone use in co-present interaction, and its use may have advantages and disadvantages to the production of meaningful, effective interaction. Using ethnomethodological conversation analysis, this study examines participants’ private smartphone use as well as their shared smartphone showings. The analysis demonstrates the complexity and fluidity of smartphone use in a multiparty co-present setting, illustrating the collaborative nature of the showing, and showcasing how the smartphone use furthers the participants’ shared understanding as well as decision-making. The analysis focuses on the the beginning, middle, and end stages of the smartphone use. Findings show that both the smartphone user and their co-participants utilize a rich array of multimodal resources to construct interaction during the private activity and the shared showing. The data demonstrates how participants aptly utilize their smartphones for the benefit of the interaction and present task.

Research on Diltheys Hermeneutics of Life

Dilthey propounds human sciences in his critique of traditional metaphysics and natural sciences. The hermeneutics of life, the essential approach in the inquiry of human sciences, focuses on human life to construct the interrelations among lived experience, understanding, and expression. The idea that life is an organism is introduced based on the connection between the individual life and the universal life of general human beings. There are three hierarchical forms of manifestation of life: concepts, judgments, and larger thought-formations, actions, and the expression of lived experience. There is a proximity between the expression of lived experience and the nature of life, of which the expression of lived experience is the most significant manifestation of life in the human sciences. Lived experience has an immediacy that delivers direct and immediate access to reality, whereas understanding is indirect and requires further mediation. Understanding has two forms: the elementary and the higher. Based on the hermeneutics of life, Diltheys human sciences can be approached as a reply to the contemporary cultural crisis.

О смысле памяти

The review presents to the reader the first published manuscripts of Olga Alexandrovna Shor, known as a biographer and publisher of the works of the Russian poet Vyacheslav Ivanov. The review examines in detail published Shor’ manuscripts stored in the Roman Archive of Vyach. Ivanov, in particular the treatise “Mnemology”, as well as individual notes included in the book. Olga Shor’s philosophizing is proposed to be understood as a kind of mystical ontologism based on the concept of being as a starting point for describing the ontological memory and reality of an event. The connections and interactions of Shor’s reflections in the treatise with the cultural context – the philosophy of Plato and Aristotle, the heritage of Vyach. Ivanov, neo-Kantianism, Russian and European religious and philosophical thought – are considered in outline. The author of the review expresses the hope that the first and very detailed publication of “Mnemology” will draw research attention to the author’s philosophical work of Olga Shor. The return of such forgotten names and works to our intellectual space is also important because it opens access to the creative laboratory of the Silver Age, which was busy searching for a way out of the crisis of European culture and creating an original version of cultural philosophy. Considering the fact that Olga Shor left her work unfinished without preparing it for publication, which makes a serious critical analysis of this work incorrect, the review mainly clarifies the key points of the author’s thoughts and offers an understanding of the author’s intention

«Европеизм» между политикой и культурой: исторические смыслы и современные трансформации (материалы «круглого стола»)

The journal “Voprosy Filosofii” has repeatedly addressed various aspects of the philosophy of culture. In particular, issues of the interaction between Russia, the West, and the East, the unity of the world and the diversity of cultures, multicultur­alism and the dialogue of cultures, the role of the philosopher in culture, and the prospects for the development of Russian culture have been discussed. Special im­portance has been given to the understanding of cultural studies as a scientific and ed­ucational discipline. In April 2024, we once again turned to the philosophy of culture in the context of the problem of “Europeanism” and discussed the historical meanings and contemporary transformations of this cultural-historical phenomenon. The follow­ing questions were proposed for discussion. What constitutes the “essence” of Euro­pean culture? Does “Europeanism” have an obligatory historical and geographical at­tachment? Why does the methodological concept of “presentism-antiquarianism” gain crucial importance today, particularly for research in the field of the philosophy of cul­ture? Is antiquity the origin only of European culture, or is it the origin of the Great Culture? Is “Europeanization of the Earth” possible today? (Spengler, Husserl, Hei­degger). Who are the true heirs of antiquity today? Are there differences between Greek and Roman cultures? Which type has Europe inherited today, and to what ex­tent? Has the perception of “Europeanism” changed in Russian and world philosophy of the 19th–21st centuries? The role of Hegel in the mythologization of “Europe.” Is “Europeanism” a political myth of the 21st century? How do you evaluate the at­tempts at philosophical comparisons of the crisis of European culture in the 1920s and the 2020s? Does “Europeanism” exhaust European culture? And what philosophical or cultural problem do we want to see behind this? The crucial topic of discussion was the interpretation of Europeanism as a symbolic construct, connected with the assessment of the prospects for the development of the cultural future of Russia, Europe, and Humanity

Ad-hocability: crisis management centres following the Hamas attack on Israel

ABSTRACT On 7 October 2023, Hamas launched an unprovoked attack on Israel, which resulted in immediate mayhem and chaos. Within hours, hundreds of civilian crisis management centres were created by activists and volunteers, many of them assisted successfully in a variety of areas. This article examined the information management practices of eight centres, using semi-structured interviews. Two factors contributed to the crisis management centres’ success: their ad hoc nature and the use of readily available, easy-to-use technology for the management, sharing, and organisation of information. The article highlights the benefits and efficacy of employing more straightforward and readily available technical solutions in crisis management.

Tweeting the academic resistance in Turkey and Hungary: from cultural crisis to defending the nation

ABSTRACT This paper explores the reemergence of universities as spaces for the contestation of government policies in an era of illiberalism, rising nationalism and populism. We focus on high-profile contestations occurring at two public universities in Turkey and Hungary: Boğaziçi University and the University of Theatre and Film Arts, respectively. At both universities, attacks on democratic governance and liberal-democratic values have resulted in academic resistance that have played out on physical campuses and in online spaces. We conceptualise a virtual space as a space of contestation and analyse social media data to identify the dominant narratives of governments and their supporters on one side and resistance supporters on the other that gives the way to two major narratives: while right-wing imaginaries and pro-government actors frame the liberal and pro-freedom inclinations of universities as a ‘threat’ to the nation, students and faculty portray the government as the true threat to their rights and freedoms and knowledge production within what was once a ‘safe space’ in universities, thus framing themselves as the ‘true guardians’ of their institutions. Our analysis shows how universities have become contemporary flashpoints in and upon which broader political contestations over national culture play out.

Transforming Artistic Practice: Collingwood, Adorno, and the Diseases of the Mind

Abstract This paper addresses the views of R.G. Collingwood and Theodor Adorno on the role of amusement and art in what each of them saw as the crisis of contemporary Western civilization. We will begin by showing how the aesthetic theories of Collingwood and Adorno develop out of their shared concerns about the harmful effects of amusement and bad art on the consciousness of human beings. We will argue that a productive dialogue between these two figures clarifies that the value of art consists in its ability to remedy the corruption of the mental and emotional lives of human beings and in helping to fashion a different social and political order. As part of this, we will show how, despite appearances, Adorno’s aesthetic cognitivism and Collingwood’s expression theory of art agree with and complement one another in significant ways. In establishing this point, this work will leave us with an understanding of art that is more comprehensive and better equipped to address the crisis of contemporary Western society.

Martensen’s Review of Heiberg’s New Poems and the Discussion on Speculative Poetry and the Crisis of the Age

Abstract In this article I offer an introduction to Hans Lassen Martensen’s review of Heiberg’s New Poems, published in 1841. In his treatise On the Significance of Philosophy of 1833, the poet and philosopher Johan Ludvig Heiberg presented a diagnosis of what he perceived as the cultural crisis of the time. In his view, Danish society was afflicted by a frivolous and nihilistic worldview. A Hegel enthusiast, Heiberg thought that the cure for the crisis lay in a new philosophical perspective, capable of finding the universal and infinite within the particular and finite. But this was only possible to communicate through literature and, more specifically, through what he called speculative poetry. In the following years, Heiberg and his friend and colleague Martensen developed the notion of this new genre. This didactic campaign culminated with the publication of Heiberg’s New Poems, especially the piece “A Soul after Death,” accompanied by the review composed by Martensen.

A scoping review on what constitutes a good research culture

Background The crisis in research culture is well documented, covering issues such as a tendency for quantity over quality, unhealthy competitive environments, and assessment based on publications, journal prestige and funding. In response, research institutions need to assess their own practices to promote and advocate for change in the current research ecosystem. The purpose of the scoping review was to explore ‘What does the evidence say about the ‘problem’ with ‘poor’ research culture, what are the benefits of ‘good’ research culture, and what does ‘good’ look like?’ Aims To examine the peer-reviewed and grey literature to explore the interplay between research culture, open research, career paths, recognition and rewards, and equality, diversity, and inclusion, as part of a larger programme of activity for a research institution. Methods A scoping review was undertaken. Six databases were searched along with grey literature. Eligible literature had relevance to academic research institutions, addressed research culture, and were published between January 2017 to May 2022. Evidence was mapped and themed to specific categories. The search strategy, screening and analysis took place between April-May 2022. Results 1666 titles and abstracts, and 924 full text articles were assessed for eligibility. Of these, 253 articles met the eligibility criteria for inclusion. A purposive sampling of relevant websites was drawn from to complement the review, resulting in 102 records included in the review. Key areas for consideration were identified across the four themes of job security, wellbeing and equality of opportunity, teamwork and interdisciplinary, and research quality and accountability. Conclusions There are opportunities for research institutions to improve their own practice, however institutional solutions cannot act in isolation. Research institutions and research funders need to work together to build a more sustainable and inclusive research culture that is diverse in nature and supports individuals’ well-being, career progression and performance.

Aportes del pensamiento crítico latinoamericano contemporáneo para el abordaje de las migraciones internacionales como una problemática mundial de la actualidad

The article examines the significant contribution of contemporary Latin American critical thinking to the understanding of international migrations as a current global issue. It emphasizes the need to approach the migratory phenomenon in a transdisciplinary manner, while analyzing the marked disparities present in the world and the lack of coherent responses in a globally interconnected context driven more by the interests of capital than by human needs. The article highlights the importance of incorporating the perspective of the "other" in a comprehensive approach to migrations, emphasizing the crucial consideration of human rights as an integral component of migration policies. Furthermore, it posits the thesis that the current treatment and management of international migrations have failed, being approached from a securitist model and from the perspective of the nation-state, where preeminence lies in migration control and economic interests. Conversely, it emphasizes the need to address this complex issue from an integral perspective, within the framework of North-South asymmetrical relations, acknowledging that forced migration is one of the manifestations of a civilizational crisis that humanity is undergoing. This theoretical approach is made viable through the foundations of contemporary critical theory and Latin American philosophy, providing a contextualized perspective for understanding the complexity of migratory dynamics.