Russian Social Pseudo -School: Holtura rating

In recent years, Russian social science has become more interesting - innovative research, international comparative projects, and deep theoretical generalizations appear in it. Finally, theorists and empirics, “quantitatives” and “quality”, scientists and applied contrasts discuss essentially and combine efforts. International magazines are created, such as Laboratory. Ambitious scientific centers are opened, for example, a school of promising research at the Tyumen State University. Against this background, ten years ago, radical discussions about backwardness - in comparison with the “Western” - domestic science seem to be boring lamentations.

Nevertheless, it must be admitted that in Russian social science there are still extremely many hacks, and not some marginals, but the “centr” units of the official academy, the “head” faculties of universities and individual professors and academicians applying for higher legitimacy produce it. In the conditions of impending political censorship, neoliberal optimizations and abbreviations, bureaucratic inertia and institutional degradation, the post -Soviet pseudo -dunak continues to reproduce itself.

In order not to forget about what nonsense sometimes our academic generals are published, I compiled my own, purely subjective, anti -rating of the most impressed articles published over the past couple of years. I would like to avoid the wrong interpretation, as if I were “pursuing” someone personally. And the point is not in specific people, but in the rules. Therefore, I will first indicate the institutional belonging of the heroes of this note.

Below are the most enchanting quotes from the most crazy articles and performances of our academic chiefs. Caring for brevity, I limited myself to three "top" positions.

"The protest potential of the precariat has long been known ..."

An honorary third place is occupied by the leadership of the Institute of Sociology of the Russian Academy of Sciences (just merged with the St. Petersburg Sociological Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences to the Federal Research Sociological Center) with the topic “Prekravite”.

The problem of pre -coat labor has long been one of the most important and discussed in the international academic discussion. Speaking about pardon work, about prereestry, critical social scientists mean the destruction of forms of social protection of labor in the 20th century (such as guaranteed insurance, long -term or permanent contracts, etc.). The transition that occurred in the last third of the 20th century to the new “flexible” and “atypical” forms of employment, especially in the field of services, communication and even contemporary art, turned into the instability and insecurity of labor relations, the totality of which is called praokarite. Roughly speaking, a person engaged in predster labor is not necessarily poor. However, his work is unprotected: he can be reduced at any moment, he is forced to work during leisure, to adopt the risks that an enterprise or state previously took on.

For some reason, the topic of pestrection has recently become popular at the Institute of Sociology of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Unfortunately, professors of the institute did not bother to get acquainted not only with the Western primary sources, but also with quite high-quality Russian works on this topic, written in the last ten years with philosophers, art critics and artists.

Although why to be venerable academics to read some artists? Director of the Institute Academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences M.K. Gorshkov sees pentority in his own way:

“There is a middle class, but there is a precariat. The latter is people working part -time or several days a week, but feel good. There is a plexus of several things. Firstly, a person works formally, you will not have to take it in terms of parasitism and taxes. The second-he formally self-realizes, receives some money, but he realizes himself in the area in the area that the state cannot provide him (for the creative category of people this is very important). He worked for hire, where they more or less decently pay, and then came home, stood up at the easel and draws ” [1].

This absurd quote is good not only in that it determines the pre -coordination (and the precariat - the class formed by pre -wing working conditions) is exactly the opposite - after all, sociologists show that people who are busy in pre -main work are very badly feeling and is blurred between labor and leisure, and not reproduced, but also that Gorshkov even to the critical Western Western Western Western Theories manages to fasten the topic of parasitism and taxes that has nothing to do with it.

Gorshkov is not alone in their interest in the newfangled (more precisely, former newfold 20 years ago) Western trends. His deputy in the Russian Academy of Sciences, Professor Z. T. Golenkova, together with his co -author V. Yu. Goliuszova, in an article about pre -coordination, comprehensively considers this phenomenon, not forgetting to reveal the political background. She writes:

“The protest potential of the precariat has long been known, so it is necessary to solve the problem of its inclusion in the education system and the labor market today, without waiting for the transmission of resentification from generation to generation” [2].

This phrase is so meaningless from the point of view of sociology that it is even difficult to criticize it. However, of course, there is an administrative-political meaning in it-it is necessary to demonstrate loyalty and critically speak out about potential protests that may violate stability in society.

What scientific sources and authorities are guided by the leadership of our Main Sociological Institute, if, publishing articles about the precariat, it is not able to understand what it is? What does our academic general do instead of a bona fide scientific work? To answer this question, you need to turn to the recent incendiary speech of M.K. Gorshkov on the program of V. Solovyov’s “duel”.

A serious call to the managerial apparatus

On the transfer dedicated to the Epistle of President V.V. Putin to the Federal Assembly, the director of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Gorshkov, protested against the statement of the head of the State Duma Committee, who dared to call Putin’s message “not by scientific labor”. Below - the enchanting speech of the director Gorshkov:

“I would like to object to the participant of the previous block. I can't be silent! As a representative of the academic community. The head of the State Duma Committee said the following that the message [Putin to the Federal Assembly] is not a scientific work and, moreover, not a dissertation. As for the fact that this is not scientific work ... in form, yes. But in fact?! By the depth of analytics?! <...> From the point of view of the very scientific work, both character, and style, what a vocabulary, accents, because what a new terminology! Many first heard such concepts as folk feelings! Remember, in one section [of the Federal Assembly]: if the people feel their rightness, then they are capable of much! Who will object to this? But this should have been said to the participants of the Federal Assembly! What are such concepts: folk feelings, a sense of responsibility, a sense of patriotism. In general, social well -being is what, what about what? We always treat this as things of an intangible, non -humorous nature! Some things can be calculated <...> But this is spiritual, intangible-what is it? And this, it turns out, is also objective! <...> When a person who feels his spirituality expresses himself in the external environment - what? This is a very serious urge to the managerial apparatus! ”

Economists will be especially interested in reading about the spirituality of a non -humorous nature. But the most important thing in this speech is not even egregious illiteracy, but precisely the "urge to the managerial apparatus." The main goal of Academician Gorshkov is not a study of pre -coordination in Russia, but the struggle for resources for a “scientific” examination (guess who should become the leader and beneficiary of the examination) in exchange for demonstrating loyalty and readiness for political propaganda. It is not surprising that Academician Gorshkov ends his speech with a rather transparent hint of officials:

“I’ll also say one thing <...> It is time to accept a preliminary social and humanitarian examination of all major projects and decisions!” [3].

Foreign agents of influence in political science

The second place in my anti -rating is occupied by the political science of the Ural Federal University with the theme of “foreign agents”. I do not want to name the names of the authors of the article, since they are not large cones in our academy, and responsibility increases with status and claims on public influence. Nevertheless, the article is so impressive and just as dangerous - in the future influence on students - with its scholastic manner and pursuit of political relevance that it must be quit.

This article most incredibly combines the theories of agency in sociology and the theme of “foreign agents”. Needless to say, the word “agent” is related to these two topics? We give the word to the authors:

“In modern Russia, the discussion around foreign agents has aggravated after rallies in the end of 2011 - early 2012 .... The resonance around the law on foreign agents and a certain blurring of its formulations led to the emergence of a whole series of confusing ideas in the Russian public consciousness regarding the essence of foreign agents ... We will define this category <...> there are a number of scientific research, on the basis of which we can substantiate the place of “foreign agents of influence” in modern political theory ... speaking about the “social agency”, E. Hydenses, E. Hidden He noted that influence is one of the main characteristics of the agent. Thus, we can conclude that the “social agent” according to E. Giddens is close to the concept of an agent of influence ...

Another theory that can be allowed to explain the phenomenon of a foreign agent of influence from the point of view of social sciences is the theory of Pierre Burdier, which introduces the concept of an agent, in contrast to the subject and individual. In E. Hiddens, a social agent is the individual who not only acts, but also reflects ... P. Bourdieu believes that any individual is a priori a social agent. <...>

The category of a foreign agent in such an interpretation has not previously been considered in theories or concepts of Western or domestic scientists, since, in the way we believe, this topic was not so actualized. Undoubtedly, agents of influence, including foreign ones, existed before, but ... It should be noted that the unsystematicity in the use of the terms “agent”, “agent of influence”, “social agent”, “foreign agent of influence” in the theoretical and methodological sphere <...> Thus, we can safely conclude that if someone calls himself an agent of influence, then this person is this person (organization) either does not imagine what it is an agent of influence, or pursues some goals for which it is necessary to compromise itself ” [4].

Sturgeon-chuzhak

Finally, the first place in my anti-rating is occupied by the head of the department of sociology of the prestigious MGIMO S. A. Kravchenko, who for some reason considers himself the largest Russian social theorist.

The style of Professor Kravchenko is an absurd combination of foreign terms and concepts with the household of Russian realities. Of course, the professor does not conduct any research - the cost of them compensates for the originality of thought. The work of Professor Kravchenko, dedicated to the "arrow of time", does not need any comments. This is a pure pseudo -coaching trash, so he got the first place.

The article is called the "paradoxes of" arrows of time ": the birth of a non-girl." It was published in the "Herald of the Institute of Sociology of the Russian Academy of Sciences". In principle, there are enough excerpts from the abstract: “Food under the influence of the“ Arrival of Time ”factor ... develops an accelerating and complicated way ... The author offers a postulate about the“ arrow of time ”of food ... due to a series of bifurcations in the sociocultural dynamics of food, the formation of“ fluid ”of food, as well as the birth of a non-girl, is dominated “Flowing” food and non-film. The author analyzes the factors contributing to the production of non-experts: globalization; Grace; industrialization and the "green" revolution; production of “food products”; Playing, which led to the emergence of a performive non-girl. ”

The text of the article itself is just as exciting. I will give a couple of quotes: “Thanks to biotechnologies successfully introduced into fishing plants, even sturgeon has become accessible. But this is not the girl-the sturgeon-chuzhak differs from the sturgeon-girl with its unnatural whiteness ”; The game led to the emergence of what can be called a performive nonsense ... The performance has become an organic part of not only nutrition in restaurants and cafes, but also ... political-military battles (Kiev Maidan) ” [5].

Instead of conclusion

The articles quoted above and the speeches of Russian social “scientists” are only a small part of the pseudosociological trash. However, it is important that the status of the authors of these texts legitimes them as normal and even exemplary. To question this status, further work is needed - I hope I was able to show that it can be extremely exciting.

Oleg Zhuravlev,
Phd Candidate (The European University Institute, Florence),
Employee of the Laboratory of Public Sociology (PS-LAB.RU)

1. Http://portal-kultura.ru/articles/country/162230-Mikhail-gorshkov-my-znaem-obshchestvo-v-kotorom-zhivem/

2. Www.Vestnik.isras.ru/files/file/vestnil_2016_18/golenkova.goliusova.pdf

3. Https://russia.tv/video/show/brand_id/21385/episode_id/1439064/video_id/1549089/

4. Http://vestnik.uapa.ru/ru/issue/2016/06/07/

5. Www.vestnik.isras.ru/files/file/vestnik_2015_14/kravtchenko.pdf