Vol 26, No 1 (2021)

LITERARY CRITICISM

Poems in Prose by I.S. Turgenev: the Cycle’s Title as a Historical Literary Issue

Burmistrova Y.D.

Abstract

The article deals with the I.S. Turgenev’s last cycle Poems in prose which title has been changed several times throughout his work on it. The cycle put together the main aspects of writer’s previous creative works which led to the continuous search for the most suitable title to fully express author’s intentions: from the original Posthuma which is focused on the life after death experience to the last Poems in prose which additionally underlines the uniqueness of the form used for Turgenev’s last creative work. The study reveals the main theories on the cycle’s titles and the reasons behind their changes as well as suggests the own vision of the evolution of concepts “after death” and “senile” which are seemed to be bound in writer’s world view. The sequential analysis of the existing cycle’s titles undertaken in the current research finds the logic of Turgenev’s title transformations where the fear of death is gradually replaced by the thoughts of future new life which will be continued beyond the Earth life. The significance of the research lies in the absence of the unified approach to the naming and understanding of the Turgenev’s last cycle while the title of the book was considered to change the work’s perception even by Turgenev’s contemporaries. The scientific novelty of the work is added by using the author’s French edition of Poems in prose which up until now hasn’t been studied properly. It allows to expand the material of the research and look thoroughly into Turgenev’s strategy of naming his final cycle which was preserved for the foreign publication as well.

RUDN Journal of Studies in Literature and Journalism. 2021;26(1):7-15
pages 7-15 views

A Prototype of Vadim Roshchin in the “White” Version of Alexey N. Tolstoy's Trilogy The Road to Calvary

Sokolov B.V.

Abstract

The article is devoted to the reconstruction of the idea of the “white” version of the second volume of A.N. Tolstoy's trilogy The Road to Calvary , created by the writer in the emigration in 1921-1923. This idea was fundamentally different from the one embodied by A.N. Tolstoy after his return to the USSR. Materials published in 1918 in the Rostov magazine Donskaya Volna ( Don Wave ) are used for the reconstruction. Those materials help to identify Colonel V.K. Manakin as a supposed prototype of one of the main characters, Vadim Roshchin, in the final chapters of the first volume of the trilogy and in the first chapters of the second volume of the “white” version. The prototype makes it feasible to reconstruct the possible idea of the second volume of the “white” version of The Road to Calvary . A.N. Tolstoy's notebooks are also used for the reconstruction. The reconstruction of A.N. Tolstoy’s plan turned out to be more logically consistent compared to the only existing Soviet version of the second and third volumes of the trilogy The Road to Calvary. Both Roshchin and Telegin, in the emigrant version of the first volume of the trilogy act as ideologists of the White Movement, find themselves in the White Armies of Southern Russia, and then in exile. The study shows that the transition of the main characters to the Red Movement in the Soviet version of The Road to Calvary is artistically unconvincing, since it does not correspond to the original plan of A.N. Tolstoy, embodied in the emigrant version of Sisters .

RUDN Journal of Studies in Literature and Journalism. 2021;26(1):16-32
pages 16-32 views

The Story of a Drawing from Chukokkala Miscellany

Anpilova L.N.

Abstract

A novel detailed analysis of a page from Chukokkala , Korney Chukovsky's handwritten miscellany with drawings by Yuri Annenkov, dated March 1923, is given. Involvement of archival sources makes up the history of the drawing creation. It turns out that Annenkov worked at the page of the miscellany and the portrait of Leo Trotsky at the same time. The analysis of the stylistic features of the drawing reconstructs the elements of the literary life of the 1920s. The study of the depicted persons clarifies the circle of friends and associates of prominent cultural figures of the first post-revolutionary decade. The article provides little-known biographical information about the characters depicted in the drawing. It specifies how Annenkov met Gorky's closest associate, the prominent public figure Albert Pinkevich. The author highlights little-known facts of friendship of A. Pinkevich, Boris Pilnyak, a Soviet writer, and the avant-garde artist Boris Shaposhnikov. The history of the creation of graphic portraits of Soviet writers made by Annenkov is considered. In conclusion, the page of the handwritten miscellany, and Chukokkala as a whole, are presented as a unique monument that captures the living passage of time.

RUDN Journal of Studies in Literature and Journalism. 2021;26(1):33-42
pages 33-42 views

The Ontology of Death in M. Shishkin’s Novel The Letter Book

Krotova D.V.

Abstract

The purpose of the study is to characterize the understanding of the phenomenon of death in M. Shishkin’s novel The Letter Book . In this work, as well as in the literary world of Shishkin in general, the category of death appears as one of the most important objects of reflection. The opposite facets in comprehension of this phenomenona are revealed: death as unconditional evil and monstrous absurdity (which is emphasized by the numerous anti-aesthetic characteristics of the images of dying and death in the novel), but at the same time, the phenomenon of death and the evil that it carries in itself are overcome, and mortality in the literary sphere of the novel is regarded not only as a destructive beginning, but also as a necessary element of ontological balance and an expression of the wisdom of the world order hidden from imperfect human consciousness. The idea of the deep internal unity of the categories of death and love in the novel is argued. Shishkin’s paradoxical idea of the thanatological element as a sphere of life creation is understood. Conclusions about the neomodernism guidelines of the writer’s work are formulated.

RUDN Journal of Studies in Literature and Journalism. 2021;26(1):43-51
pages 43-51 views

The Autobiography in Paul Claudel’s MaConversion

Bannikov K.V.

Abstract

The article deals with the autobiography of Paul Claudel in his essay Ma Conversion written in 1913 at the request of readers. The readers believe that his biography no longer belongs to him, so the experience of his conversion should be of common property. It reveals his confessional retrospective traits and self-awareness in “biographical” literary works. Different types of confession, features of preaching, self-expression and autobiography are interwoven in the essay. The language of the essay is poetic and polysemantic. Distance is manifested in many ways in Claudel’s works, from the explicit biographical author - “moi, Paul” to the literary author - “le poète”. The writer begins in a confessional, indecisive manner, but as he becomes more professional, he resorts to the “biographical author” less willingly, more often remaining on the sidelines as a literary author. There is less open reflection in the collection of works Conversations (1926-1937), so the poet discusses reality, but he does not describe his feelings and actions as he did when he was younger. Claudel's autobiography combines the sacred and the secular, while the intimate and the public act as a “preparatory” stage to a multi-volume exegetic “novel”.

RUDN Journal of Studies in Literature and Journalism. 2021;26(1):52-59
pages 52-59 views

Buffoonery in the Speech of the Character and the Issue of Historical Form in the Novel The Winter of Our Discontent by J. Steinbeck

Sinegubova K.V., Aksenova A.A.

Abstract

The intention is to explain some aspects of hybridization of language consciousness in this literary work. The aim of the study is to clarify the issue of a word in the novel, which was updated by M.M. Bakhtin. The general thesis is that the tendency to hybridization explains the juxtaposition of serious and funny within the character’s utterance: the border between prosaic reality and the character’s own world is found precisely when he turns to jokes. The speech of the character indicates a tendency to aestheticize the household environment. This trend leads to a high-intensity hybridization of everyday words and Holy Scripture . The novel The Winter of Our Discontent is more than a didactic literary work and reveals some features of the picaresque novel, but the necessary feature of the picaresque novel is the first-person narrative. Instead of this form of narration the character and the narrator’s points of view are brought closer together in the novel by J. Steinbeck. The literary work with the features of the picaresque novel remains multidimensional and does not reduce only to one of the existing novel forms, and typologically is rather anti-picaresque. The character’s buffoonery gives him the right to detachment, due to which the skewed nature of other characters in the novel is overcome. The language hybridization in this work plays a key role in understanding of the novel.

RUDN Journal of Studies in Literature and Journalism. 2021;26(1):60-70
pages 60-70 views

The Construction of Insider - Outsider in Anglophone Writings from Northeast India

Biswas D., Das R.

Abstract

The works of three writers from northeast India, Temsula Ao’s These Hills Called Home , Mamang Dai’s Stupid Cupid and Anjum Hasan’s Lunatic in my Head that cover the problem of identity in relation to the insider - outsider politics in the region are examined. The northeast India is in many ways a miniature India because it houses people from various ethnicity and linguistic groups. However, much of the immigration took place after the East India Company annexed the northeast region starting from 1826. The extraction of the resources and subjugation of the people in this region by the colonisers and later by successive Indian governments has left an indelible mark of cultural imperialism triggering social haemorrhage. This changing position of the insider - outsider is not only a part of the political discourse but also the literature that is produced in this region. The analysis of the writings of Temsula Ao, Mamang Dai, and Anjum Hasan allows to look at the problem from two perspectives: the indigenous population experiencing anxiety and leading various violent campaigns to expel so-called outsiders, and the northeasterners facing similar racial prejudices when visiting mainland India and being subjected to derogatory racial slurs.

RUDN Journal of Studies in Literature and Journalism. 2021;26(1):71-78
pages 71-78 views

The Calcutta Chromosome: An Acknowledgement of Indigenous Caliber and Extrapolation upon the History of Malaria Parasite Discovery

Pathak M.K.

Abstract

Amitav Ghosh’ novel The Calcutta Chromosome: a Novel of Fevers, Delirium and Discovery is considered, - an outstanding literary work in which the writer reveals a discourse of science versus counter-science from the earlier world of social, cultural and ethnical history of Indian subcontinent. India is home to the oldest continuous civilization, nevertheless, the long invasive rule of the Mughals and the Britishers has framed minds to undervalue the indigenous knowledge, practices, customs and discourses. Amitav Ghosh’ novel denies the Western supremacy in every field and puts a question mark in the invention of Anopheles maculipennis as the cause of malaria. Dr. Ronald Ross received the prestigious Nobel Prize in 1902 for his discovery of malaria parasite but Ami- tav Ghosh supports the contribution of Indian assistants Mangala and Laakhan who were not acknowledged by the British researchers. The novel reflects a postcolonial approach to interpret Western scientific mechanism, posits the question to unethical exploitation of native workers by the English and gives voice to the traditional knowledge of the subalterns. An integral part of Ghosh’s approach in this novel is to illuminate the richness of ideas and complexity of Indigenous life, and to create a place where aboriginals are acknowledged for their remarkable contributions.

RUDN Journal of Studies in Literature and Journalism. 2021;26(1):79-84
pages 79-84 views

Reunion with Self in Terry McMillan’s I Almost Forgot About You

Pawar P.N.

Abstract

The novel I Almost Forgot About You by Terry McMillan, which deals with the problem of finding your own identity by studying the components of personality and the context in the formation of identity, is examined. African American feminist literature consists of common themes like sense of being different, managing multiple selves and quest for identity. Terry McMillan’s works represent African American female characters’ struggle for self-realization that help them in better understanding of the present and planning for the future by reestablishing their identity. The predicament of Georgia, protagonist of the novel, is that she has lost selfhood after subsequent divorces. In due course of time, her role in the family becomes diminished; also she loses interest in the professional life. Her aimlessness and strong desire to restore self leads her to search for male companion among her old boyfriends. She believes that self-satisfaction is possible with exploration of self for that she decides to go on a train trip and tries to focus on nurturing the hobby of woodwork. It helps her in regaining her internal and external self. Thus, the leitmotif of the novel is the search for your own identity as an attempt of inquiry for the destined future.

RUDN Journal of Studies in Literature and Journalism. 2021;26(1):85-91
pages 85-91 views

JOURNALISM

The Affordances of the Information and Communication Universe, or Who is Behind the Mass Media

Dzyaloshinsky I.M.

Abstract

This article examines the specifics and perspectives of the information and communication universe theory for the analysis of the mass media. The aim is to explain the application of the concept of “affordance” in the context of media theory. The term was introduced by psychologist James J. Gibson to describe the specific “inviting” nature of objects and events, which, through affordances, suggest an algorithm for subsequent actions. From this point of view, the information and communication universe makes it possible to use it for some important purposes for the subjects of communication. However, the quality and options for implementing the possibilities of affordance depend on the goals, interests and skills of the subject who is trying to work with this affordance. To use an analogy, the same axe could “invite” some people to chop wood for an old lady, and others to use it as a weapon against her in order to seize her pension benefits. The thesis on the functional usefulness of the category “information and communication universe” for the analysis of processes in the media system is put forward. Traditional ideas about the specifics of the production and consumption of texts are corrected. The author analyzes the affordances of the Internet as a subsystem of the information and communication universe. It helps to explain the radical differences in the assessment of network digital technologies by representatives of different research schools. The article outlines further prospects for the identification and use of hidden affordances.

RUDN Journal of Studies in Literature and Journalism. 2021;26(1):92-98
pages 92-98 views

TV Show Dramaturgy as an Analogue of the Audiovisual Syntax

Kemarskaya I.N.

Abstract

The dramaturgy of a television work as structure-forming for the format basis of a television periodical is examined. The purpose of the study is to explain the fundamental features of a TV program as an integral artistic phenomenon, embodied in many variations based on a single format model. The task is to clarify the problem of the effective functioning of syntactic rules in the absence of basic linguistic units, which is characteristic of the audiovisual language of screen shows, that has been actualized by domestic and Western media researchers. A general thesis is put forward about the polymodality of an audiovisual work as a single text, the unfolding of which occurs according to pre-established schemes that regulate the effect of individual elements on the viewer's perception. The dramatic approach is considered in the discourse of the global iconic turn from the verbal culture to the visual culture, there are multi-branch attempts to identify possible basic units of the new combinatorial sign system. Syntactic constructions, defined as a chain of episodes, show signs of fragmentation, mosaicism, intertextuality, and other criteria of postmodern aesthetics. The dualism of screen attractions as aggressively influencing instruments and verbal narrative, their mutual influence and dramatic significance are emphasized. The concepts of “syntactic uniformity”, the constancy of the syntactic structure chosen for a given format, without the possibility of breaking it in variations of editions are considered.

RUDN Journal of Studies in Literature and Journalism. 2021;26(1):99-106
pages 99-106 views

Media Regionalism as a Historical Feature of Quebec Mass Media

Ovcharenko E.F.

Abstract

The current issue of information access for different nations within one state is examined. The media of Quebec, the only francophone province of Canada, give us a clear example. However, Russian scholars almost disregard this domain. Therefore, the research is based on the Canadian works (M. Brunet, A. Beaulieu and J. Hamelin, W.H. Kesterton) in French and in English. The Royal Commission on Newspapers Report (1981), which described two separate media systems (French media and English media), was used as well. The focus is on the Franco-Canadian national problem and its influence on Quebec media historic evolution. This process moves from bilingual editions (two first newspapers were published in French and in English simultaneously) to modern monolingual media system. Through comparative analysis, the relationship between media bilingualism and media monolingualism in Quebec of 18-21st centuries is examined. Quebec’s modern information politics can be defined as media regionalism (French language and specific Quebec content). Media regionalism’s object is to resist federal doctrine “one country - one nation with two languages”, the base of Official Language Act (1969). As a result, the absence of traditional “federal” official media bilingualism in Quebec, which tries to save its national heritage by media regionalism, was discovered.

RUDN Journal of Studies in Literature and Journalism. 2021;26(1):107-114
pages 107-114 views

Analysis of Genres of the BBC One TV Programs

Gorobiy A.V.

Abstract

The relevance of the study is based on the fact that the BBC One channel is interesting as an example of a public service broadcaster which retains its image and competitiveness on the global media market. The goal of the research is to analyze the BBC One programming with regard to its forms of journalists’ and cameramen’s work. The semiotic methodology is chosen for interpreting sign systems, i. e. journalist’s texts or TV frames, as interconnected phenomena of culture. As a result, important sociocultural and philosophical elements integrated into the BBC One programming and determining its genre profile have been revealed. The social mission of the public broadcasting, combination of regional and metropolitan grounds, the prevalence of serious news genres are among them. Moreover, the programs are open for entertaining content including a foreign-made one. There is also a visual and aesthetic adaptation of pre-TV cultural forms of theater and the tabloid press, etc. Therefore, we can speak of a rather flexible programming policy of the BBC One, which can be a good model to develop strategies for public service broadcasters in other countries.

RUDN Journal of Studies in Literature and Journalism. 2021;26(1):115-122
pages 115-122 views

Media as a Patriotic Idea Guide in the Theory of Generations Context

Talysheva M.A., Poplavskaya N.V.

Abstract

The article provides an analysis of the Russian citizens’ patriotic education taking into consideration the generation characteristics. The state patriotic education programs have been aimed at these audiences for the past twenty years and included special patriotic mass media activities. The authors apply to the theory of generations and identify the features of the Russian various age citizens' patriotic ideology and its correlation with state instruments and measures for patriotic education through the media for four periods (2001-2005, 2006-2010, 2011-2015, 2016-2020). The study addresses the mass media role and functions in public opinion forming; the research also comprises the exploring interaction between general state patriotic education and media as a patriotic idea guide for different generations groups. Generalizing their scientific results, authors conclude that it is necessary to revise the mass media role in patriotic education and formation of young patriots in future state programs, based on the peculiarities of the new generations’ vision of the world. The article includes the proposals and recommendations for the special mass media events promoting patriotic idea in new media to secure the most effective results of such programs implementation in the future.

RUDN Journal of Studies in Literature and Journalism. 2021;26(1):123-131
pages 123-131 views

News Reporting: Substitution of Functions

Pavlova L.N., Argylov N.A.

Abstract

The issue of journalistic functions fulfillment by the modern mass media is considered. The authors examined a number of news reports in socio-political online media and found some cases where the classic functions of journalism such as informing and controlling were substituted by PR functions. The content analysis revealed an alarmingly large number of pseudo journalistic reports, which mainly aimed to create and maintain a positive image. The reason why journalism is losing its value is the lack of professionals representing the public interest. The analysis shown a high number of publications, based on (practically unchanged) press releases, that is common to a number of media and clearly illustrates the unprofessionalism of the authors of pseudo news. The regional media have to monetize its activity, so the matter of finance wins over the matter of beliefs. However, the media and, in particular, journalism is quickly losing public credibility. In general, we are witnessing the undermining of classical journalistic creativity and the merging of this concept with other wider categories of public relations.

RUDN Journal of Studies in Literature and Journalism. 2021;26(1):132-141
pages 132-141 views

Reflection of India-China Relations in Indian Media: Problems and Perspectives

Sharma V., Shilina M.G., Kumar M.

Abstract

China and India interactions are dominated by strategic and business concerns. Despite the massive growth of bilateral trade between China and India, tensions over territorial and political issues have also grown, particularly in the last years. These effects are mediated and often inflamed by media depictions and perceptions of these tensions. India and China are both aware that peace and cooperation are essential. But it seems some media are more intent on fanning the flames than focusing on the ties that bind the two ancient civilizations. The media can play a constructive role in promoting mutual understanding. This paper deals with different areas of bilateral competition and convergence covered by the media as well as discusses the key differences between the Indian media’s coverage of China and the Chinese media’s reporting on India of the last years and especially in 2020. The article proposes to discover the problems and perspectives of the Indian media in India-China relations today.

RUDN Journal of Studies in Literature and Journalism. 2021;26(1):142-148
pages 142-148 views

The Main Tendencies in the Cuban News Web Sites Development

Rastorgueva N.E., Barcelay Ramirez Y.

Abstract

The changes that have taken place in the work of Cuban news agencies during the digitalization of media production are analyzed. Over the past few years, they have been undergoing a process of transformation, changing their approaches to providing information and introducing new products. To study these processes, the authors resort to the digital platforms of two news agencies - Prensa Latina and Agencia Cubana de Noticias , as well as the online news portal Cubadebate . Comparative and analytical methods of research reveal the specific features of functioning of these media resources at the present moment. The authors conclude that despite the international isolation Cuba experienced for more than sixty years and relatively limited financial resources allocated for media development, the country's media market has entered a period of modernization. All the changes taking place will greatly expand the possibilities for integrating Cuban news agencies into global information processes.

RUDN Journal of Studies in Literature and Journalism. 2021;26(1):149-157
pages 149-157 views

REVEWS

The Myth in the Literature of Peoples of the North: Book Review: Zhuleva, A.S. (2019). Mifopoeticheskaya model' mira v nenetskoi literature [Mythopoetic World Model in the Nenets Literature]. Moscow: IMLI RAS

Khayrullin R.Z.

Abstract

The analysis of A.S. Zhuleva’s monograph is carried out. The author investigates Nenets mythopoetic world model on the basis of pieces of fiction and attracts various sources to fulfill this task: myths, folklore, the epos, data from linguistics, ethnography and ethnology, history of people and also materials about traditional representations in consciousness of the modern person. In the course of the research the author considered works of the different periods, including such writers as Tyko Vylka, I. Nogo and also their followers: V. Ledkov, L. Laptsuy, L. Nenyang, Yu. Vella, A. Nerkagi, etc.

RUDN Journal of Studies in Literature and Journalism. 2021;26(1):158-162
pages 158-162 views

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