Russian Studies in Culture and Society

The modern city is a sociocultural system where the image is shaped by residents’ and visitors’ perceptions, while the image is strategically constructed through cultural policy and branding. Public art acts as a mediator, linking internal cultural codes and urban identity with external representations.

Purpose. The aim of the study is to identify the mechanisms linking the image and the brand of the city through the artistic practices of public art and to refine the criteria for its analysis.

Methodology. The methodological basis of the study is based on cultural and urban approaches that view the city as a space for the production of meaning. The work uses comparative analysis of urban practices (Barcelona, Yekaterinburg), interpretation of art objects based on Charles Sanders Peirce's three-level semiotic model (iconic, indexical, symbolic levels), and systematization of criteria for evaluating public art.

Results. The study revealed that public art links the city’s image and identity by connecting local codes and memory with managerial strategies. An adapted model of C. S. Peirce was applied; evaluation criteria were refined, and the E×I matrix was introduced. Case studies (Barcelona, Yekaterinburg) confirmed the effectiveness of the approach and its applicability in urban development.

Practical significance. The novelty of the study lies in the extension of existing approaches to the analysis of public art by supplementing the established criteria with the dimensions of aesthetic value and brand impact on the urban environment. The article has both theoretical and practical significance for cultural studies, urban studies, and place branding.

Purpose. Actualization and analysis of the leading themes in the media autobiographical narratives of online schools teachers: secondary educational institutions that have the right to issue state-issued diplomas, and courses for school-age students.

Methodology. The study used the method of document analysis: the study of media autobiographical narratives of teachers about their teaching experience and methodological activities in online schools. Computer-aided thematic modeling of texts was carried out. 

Results. Eight thematic leitmotifs were identified in the autobiographical texts of online school teachers. The most popular topic was the educational format: remote learning, comfort, lack of territorial restrictions, new educational technologies, and feedback from students. The next most popular topics were the income of teachers and methodologists, the evaluation of online school education compared to traditional education, and the disadvantages of the digital approach. The fifth most popular topic was the corporate training of teachers as a significant advantage of working in online schools, according to the informants. The top three leitmotifs are about saving time, gaining professional experience, and school-based offline education. The authors of the texts explain that they left traditional schools due to the excessive bureaucratization of the educational process, overloading, and the search for new forms of education. The advantages of the method of analyzing media narratives include the availability of information and the non-interference of sociological tools in the creation of primary data. The reliability and validity of the texts are increased by verifying their content.

Practical implications. The results of the study are useful for the development of digital education, particularly in schools. They can be used in the development of support measures for families who have chosen an alternative educational route for their children, and for teachers working in the online learning system.

Background. The article is devoted to a comprehensive analysis of the phenomenon of digital immersive environments in the context of contemporary culture. The technological, anthropological, and sociocultural aspects of immersiveness are examined, tracing the genealogy of immersive practices from archaic rituals to modern digital technologies. Special attention is paid to the transformation of perceptual mechanisms and the formation of new modes of subjectivity in conditions of total digitalization of cultural space. The specific characteristics of virtual and augmented reality, interactive installations, and immersive theater as key formats of digital immersiveness are analyzed. The paradoxes and contradictions of immersive experience in the era of post-digital culture are identified.

The phenomenon of immersion has become a key element of modern culture, actively penetrating various spheres. It affects not only the forms of artistic expression, but also the modes of perception, cognitive processes and self-identification of a person. There is a need for a theoretical understanding of immersion, its historical roots, anthropological and socio-cultural consequences, especially against the backdrop of the rapid development of digital technologies.

Purpose. To analyze the evolution and specificity of immersive practices in culture: from archaic forms (shamanic rituals, mysteries) to modern digital technologies (VR, AR, immersive theater, environmental art), revealing the influence of immersion on subjectivity, perception, emotions and cultural interaction, rethinking the aesthetic and ontological status of art in the digital environment.

Methodology. The basis of the study is formed by cultural and comparative-historical, interpretive analysis, phenomenological approach.

Results. It has been established that immersiveness is not an exclusively modern phenomenon, its origins go deep into the cultural history of mankind. Modern digital technologies radicalize archaic practices, turning them into technologically constructed environments for the transformation of consciousness. Immersive technologies contribute to the shift in the role of the subject - from a passive viewer to an active participant, co-author and interpreter. The dual nature of immersiveness has been revealed: on the one hand, an expansion of the possibilities of perception and learning, on the other, the risks of losing critical thinking and emotional authenticity. It has been noted that the development of immersive environments leads to the formation of new aesthetic, ontological and ethical paradigms. A hypothesis has been put forward about the transition to a post-immersive culture focused on a balance between immersion and distancing, experience and reflection.

Background. The relevance of this topic stems from the marked growth of interest in the Muslim cultural world in general and in its “Golden Age” in particular. Examining the distinctive features of the emergence and development of Arab-Islamic science in this period broadens religious-studies and cultural-studies perspectives on the interrelation between science and religion.

Purpose. The purpose of the study was to analyze the specifics of science and scientific knowledge within the system of classical Arab-Islamic culture of the 7th–13th centuries.

Methodology. The methodological foundations are defined by a system approach implementing the principles of holism, structural organization, complementarity and autonomous involvement. Historical-genetic, phenomenological, and hermeneutic methods of cultural analysis are also employed.

Results. The study considers the origins of and cultural influences on the development of Arab scientific thought shaped by the Muslim religious tradition. The following core features are identified: the high status of science and scientific knowledge; the prestige of literacy and the book; the significance and wide prevalence of education; the encyclopedism of Arab-Islamic science in the classical period; and its utilitarian, practical orientation. The specifics of Arab science are illustrated through the achievements of the Arab-Islamic “Golden Age” in mathematics, mechanics, astronomy, medicine, chemistry and alchemy – developments that made the Arab East a center of the scientific world and realized the idea of the “triumph of knowledge.”

Practical implications. The results of the study can be applied in teaching across philosophy, religious studies and cultural studies.