scholarly journals Mass Psychology and Social History

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 20-37
Author(s):  
N.I. Semechkin
Keyword(s):  
Social Movements ◽  
Social History ◽  
Historical Analysis ◽  
Social Consciousness ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Mass Psychology ◽  
Historical Processes ◽  
Public Consciousness ◽  
Ordinary Consciousness ◽  
The Masses

Objectives. Analyze the historical process and in particular the movements of the masses not from the familiar for Russian researchers positions of famous Karl Marx’s thesis: “being determines consciousness”, but from the opposite point of view — social existence is determined by the state of public social consciousness, with the purpose to see how the transformation of social consciousness towards its decollectivization and demythologization, that creates shocking mental discomfort, generates mass social movements unconsciously seeking back in time, which predetermines the course of social history. Background. Naive-spontaneous “materialism” of ordinary consciousness, but, even more surprising, scientists’ psychologists, makes it difficult to understand the real determinants of human behavior, that is, the fact that in the basis of individual behavior, and public life, and history in general lies not politics, not economics, but social psychology, that, contrary to the well-known Lenin’s’ aphorism, politics and economics are a concentrated representation of psychology. Methodology. Theoretical analysis of socio-philosophical and psychological literature; comparative-historical analysis. Conclusions. Transformation of public consciousness initiates the creation of utopian projects oriented into the past. Utopias evoke powerful social movements of the masses, fascinated by the irrational idea of returning to the “golden age,” in paradise. Thus, the dynamics of social-historical processes are determined not by economics and politics, but by the logic of the transformation of the archaic collective consciousness in the course of its individualization and demythologization.

Toward a Dialogue with Historical Sociology

1987 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 31-41 ◽  
Author(s):  
Olivier Zunz
Keyword(s):  
Social History ◽  
Historical Analysis ◽  
Historical Sociology ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Scientific Models ◽  
Disciplinary Boundaries ◽  
The Past ◽  
Social Science History ◽  
Social Scientific ◽  
Joint Enterprise

A Commitment to interdisciplinary dialogue should not mask the unwieldy complexity of “social science history,” this strange-sounding compound word invented to stress the equality of partners in their joint enterprise. Some of the benefits as well as the difficulties inherent in crossing disciplinary boundaries can be detected, from a historian’s point of view, in Theda Skocpol’s Vision and Method in Historical Sociology (1984) in which a group of young historical sociologists and two “sociologically acclimated social historians” reassess the work of major figures in the subfield of historical sociology. approached this book with considerable excitement, for at the time of its publication, I had just sent to press the manuscript of Reliving the Past (1985), a volume in which five historians of different regions of the world reappraise the use of social-scientific models in historical analysis, examine the ways in which these models are applicable to different geographic areas and take a fresh look at the place of social history within history. To add to my excitement, Charles Tilly, who contributed an essay on European social history to Reliving the Past, was one of the nine major figures whose work was examined in Vision and Method, a testament to the influential role this scholar has played in the two disciplines of sociology and history.

Manipulative techniques of the media as a tool for managing the masses

2021 ◽  
Vol 27 (2) ◽  
pp. 97-102
Author(s):  
I. Pomanova ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Mass Communication ◽  
Modern Society ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Management Tools ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Public Consciousness ◽  
The Media ◽  
The Individual ◽  
The Masses ◽  
Manipulative Techniques

The greatest minds of antiquity laid the foundation for the science of persuasion, that is, an ability to persuade the listener to a given point of view. The sophists were particularly successful in this. The works of the classics show how complex the process of persuasion is. To convince means to make you believe that you are right. The relevance of the study of this topic is due to the rapidly increasing influence of the media on the modern society formation and management of the masses. Taking into account a fairly large number of publications, the problem is not studied in detail, despite the fact that technologies are rapidly developing. The steady interest of researchers in this problem is determined by its significance in society. The object of the study is manipulation in management. The subject of the study is media techniques as a tool for mass management. Method of argumentation is citation of references. The objectives of the study are to characterize the manipulative techniques of the media; describe management technologies; classify manipulation tools. The purpose of the study is to scientifically substantiate the effectiveness of using manipulative media technologies as a management tools and to consider the practical implementation’s forms of this phenomenon. The research methodology is based on the principle of objectivity, universal connection and development. Research methods. The research was based on traditional general scientific methods; methods of induction, deduction, and interpretation have been actively used. Conclusion. Manipulation appears as a socio-psychological phenomenon aimed at a person. At the same time, the tools of manipulation are ideas, forms, techniques, and methods. Manipulative influence in the framework of mass communication takes the form of commercial and political propaganda. The media sets the tone in public discussions and disputes. The influence of mass media on the modern society functioning is rapidly increasing. Manipulative technologies used to influence public consciousness are very diverse. They provide a great variety of opportunities for the formation and strengthening of values, attitudes, and behaviors. For the purposes of communicative influence, the media actively use traditional technologies and create new ones that allow opening up great opportunities for manipulation. This phenomenon is the object of the scientists’ close attention. It is concluded that the media use a wide range of manipulative technologies: both traditional and innovative. They allow you to influence both the individual and the society as a whole in order to control the public consciousness and introduction of specified behaviors into it. The development of manipulative media techniques allows the authorities to introduce the necessary attitudes to the masses

British Society in the Eighteenth Century

1986 ◽  
Vol 25 (4) ◽  
pp. 436-466
Author(s):  
Robert Allan Houston
Keyword(s):  
Social History ◽  
Historical Analysis ◽  
Primary Sources ◽  
British Society ◽  
British History ◽  
The Family ◽  
The Status ◽  
The Rich ◽  
The Masses ◽  
Structure Education

The volume of publications on social history in the last decade has been enormous. The Royal Historical Society'sAnnual Bibliography of British Historycontains hundreds of new items each year, so many that keeping up with the latest research is almost impossible except within limited fields. The very quantity of material is a testament to the success of what has been termed the “new social history.” Taking as its focus the lives of the masses, this approach employs concepts and techniques drawn from cognate disciplines such as sociology, anthropology, and statistics to uncover the rich complexity of everyday life in the past. New interests, new methods, and a fresh look at underused primary sources: these are the hallmarks. This is not to say that it is a homogeneous “movement” since there are vigorous debates about central issues such as the use of theory and about the correct balance between quantification and traditional qualitative, intuitive approaches.The new social history has had a profound effect on the way in which all historians deal with their subject and even on its critics. That social history has arrived as a leader in historical analysis is amply attested by G. R. Elton's recent call to political historians not to accept reduction to the status of its poor cousins. The subject's position is assured, and its achievements have been substantial. This article deals with the main areas of research in social history: population, social structure, education and literacy, women, religion, and the family.

HISTORICAL ANALYSIS OF THE PROBLEMS OF ISLAM IN THE XXI CENTURY

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (5) ◽  
pp. 134-140
Author(s):  
MAKSIM SHKVARUN ◽  
◽  
SEJRAN ISKENDEROV
Keyword(s):  
Historical Analysis ◽  
Arab Countries ◽  
Short History ◽  
Active Stage ◽  
Terrorist Organizations ◽  
Special Contribution ◽  
Political Processes ◽  
Political Analysis ◽  
Historical Processes ◽  
The Subject

The subject of the research is the degree of influence of Sunni and Shi’ism on political processes in Arab countries. The object of the research is Islam as the legal basis of the state. The authors examine in detail such aspects of the topic as the historical analysis of the origin of Islam, the reasons for the division of Islam into Sunnis and Shiites, a comparative analysis of the two branches of Islam, the peculiarities of the legal schools of Islam, the interaction of Sunnis and Shiites with state power. Particular attention is paid to the analysis of interpretations (kalams) of the Qur’an and Sunnah. The study is fundamental and is aimed at the historical and political analysis of Islam in the XXI century. The relevance of this topic is confirmed by numerous studies of the described problems. The main conclusions of the study are that one of the key problems in the Arab states is the issue of the origin of power, which remains relevant even in the XXI century. The authors’ special contribution to the study of the topic is the hypothesis that the radicalism of Islam is associated with its short history in comparison with Christianity. Thus, Islam in the XXI century. is still at an active stage of formation, which leads to the emergence of Islamic terrorist organizations. The novelty of this scientific study lies in the consideration of historical processes in the political discourse of the XXI century.

The Revival of Quantification: Reflections on Old New Histories

2021 ◽  
Vol 45 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-25
Author(s):  
Steven Ruggles
Keyword(s):  
Twentieth Century ◽  
Social History ◽  
Economic History ◽  
Historical Analysis ◽  
The United States ◽  
First Century ◽  
Third Wave ◽  
Late Twentieth ◽  
The 1960S ◽  
Second Wave

AbstractQuantitative historical analysis in the United States surged in three distinct waves. The first quantitative wave occurred as part of the “New History” that blossomed in the early twentieth century and disappeared in the 1940s and 1950s with the rise of consensus history. The second wave thrived from the 1960s to the 1980s during the ascendance of the New Economic History, the New Political History, and the New Social History, and died out during the “cultural turn” of the late twentieth century. The third wave of historical quantification—which I call the revival of quantification—emerged in the second decade of the twenty-first century and is still underway. I describe characteristics of each wave and discuss the historiographical context of the ebb and flow of quantification in history.

"Om Alle Menschen Wel Te Leren Sterven"

1986 ◽  
Vol 66 (2) ◽  
pp. 148-179
Author(s):  
E.J.G. Lips
Keyword(s):  
Point Of View ◽  
Religious Communities ◽  
Original Text ◽  
The Public ◽  
Ars Moriendi ◽  
Text Types ◽  
Dutch Language ◽  
The Masses

AbstractThe genre of the Ars moriendi is by no means a homogeneous one. Indeed, the great textual diversity has more than once attracted the attention. This diversity, caused by various omissions and, more often, extensions in the original text-types, is often considered as the decay of an originally orthodox theological genre. In this essay, manuscripts and printed versions of the Ars moriendi in the Dutch language ( ± 1450-1530) are studied. Instead of considering the omissions and extensions meant above as a decline of the genre, the author attempts to regard them, as the medieval writers may have done, as means to make the texts find their way to the public more easily. Various methods used by the authors of these Artes to reach their public, are examined and their presumable succes is evaluated. It seems that, whereas particularly the older literature assumes an almost infinite public, recent research does not confirm this point of view. For, in spite of explicit remarks addressed to all christians, commerce dictated to the printers a more or less wealthy public. As for the manuscripts, these seem mainly to have had a public of clergy and (female) religious communities. However, considering the existence of a public of listeners, both manuscripts and printed versions had, in an indirect way, their impact on the masses of the christians.

“Satisfied with the Ruins of Berlin”: The German Capital’s Image in Soviet Graphics of 1945

2021 ◽  
Vol 17 (6) ◽  
pp. 564-575
Author(s):  
Irina I. Rutsinskaya
Keyword(s):  
Visual Art ◽  
Visual Image ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
The Public ◽  
Historical Justice ◽  
Public Consciousness ◽  
Post War ◽  
The One ◽  
First Time ◽  
The City

An artist who finds themselves in the last days of a war in the enemy’s defeated capital may not just fix its objects dispassionately. Many factors influence the selection and depicturing manner of the objects. One of the factors is satisfaction from the accomplished retribution, awareness of the historical justice triumph. Researchers think such reactions are inevitable. The article offers to consider from this point of view the drawings created by Soviet artists in Berlin in the spring and summer of 1945. Such an analysis of the German capital’s visual image is conducted for the first time. It shows that the above reactions were not the only ones. The graphics of the first post-war days no less clearly and consistently express other feelings and intentions of their authors: the desire to accurately document and fix the image of the city and some of its structures in history, the happiness from the silence of peace, and the simple interest in the monuments of European art.The article examines Berlin scenes as evidences of the transition from front-line graphics focused on the visual recording of the war traces to peacetime graphics; from documentary — to artistry; from the worldview of a person at war — to the one of a person who lived to victory. In this approach, it has been important to consider the graphic images of Berlin in unity with the diary and memoir texts belonging to both artists and ordinary soldiers who participated in the storming of Berlin. The combination of verbal and visual sources helps to present the German capital’s image that existed in the public consciousness, as well as the specificity of its representation by means of visual art.

Disability Rights Activism in Kenya, 1959–1964: History from Below

2012 ◽  
Vol 55 (3) ◽  
pp. 103-122 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fikru Negash Gebrekidan
Keyword(s):  
Social History ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Disability Rights ◽  
Great Expectations ◽  
Persons With Disabilities ◽  
Rehabilitation Programs ◽  
The Disabled ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Government ◽  
Historical Agency

Abstract:This article examines the early history of disability rights activism in Kenya. The transitional years from colonialism to independence were a period of great expectations. For persons with disabilities in particular, decolonization held additional possibilities and potential. National independence promised not just majority rule but also an all-inclusive citizenship and the commitment to social justice. Among the visually impaired of Kenya, such collective aspirations led to the birth of the Kenya Union of the Blind in 1959. In 1964, after years of futile correspondence with government officials, the Union organized a street march to the prime minister's office to attract attention to its grievances. The result was a government panel, the Mwendwa Committee for the Care and Rehabilitation of the Disabled, whose published report became the blueprint for social and rehabilitation programs. The government possessed limited resources, and the reforms that ensued were long overdue. Yet the sociohistorical dynamics behind the march are of particular significance. From the social historian's point of view, they affirm not only the historical agency of persons with disabilities, but also the need to recast and broaden the scope of African social history.

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