Article
О совершенствовании преподавания теоретико-социологических дисциплин
The article analyzes methodological aspects of the teaching of visual sociology at the sociological departments of Russian universities. It presents two different approaches towards teaching visual sociology. The course "Sociological imagination: a practical guide to visual sociology" offered by the Sociological Department of Higher School of Economics combines the sociology and photography. The course is given by two professionals. One is a sociologist, the other is a photographer. Students choose main research question and make series of photos, which they analyze both from sociological and photographical points of view. The main idea of the course "The Development of sociological imagination through participant observation and visualization" at the Department of Sociology of Moscow State University is to develop different views of social reality with the help of participant observation and visualization. The course is based on the constructionist ideas of Pierre Bourdieu. Students develop their imagination by using photo, video and audio material. Visual images are used not only for supporting the existing phenomena of social reality but also for constructing new understandings and approaches to the same reality. They are trying to find "the unknown features in the well known context". The authors share their opinions about the main problems they face while teaching the courses and explain their methodological attitudes.
Several approaches to the concept of fatherhood present in Western sociological tradition are analyzed and compared: biological determinism, social constructivism and biosocial theory. The problematics of fatherhood and men’s parental practices is marginalized in modern Russian social research devoted to family and this fact makes the traditional inequality in family relations, when the father’s role is considered secondary compared to that of mother, even stronger. However, in Western critical men’s studies several stages can be outlined: the development of “sex roles” paradigm (biological determinism), the emergence of the hegemonic masculinity concept, inter-disciplinary stage (biosocial theory). According to the approach of biological determinism, the role of a father is that of the patriarch, he continues the family line and serves as a model for his ascendants. Social constructivism looks into man’s functions in the family from the point of view of masculine pressure and establishing hegemony over a woman and children. Biosocial theory aims to unite the biological determinacy of fatherhood with social, cultural and personal context. It is shown that these approaches are directly connected with the level of the society development, marriage and family perceptions, the level of egality of gender order.
This article is talking about state management and cultural policy, their nature and content in term of the new tendency - development of postindustrial society. It mentioned here, that at the moment cultural policy is the base of regional political activity and that regions can get strong competitive advantage if they are able to implement cultural policy successfully. All these trends can produce elements of new economic development.