Strategies of forming civilizational consciousness in the context of transcultural memory studies

This article reveals the theoretical significance of the transcultural turn of memory studies for modern civilizational studies. Based on the analysis of modern civilizational studies, it is shown that civilizational studies are rapidly moving away from the images of closed, autonomous and self-sufficient supranational communities, as well as attempts at their strict typology, and are moving towards an analysis of civilizational and other forms of collective self-identification. On this path, an important milestone is the critical analysis of the language of civilizational studies itself and the transition from macrohistorical interpretations of the concept of “civilization” to sociological interpretations focused on the transparency of borders and the broad possibilities of cultural exchanges and mutual influences in the process of forming civilizational consciousness. No less important in this regard is the transition to the logic of ternary, which is an attempt to move away from the binaristic thinking of “We - They”. It is shown that collective memories as a means of constructing a container model of society are being replaced by an awareness of the role of memory as an important participant in transcultural and transnational dialogue and exchange of meanings. In this regard, the transformation of memory studies and the growing interest in the transboundary dynamics of collective memory can become an important driver for the further development of civilizational studies. The study showed that the methodological optics of the transcultural turn of memory studies allows us to see the important role of transcultural memories in the identification, communicative and cognitive strategies of forming civilizational consciousness. It was revealed that historical self-identification, even in the context of isolationist projects, is forced to rely on images of the past from other cultures, borrowing them for a more detailed positioning of one’s own values. The transboundary movement of the mnemonic archive is more significant in cases where the images of the past of other cultures themselves turn out to be a source of self-identification. In the communicative strategy, the influence of the migration of mnemonic archives is not only an additional repertoire of memories, on the basis of which the image of the Other is formed, but also turns out to be a source of critical re-evaluation of one’s own historical experience. In comparison with the identification strategy, the role of memorial activism within the framework of the communicative strategy comes to the fore, since for communication with the Other, not only the content of other people’s memories is important, but the act of communication itself. In the case of the cognitive strategy, the transboundary mnemonic archive turns into an object of knowledge and a historical source, and the actors of transcultural memories are able to launch international discussions regarding the strengths and weaknesses of civilizational consciousness. Despite the identified shortcomings of the methodology of the transcultural turn, it clearly shows the need for further actualization of elements of the global and universal in the development of modern civilizational ideas and forms of civilizational self-identification. The author declares no conflicts of interests.

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