1st INFORMATIONAL LETTER

Russian Institute for Cultural Research

in conjunction with

Herzen Russian State Pedagogical Institute; St.Petersburg State University; St.Petersburg State University of Culture and Arts; Peter the Great Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography (Kunstkamera), Russian Academy of Sciences; Scientific Council on History of World Culture, Russian Academy of Sciences, Russian State Humanitarian University; Russian Christian Humanitarian Academy; Scientific and Educational Society for Cultural Research, supported by St.Petersburg Scientific Center of Russian Academy of Sciences; Committee for Foreign Relations of St.Petersburg; International Association “Russian Culture”; St.Petersburg Institute for Humanitarian Education; and UNESCO Chair for Comparative Studies of Spiritual Traditions, their Specific Cultures and Inter-Religious Dialogue, announce the 3rd Russian Congress with international participation for Cultural Research, October 27 to 29, in St.Petersburg, Russia. The Congress will address Creativity in the Space of Tradition and Innovation as its main topic.

The principal goal of the 3rd Russian Congress for Cultural Research is to develop and further the tradition of international scientific forums with international participation, founded by the Russian Institute for Cultural Research in collaboration with a number of leading scientific centers for research and education in the Russian Federation, in partnership with the UNESCO Chair in Moscow for Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belorussia, Moldova and Russian Federation. The theme of the 3rd Congress is the fundamental concept of Creativity in the Space of Tradition and Innovation. The theme concerns professional artistic activity in European society and traditional Oriental cultures, which sometimes function as subcultures in modern pluralistic society.
Parallel to the Congress proceeding, special organizing committees are planning several scientific symposiums dedicated to working out the concepts of inter-civilizational, intercultural, and inter-religious dialogues, which constitute part of the cultural strategy of UNESCO.
In addition, parallel to the primary program, the Congress will include the 3rd Forum of Curators’ Initiatives ‘St.Petersburg Biennale of Modern Art’, which aims to activate dialogue between academic and artistic people.

Overall, various themes will be discussed in four plenary sessions, thirty sectional sessions, and two round tables grouped around eight sub-themes: theory of cultural studies, the dynamics of cultural forms, fundamental problems of world artistic culture, the culturology of creativity, pedagogical issues in cultural studies, Russian civilization in cultural studies, and cultural politics in the context of global crisis, as follows:

Theory of cultural studies

• Key-problems in present-day theoretical cultural studies
• Theoretic and methodological basis for modern cultural studies
• Theoretic basis for the comparative research of cultures
• Theoretic basis for analyzing the forms of new knowledge appearing in culture
• Creativity in the genesis of culture
• Fundamental basis for the theory of creativity
• Norm and deviation in the context of the theory of cultural creativity

Historical cultural studies

• Actual problems in historical and comparative cultural research
• Historical dynamic of cultural images in the world
• Micro- and macro-history: contours of methodological analysis
• Historical research in the creative potential of cultures
• Cultural creativity as active force of history
• Historical radicalism and the theory of creativity
• Image of the creator in the space of cultural processes
• Positive creativity and destruction in historical-cultural processes
• Creativity in historical memory and the futurology of social imagination

Dynamics of cultural forms

• Principles of theoretic research apropos cultural statics and dynamics
• Multiculturalism and localism in the historical dynamics of cultural forms
• Semantics of local universals in culture
• Creativity in the dynamics of cultural forms
• Innovation, stability, and regression in cultural images of the world
• Passion and will in history
• Forms of creative experience
• Cultural image of the innovator in history

Culturology of creativity

• Cultural experience as the creation of novelty
• Protection and tendencies in traditional and modern culture
• Methods for describing creativity in culture
• Creativity in the theory of religious experience
• Semantics of image creation in culture
• Logic and pragmatism of creative thought in culture
• Utopianism as a philosophy of life and the self-conscience of culture
• Relations between the center and periphery in the dynamic of cultural creativity

Fundamental problems in researching world artistic culture

• Philosophy of creativity and aesthetics in the context of modern cultural studies
• Actual problems in researching classical artistic systems
• Methodological particularities in the analysis of modern art
• Theoretic and historical-cultural research of regional artistic processes
• Phenomenon of creativity in art
• Philosophy of creativity in aesthetics and art theory
• Modus of creativity in the history of artistic activity
• Radicalism and conservatism in modern artistic process
• New technologies in postmodern culture

Russian civilization in cultural studies

• Methodological particularities in researching spiritual experience in Russian culture
• Russian culture abroad
• Culturology of Russian mentality
• Creativity in the historical destines of the “Russian world”
• Creativity in national images of the world: tradition and innovation
• Approaching Russian cultural research from the standpoint of evolution and civilization
• Modern Russian culture in the structure of globalization
• Modern artistic process in Russia: common and particular

Pedagogical issues in cultural studies

• Theoretic basis for cultural studies in modern pedagogy
• Current state of teaching culture in school and in high school
• Problems of teaching world artistic culture in school and in high school
• Innovative technologies in culturological education
• Pedagogy of cultural activism
• New educational standards in modern culturological sciences
• Competencies in orientations and technologies in educating specialists in cultural studies in the higher education system

Cultural politics in the context of global crisis

• Philosophy of tolerance and challenges of the modern world
• Scenarios of cultural politics in the dynamic of a multi-polar world
• Cultural politics and the institutional systems of modern society
• Cultural politics in modern art
• Creativity in the experience of cultural planning
• Scenarios of new civilization and the dialogue of cultures
• Innovative strategies in modern cultural politics
• Positive scenarios for exiting from the global socio-economic crisis

In addition to professionals, persons who work in related spheres and all members of intellectual society who are feeling concerned about the situation in modern humanitarian sciences are invited to participate in the Congress. All reports of the foreign guests, as well as plenary sessions, would be interpreted from English into Russian and vice versa in the course of the congress, free of charge.

To apply, fill-out and submit the electronic form on the Congress website: http://congress.spbric.org. The deadline for applications is July 15, 2010. Submit the text of your article (20,000 to 40,000 characters) together with the application form. The rules for the design of abstracts and full materials are posted on at the official site of the Congress: http://congress.spbric.org. All materials will be published. The abstracts will be published before the Congress, and the complete texts will be published after the Congress. The registration fee is 500 rubls.

For additional information, please, contact Dr. Alina Venkova
Email: congress@spbric.org
Fax: (+7 812) 571 2527