Social trauma and values of generations: The Great Patriotic War in the historical memory of students
The article is devoted to the analysis of selected research results of BelSU students within the fourth stage of the interregional monitoring of the Russian Society of Sociologists “What we know about the Great Patriotic War” (2005-2020). The historical memory of the Great Patriotic War of the Soviet Union 1941-1945 is one of the most important foundations of a nationwide Russian identity, familiarization with which is a necessary component of the cultural and civic socialization of young generations. Based on the provisions of sociological theories of collective identities, cultural trauma and social sentiment, the data of a survey of 2020 students representing all structural units of the university with a sample by gender and age were interpreted (March 2020). The study revealed that the historical memory of the Great Patriotic War remains relevant at the level of the vast majority (80%); for the majority of students (55% of respondents), this memory is of a value-positive nature, associated with the ideal of the deed of the older generations and with the social model of their selflessness and love for the motherland. The emotional-value basis of memory is a deep complex of experiences of the loss of relatives and close ones from previous generations of the family (the family-historical component) in combination with the positive ideal of their heroism, dedication and patriotism (national component). The narrative level of memory is represented as a whole by the prevailing successive patriotic assessments / interpretations of key events of the Great Patriotic War, with a relatively small “specific gravity” of alternative representations, with a general not indifferent background of attitude to these issues. At the same time, a significant number of those who are hesitant are attracting attention, those who are not able to determine their position on them. A noticeable, albeit smaller, part of the contingent surveyed retains a sacred attitude to the events and heroes of the Great Patriotic War, which is manifested in assessments of its contradictory depiction in modern cinema and acts of vandalism regarding the monuments and graves of Soviet soldiers-liberators in several European countries.
Information for citation: Lebedev, S. D., Shapovalova, I. S., Roshchupkina, N. A. and Shkapenko, A. A. (2020), “Social trauma and values of generations: The Great Patriotic War in the historical memory of students”, Research Result. Sociology and management, 6 (2), 3-18, DOI: 10.18413/2408-9338-2020-6-2-0-1
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The research was carried out with the support of the RFBR grant, project № 18-411-310009 “Evaluation of socializing trajectories of youth in the Russian region in the risky paradigm”