Metaphorical Foundations of the Generational Imaginary of Urban Russian Youth
Research Article
Acknowledgments
This article is an output of a research projects implemented as part of the Basic Research Program at the National Research University Higher School of Economics (HSE University)
How to Cite
Nartova N.A. Metaphorical Foundations of the Generational Imaginary of Urban Russian Youth. Interaction. Interview. Interpretation. 2024. Vol. 16. No. 2. P. 29-49. DOI: https://doi.org/10.19181/inter.2024.16.2.2 (in Russ.).
Abstract
The concept of generation has not lost its relevance for many decades; moreover, in the context of the erosion of traditional social classifications, it has acquired particular significance in the formation of social identities. Generational optics are actively used not only in academic debate, but also in political, media, and marketing. The names assigned to cohorts in public discussion become their name, sometimes a stigma or brand, but are not always recruited and used by individuals themselves to describe their generation. The metaphors used in generational names structure the understanding of a generation, its characteristics and place in the socio-historical process. Of particular interest is young people, who are actively building a picture of the world and defining their own generation. The article focuses on the metaphorical foundations of the generational imaginary of modern Russian youth. Based on the materials of 61 qualitative interviews with urban educated middle-class youth in St. Petersburg, four key metaphorical concepts of generation were identified, one of which is common to all the youth studied, three are cohort-specific. A common one involves the metaphor of “technological change”. Cohort-specific ones, reflecting both the difference in life stages and generational characteristics, are represented by the metaphor of “deceived hopes” among 30-year-olds, the metaphor of “children of the 90s” among 25-year-olds, and the metaphor of “moving forward” among 20-year-olds.
Keywords:
youth, generation, metaphor, generational imaginary, qualitative methods
References
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Zdravomislova E., Rotkirh A., Temkina A. (2009) Vvedenie. Sozdanie privatnosti kak sferi zaboti, lubvi I naemnogo truda [Introduction. Creating Privacy as a Sphere of Care, Love and Wage Labor]. In: Novij bit v sovremennoj Possii: gendernie issledovaniya povsednevnosti [Gender Studies of Everyday Life in Contemporary Russia]. St. Petersburg: Izdatelstvo Evropejskogo universiteta v Sankt-Peterburge. P. 7—30. (In Russ.)
Lakoff G., Johnson M. (2023) Metafori, kotorimi mi zhivem [Metaphors We Live By]. Moscow: Izdatelstvo LKI. (In Russ.)
Maksimova O.A. (2014) Self-Identification and Collective Memory of Generations in Contemporary Russian Society. Uchenie zapiski Kazanskogo universiteta. Seria Gumanitarnie nauki [Proceedings of Kazan University. Humanities Series]. Vol. 156. No. 6. P. 246—252. (In Russ.)
Mannheim K. (2000) Ocherki sotciologii znania [Essays on the Sociology of Knowledge]. Moscow: INION RAN. (In Russ.)
Semenova V.V. (2002) Sotcialnii portret pokolenia [The Social Portrait of Generations]. In: L.M. Drobizheva (ed.) Rossiya reformiruyushchayasya [Reforming Russia]. Moscow: Academia. No. 2. P. 184—212. (In Russ.)
Semenova V.V. (2009) Sotcialnaya dinamika pokolenij: problema i realnost [Social Dynamics of Generations: Problem and Reality]. Moscow: ROSPEN. (In Russ.)
Urry J. (2012) Sotciologia za predelami obschestv: vidi mobilnosti dlya XXI stoletiya [Sociology Beyond Societies. Mobilities for the Twenty-First Century]. Moscow: Izdatelskij dom VShE. (In Russ.)
Boyle K.A. (2023) Millennial Career-identities: Reevaluating Social Identification and Intergenerational Relations. Journal of Intergenerational Relationships. Vol. 21. No. 1. P. 89—109. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/15350770.2021.1945989
Correa Т. (2014) Bottom-up Technology Transmission Within Families: Exploring How Youths Influence Their Parents’ Digital Media Use with Dyadic Data. Journal of Communication. Vol. 64. No. 1. P. 103—124. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/jcom.12067
Corsten M. (1999) The Time of Generations. Time and Society. Vol. 8. No. 2—3. P. 249—272. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/0961463X99008002003
Manning N. (2013) “I mainly look at things on an issue by issue basis”: Reflexivity and Phronêsis in Young People’s Political Engagements. Journal of Youth Studies. Vol. 16. No. 1. P. 17—33. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/13676261.2012.693586
Moreno A., Urraco M. (2018) The Generational Dimension in Transitions: A Theoretical Review. Societies. Vol. 8. No. 3. P. 1—12. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/soc8030049
Omelchenko E.L. (2021) Twenty Five Years of Youth Studies: Global Names—Local Trends. In: Youth in Putin’s Russia. Cham: Palgrave Macmillan. P. 1—65 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-82954-4_1
Roberts S., France A. (2021) Problematizing a Popular Panacea: a Critical Examination of the (Continued) Use of “Social Generations” in Youth Sociology. The Sociological Review. Vol. 69. No. 4. P. 775—791. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/0038026120922467
Timonen V., Conlon C. (2015) Beyond Mannheim: Conceptualising How People “Talk” and “Do” Generations in Contemporary Society. Advances in Life Course Research. Vol. 24. P. 1—9. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.alcr.2015.03.001
Woodman D., Leccardi C. (2015) Generation, Transitions, and Culture as Practice: a Temporal Approach to Youth Studies. In: Youth Cultures, Transitions, and Generations. Bridging the Gap in Youth Research. London: Palgrave Macmillan. P. 56—68. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137377234_5
Article
Received: 14.02.2024
Accepted: 26.06.2024
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APA
Nartova, N. A. (2024). Metaphorical Foundations of the Generational Imaginary of Urban Russian Youth. Interaction. Interview. Interpretation, 16(2), 29-49. https://doi.org/10.19181/inter.2024.16.2.2
Section
Research Discourse: Generations
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