Socio-cultural transformation as a systemic phenomenon in cultural dynamics

Abstract

The paper reveals peculiarities of transition periods in cultural dynamics. These processes are analysed by using the example of the continuum of European (as of the 19th c. – Euro-Atlantic) culture. The end of transition periods which are defined by the concept of “socio-cultural transformation” marks the beginning of progressive evolution of culture – the stage determined by the notion of “culture system”. The study singles out four stages of socio-cultural transformations in the continuum of European culture (late Hellenism, the Renaissance, the avant-garde, and postmodernity) as well as four culture systems (ancient, mediaeval, neo-European, and modern). The paper concludes that characterising socio-cultural transformations makes it possible to determine a concrete set of their features. These features are defined by the concept of “culturally dominant characteristics”. Various stages of socio-cultural transformations generally display the same set of such characteristics, the latter manifesting themselves with varying degrees of intensity, whereas the set of culturally dominant characteristics reflecting the essence of culture systems is different. The research resulted in singling out the following culturally dominant characteristics of socio-cultural transformations: relativism, pluralism, eclecticism, skepticism, gamification, as well as a break with the preceding cultural tradition. The research raises the problem of extending the application of the aforementioned regularities to the cultural dynamics of other civilisations.