Metaphorical Foundations of the Generational Imaginary of Urban Russian Youth

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...

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Main Author: Nadezhda Andreevna Nartova
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Russian Academy of Sciences, Federal Center of Theoretical and Applied Sociology 2024-06-01
Series:Интеракция. Интервью. Интерпретация
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.inter-fnisc.ru/index.php/inter/article/view/6007/5835
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author Nadezhda Andreevna Nartova
author_facet Nadezhda Andreevna Nartova
author_sort Nadezhda Andreevna Nartova
collection DOAJ
description 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.
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series Интеракция. Интервью. Интерпретация
spelling doaj-art-b861fb64a55f4145841747d16f7882d42025-08-20T01:53:31ZengRussian Academy of Sciences, Federal Center of Theoretical and Applied SociologyИнтеракция. Интервью. Интерпретация2307-20752687-04012024-06-01162294910.19181/inter.2024.16.2.26007Metaphorical Foundations of the Generational Imaginary of Urban Russian YouthNadezhda Andreevna Nartova0RussiaThe 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.https://www.inter-fnisc.ru/index.php/inter/article/view/6007/5835youthgenerationmetaphorgenerational imaginaryqualitative methods
spellingShingle Nadezhda Andreevna Nartova
Metaphorical Foundations of the Generational Imaginary of Urban Russian Youth
Интеракция. Интервью. Интерпретация
youth
generation
metaphor
generational imaginary
qualitative methods
title Metaphorical Foundations of the Generational Imaginary of Urban Russian Youth
title_full Metaphorical Foundations of the Generational Imaginary of Urban Russian Youth
title_fullStr Metaphorical Foundations of the Generational Imaginary of Urban Russian Youth
title_full_unstemmed Metaphorical Foundations of the Generational Imaginary of Urban Russian Youth
title_short Metaphorical Foundations of the Generational Imaginary of Urban Russian Youth
title_sort metaphorical foundations of the generational imaginary of urban russian youth
topic youth
generation
metaphor
generational imaginary
qualitative methods
url https://www.inter-fnisc.ru/index.php/inter/article/view/6007/5835
work_keys_str_mv AT nadezhdaandreevnanartova metaphoricalfoundationsofthegenerationalimaginaryofurbanrussianyouth