Давыдов В.
(г. Тронхейм, Норвегия, Социально-Антропологический Институт) 
_________________________
«SELF-PRESENTATION, NARRATIVE AND ETHNOCULTURAL AUTHENTICITY».
VLADIMIR DAVYDOV
(Postgraduate student, Sociological faculty, State University, S-Petersburg; 
PhD stipendiat NTNU, Social Anthropology Institute, Trondheim, Norway)

The article is divided into 3 parts: 
1)  The first part is devoted to methodological issues.
2) The second is concerning reproduction of ethnocultural authenticity and self-presentation within urban environment.
3) And the last part considers adaptation, daily practices of indigenous youth in the city and the problem of tolerance.
-I-
Firstly, it is seen to be important to consider methodology and methods of research. The given project is based on field material which was collected in the lodgings for indigenous students in Saint-Petersburg, and also in densely populated areas of indigenous people in Khabarovsk region in the Far East of Russia (from 2001 to 2005). The biggest part of fieldwork was done in St.-Petersburg. There are three universities Petersburg which have special quotas for admission of the indigenous students: Pedagogical University, Polar Academy and The University of Technology and Design. 
The object of research is students from the North, Siberia and Far East of Russian Federation in Saint-Petersburg (let’s call them students-northerners or indigenous students). During the research students from 23 indigenous peoples were interviewed. These are Chukchi, Dolgan, Evenk, Even, Eskimosy (Inuit), Itelmen, Khanty, Kola Sámi, Koryak, Mansi, Nanaicy, Negidalcy, Nenets, Nganasan, Nivkhy, Oroki, Orochi, Selkup, Soioty, Udege, Ukagiry, Ulchi, Veps.
The subject of research is presentation and reproduction of authentic cultural models and narratives in the city.
Research assumes the use of qualitative methods of sociology, social anthropology. These are: participant observation of daily life of students-northerners; in-depth-interviews with indigenous students; biographical  method; group interviews; focus-group; expert interviews;  writing of compositions on the given theme; the analysis of documents - acts, the statistical and demographic data concerning indigenous peoples of the North of Russia.
Students - northerners are considered to be self-organizing group on the basis of the common components of traditional culture, patterns, and stimulating influence of external, urban ("other") environment. 
It is necessary to consider which positions indigenous students occupy in Saint-Petersburg as well as where they find their "niche", how do they live, what is significant for them, how do they interact and communicate, which ways of self-expression and self-presentation do they choose in the city. 
 The material collected during research can be useful for development of adaptational programs for students - northerners in the city.
-II-
The next issue is reproduction of ethnocultural authenticity and self-presentation in the city. Research of these phenomena represents the positions of social constructivism and narrative conception of culture that means the culture is not a constant, it has different forms and variations and it consists of different narratives.
It is assumed in this research, that cultures are created through narratives. All existing cultures can be characterized by plurality and a variety of competing narratives. Cultural narratives establish borders: they separate "us" from "them", "us" from the "others". Such borders are dynamical and changeable. 
James Tully writes that cultures ate not internally homogenous. The main point is that culture created within a process of interaction with other cultures. Historical narratives of a culture should be seen as a result of dialogues with otherness. Ideas of cultural purity and monistic authenticity very often represented by nationalistic movements.
The sociocultural space of the city includes a plenty of competing narratives. Daily life of indigenous students in the city is a result of mixture of different cultural traditions and formation of “essentially” new cultural synthesis. As a result “modern folklore” and “ceremonialism” appear in the "northern" dormitory. It is a synthesis of ethnic cultures with youth subculture of a student’s village.
Ethnocultural authenticity is a presentation and reproduction of cultural patterns by group or individual in the “other” socio-cultural context (environment). A bright marker of cultural authenticity is ethnic tradition. To be authentic means to present symbols of ethnic culture and to reproduce traditional narratives. Antony Giddens describes authenticity as a basis of self-actualization of the personality. Gary Alan Fine made conclusion that the desire for authenticity occupies a major position in contemporary culture.
In the city authenticity is represented by traditional forms of social communications and interactions, communicative strategies, patterns of behavior, habits, customs, traditions, folklore, styles of the organization of the living space etc. It is migrants’ presentation of their habitus.
Ruth Lane and Gordon Waitt consider the concept of ‘authenticity’ in a constructivist sense as a form of symbolic capital. They argue it has clear connections with social status in this sense. 
While living in the city young northerners face some questions: how is it possible to present yourself in the “other” environment, which strategy of self-presentation should be chosen, whether it is necessary to emphasize ethnic culture or to try to hide it. Actually their self-presentation can be based or on traditional ethnocultural values, or on values of the modern society involved in the processes of globalization. 
Northerners usually take to St.-Petersburg things which serve as markers of their culture: souvenirs, traditional toys, national clothes, blankets. Some students bring self-made handbags with national patterns.
Most of the students are shamanists and believe in spirits. Girl from Chukotka even removed to new room because of the spirits. Informant said: “It is impossible completely to deny the existence of them”.
Many students trust both in spirits, and in Christian god (Informant.: “I believe in the god, and in spirits, certainly. Well, I am Christian, I believe in the God, yes. But at the same time I respect the forests”. 
In a crisis situations, in St. Petersburg, indigenous can use traditional means. Student-Khanty has told the following narrative: “One girl lost her letters from home. She was searching them for three days and could not find. So, after the dinner students put some meal and a candle for spirits. Then the girl looked under the bed and them. Spirits helped her to find the letters”.
Translation of authenticity in the city is promoted by interaction with compatriots, by communication with regional communities of the North regions of Russia and by ethnic components in university’s educational programs. Thus, indigenous students reproduce their own narratives within their social networks.
It is also necessary to consider presentation of ethnocultural authenticity in diachronic plan. The self-presentation of students - northerners in Saint-Petersburg varies in the different periods of adaptation. 
At different stages of residing in the “other” environment traditional symbols will be presented with a different degree of intensity. The migrants in the city test some kind of “pressure” of the city’s environment. Urban lifestyle promotes decreasing of ethnic features in daily behavior.
The current research also examines such a task as the communication between regional communities and indigenous youth in the city and discursive construction of ethnic identity. National youth actively participate in different cultural events, conferences, performances and exhibitions dedicated to indigenous issues. Mass media, political activity and struggle for authenticity are resulted in construction of indigenous minorities discourse. City is a space, where regional community receives the access to political field.
It is necessary to mention, that regional communities have mostly primordial and essentialist view of ethnicity. The ideology of national elite is based on politicized indigenous semiotics. Presentation of authentic cultural symbols in political field is a result of activity of national and regional elites. It is a conservative understanding of cultural authenticity “that gives greater credence to traditional cultural forms over hybrid or innovative forms”. 
This represents static view of the authentic culture. James Clifford, Virginia Dominguez and Trinh Minh-Ha consider that ethnological exhibitions in museums show to the audience such a static view of aboriginal cultures. These authors argued for acceptance of hybrid cultures, they accept that cultures have resulted from cultural interaction. James Clifford, Virginia Dominguez and Trinh Minh-Ha conclude that definitions of cultural authenticity no longer centered on salvaged past. They define authenticity as “hybrid, creative activity in a local present-becoming-future”.
-III-
In the current research it is necessary to pay attention to processes of adaptation, integration and daily practices of indigenous youth in the city and the problem of tolerance. Modern situation in Russian society in social, political, economic and cultural plans make both complex and problematic the choice of life strategies and values especially for youth from indigenous peoples of the North, Siberia and Far East. 
The students - northerners coming to the city for studying faced the necessity of accepting new norms, values, rules, instructions and restrictions covering and regulating practically all sides of their daily life. Most students came from rural area and they have to adapt to urban lifestyle.
 It is necessary to consider the formation of student's group in their Motherland before arrival to the city. The indigenous youth passes entrance examinations to Petersburg’s universities in their homeland. Young students receive the information about the city from senior students who come home on vacation, and also from teachers or relatives who were educated in St.-Petersburg. Thus, coming in the city the student already knows some classmates and fellows who are living in the city.
To the question, whether it was difficult to pass the entrance exams, one of informants has answered: «Was it difficult? No. Actually, the quota places had been distributed before examination. So, there was just one application for one place… ». But in particular regions there is high entrance competition.
Students from one village frequently have an agreement about going to Saint-Petersburg together. Sometimes parents, the older brothers or sisters travel to St.-Petersburg with first-year students in order to help them to rent a room and to solve household problems.  
Arrival to the city is a stressful factor for students, first time they have cultural shock. The reasons of it are the simplified program in the universities, life conditions in the dormitories, negative prejudices and stereotypes. The informant told the first thing she had felt in the city was a fear. She said: «the very First feeling is fear, certainly. I have arrived in the evening at 12. Well, where shall I go? I knew nothing about the city. It was dark in the street. I have stayed all night at the station. … And at 6 o'clock in the morning my Petersburg’s life had began. I went to search for institute. Then I found institute. And it was Saturday, and nobody was there. Then I tried to search for lodgings. When I had come to the lodgings I simply started to cry».
Students-northerners have to adapt to life conditions in the lodgings. There are usually live 3 persons in each room. Informant said she was shocked by watching her room: «first two months it was a nightmare. I was sick and cried all the time. I called home. I said to my mother: «Mum, I want to be at home». It was difficult time. It was awful. Imagine: You have been pushed with two other girls in one small room together… It is very difficult, actually. And to rent an individual apartment is very expensive».   
Migrants it is quite often maintain a functional division of their rooms’ interior for "guest" (or public space) and "private" space with beds in city dwelling.
Resident assistants try to impose another variant of an interior in order to control tenants. Students usually settle in a room in which beds stand along the walls. This creates good observation of the room’s space. Then students despite of prohibitions of residence assistants to move furniture, usually put one bed with shelves in the center of the room in order to divide it’s space into two parts. “Private” one is used for sleeping or reading, “public” – for the guests. Students also cook, have a lunch and study there.
 In winter students often use a window as a refrigerator. They hang a bag with food from the outside of the window. Students decorate walls of their rooms with different photos from magazines. These are photos of pop-stars: Tattoo, Britney Spears, Space Girls, Eminem. Some students paint pictures on the walls. The space near the bed is often decorated by students’ photos. Students also ornament the doors of their rooms in order to make them more individual.
Northerners usually share plates and dishes. It is a common practice for neighbors to cook and eat together. A constant problem of life in lodgings is shortage of cups, plates and chairs. When students have visitors this staff can be borrowed from their neighbors. Washing of floors, cleaning of the rooms is carried by arrangements. 
Students-northerners attend museums, theatres, cinemas, discos and pubs at weekends. A favorite place of walks of northerners is the Nevskiy prospect, the main street of the city.
First year students usually have the stereotypical image of St.-Petersburg. They assume that Petersburg is “civilized western city”, “the northern capital”, “the cultural centre of Russia” and “a beautiful city” from one side and the “criminal capital” from the other.
The formation of these stereotypes is influenced by mass media. Such soap-operas as “Ylitzi razbitih fonarey” or "Uboiniy otdel" form an image of the city as criminal capital.
First time students - northerners most frequently become victims of robberies. They have not got used to the crowds of people. Informant said: “In the first day when my friend had arrived, we went to the second-hand market and were robed. My purse was stolen”. 
Informants remark, that St.-Petersburg is - «noisy city», «the big city» where «live a lot of to people». Students - northerners perceive the space of city as “dusty and grey”. They noticed, that it was difficult to adapt to long distances. Streets are perceived by northerners as very “wide and long”. Informants said: «Everyone lives for himself in the city», «there is no such a friendship as at the Motherland», and «people do not pay attention to another's problems». 
Compatriots play an important role in adaptation of indigenous in the city. Students from Pedagogic University, Polar Academy, ant The University of Technology and Design communicate between themselves, come to visits, walk, and go on discos together.
The recent migrants communicate with other migrants at the initial stages of their accommodation in the city especially intensively. That promotes their adaptation to new environment. So for the student - northerner the space of city appears as a network of communications with compatriots. 
Northerners communicate mostly within these networks. They explain that this way: «these people are closer, than others», «they understand us better than others». Rather frequently students from one region or village ask to settle them in the lodgings in one room. 
Informant said, that in company of indigenous students it is possible to tell cases which occurred during hunting and fishing. He remarked it would be difficult for Russian student to communicate in this company.
Many students would like to stay in St.-Petersburg. Students usually go home on vacations. They influence tastes of rural population. This fact was fixed by the Soviet ethnographers in 1960th years. For example, A. V. Smoljak wrote: «Huge influence on children and especially on teenagers, have indigenous students who go annually home on summer vacation. They bring to rural life the new sights, the new tastes, new requirements». 
When students come home for the vacation, they start to notice the negative sides of rural life. These are unemployment, alcoholism. Students compare life in the village and life in the city and mark advantages of urban life. The city gives to youth more opportunities. Informant has named this as «the temptation of the city». 
An important point in a choice of strategy of the future is social capital. Informant said, that on the native Land “you will make career more quickly, as you know everybody there”. Relatives assist young specialists in finding work after there return to Motherland. But the rate of unemployment is still very high in Siberia.
The special attention must be given to a problem of a recognition and tolerance. It is necessary to remark, that the question of tolerance is very actual in the city. 
Indigenous students perceive the nature as alive. Sometimes indigenous are called as «the childrens of nature». It means that they got used to live in harmony with nature. But expression «the children of a nature» can be used in a negative sense as a stereotype, especially for reindeer herders. In this case it means their inability to study and inability to behave properly within urban environment. This is an example of constructing of the “other”. Carol Jonson writes that subordinate identity categories are discursively constructed. Category the ‘other’ can be constructed in different ways: as deviant, self-oriented or incapable.
Young northerners quite often face with acts of discrimination, racism, and negative prejudices and stereotypes (especially from the old population). Skinheads are still serious dangers for northerners. Informant said: “Probably, the most basic problem is racism, because our faculty is unusual. We have northern appearance. We are not Russians …”. The negativism to northerners promotes formation of negative self-perception. 
That brings us the end of the article. We have some information to sum up. The main points are:
Strategies of self-presentation of indigenous youth in daily life allow to find out mechanisms of social interaction and to reveal a role of ethnocultural values. It is especially important to pay attention for "authentic" patterns of behavior and transformation of traditional culture in accepting society. 
Ethnocultural authenticity is a presentation by students - northerners their "otherness" in St.-Petersburg. It is reproduction and presentation of narratives of traditional culture. This can be considered as “conformity” of the individual or a group to the traditional cultural norms. Cultural authenticity represents semantic networks which again and again are redefined through interactions and communications of it carriers. It is necessary to remark, that presentation of authentic symbols in political sphere is resulted by politicization of ethnicity. 
 
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Автор: Владимир Давыдов - аспирант СПбГУ, факультет социологии; стипендиат NTNU, Социально-антропологический Институт, г. Тронхейм, Норвегия.

Самопрезентация, нарратив, этнокультурная аутентичность.

Статья подготовлена при поддержке Гранта РГНФ № 05-03-03380а; 
Основные положения данной статьи были представлены на семинаре Социально-Антропологического Института в NTNU, Тронхейм, Норвегия 20.10.2005.

Данная публикация продолжает тему, затронутую в статье «Студенты-северяне в крупном городе: проблема адаптации, социальные связи и взаимодействия, этнокультурная аутентичность», опубликованную в первом сборнике конференции.
В первой части рассматриваются методологические вопросы. Статья основана на материалах полевого исследования студенческих общежитий в Санкт-Петербурге, в которых проживает молодежь из числа малочисленных народов Севера, Сибири и Дальнего Востока, а также материалы экспедиций, собранные в местах компактного проживания малочисленных народов в Хабаровском крае (2001-2005 гг.). В ходе исследования были проинтервьюированы представители 23 малочисленных народов России.
Предмет исследования – презентация и воспроизводство аутентичных культурных моделей и нарративов в крупном городе. В ходе исследования использовались методы социологии и социальной антропологии. Акцент ставится на повседневных практиках студентов-северян.
Вторая часть посвящена анализу процессов воспроизводства этнокультурной аутентичности в крупном городе, а также стратегий самопрезентации в городской среде. Рассматриваются «аутентичные» паттерны поведения и механизмы трансформации культуры мигрантов в принимающем сообществе.
 Исследование этих феноменов видится перспективным с позиций социального конструктивизма и нарративной концепции культуры, согласно которой культура не является константой, а имеет различные формы и вариации, состоит из различных по содержанию нарративов.
Социокультурное пространство города представлено множеством конкурирующих нарративов. Повседневная жизнь студентов северян в мегаполисе является результатом смешения различных культурных традиций. Это синтез этнической культуры с молодежной субкультурой общежития. 
Этнокультурная аутентичность в городе проявляется в традиционных формах социальной коммуникации и интеракции, в паттернах поведения, привычках, обычаях, традициях и фольклоре, стилях организации жилого пространства. 
В статье рассматриваются подходы зарубежных антропологов и социологов к понятию «культурная аутентичность». В конструктивистском ключе аутентичность может быть рассмотрена как форма символического капитала. Консервативное понимание культурной аутентичности отдает предпочтение традиционным культурным формам, нежели современным, гибридным, являющимся результатом смешения различных традиций. Региональные элиты разделяют преимущественно эссенциалистский взгляд на этнокультурную аутентичность. Результатом презентации аутентичных символов в поле политики является политизация этничности.
 Трансляция аутентичности в городе обеспечивается постоянным взаимодействием  мигрантов со своими земляками. Этот процесс необходимо рассматривать в диахронном плане. На разных этапах пребывания в «иной» среде традиционные модели презентируются с разной степенью интенсивности.
В третьей части рассматривается процесс адаптации и повседневные практики молодежи из числа малочисленных народов Севера в Санкт-Петербурге, уделяется внимание проблеме признания и толерантности.
Стратегии самопрезентации студентов-северян в крупном городе позволяют изучить механизмы социальной интеракции и выявить роль этнокультурных ценностей в повседневной жизни. 
Этнокультурная аутентичность – это презентация мигрантами своей «инаковости» в крупном городе. Она может рассматриваться с точки зрения конформности индивида или группы традиционным культурным нормам. Культурная аутентичность представляет собой семантические сети, которые постоянно переопределяются в процессе коммуникации и интеракции мигрантов между собой.