TRANSFORMATION OF ETHNIC CULTURES IN THE GLOBALIZED WORLD: KEY ASPECTS
The processes of globalization, rather ambiguous in themselves, not only actualize the problem of transformation of ethnic cultures, but also determine certain methodological preferences in defining the concept of ethnos, such as the ontological construct or ontological reality. This article aimed to explicate the main theoretical concepts of ethnic culture, viewed through the prism of preserving cultural traditions in the context of globalization and social choice. Further, the paper emphasizes the need to study ethnic culture taking into account the diverse cultural experience and spheres of different cultural practices in order to develop intercultural communication in Russia. The theoretical and at the same time empirical basis for this article is formed by the ideas of leading Russian and foreign culture experts. We take into account the most important, in our opinion, fact that cultural theory is saturated with cultural specifics, which makes it relevant in practical cultural work. In addition, the paper analyses the concept of tradition and dwells on the special features of tradition in Russian and Western research. A comparative analysis of methodologically different theories allows us to consider the problems under study from many sides. As a result, the paper suggests new characteristics of cultural tradition and mechanisms of its transmission as well as describes the entry of traditional cultures into the modern global cultural space. These data can be used in substantiating and shaping the cultural policy of the North Caucasus region as well as the relationships between the region and the centre. Moreover, the issue under study is relevant for a number of disciplines: philosophy of culture, philosophical anthropology, religious studies, theory and history of culture, historiography, and regional studies.