"What was the meaning of this theatre of absurdity": public shaming meetings in the late USSR
In recent years, we have seen a resurgence in the practice of public branding, a process in which members of a society express moral indignation at the views or behaviour of an individual or a group. This stigmatization is especially common on social media, but it can also take other forms (meetings...
| Main Author: | |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Gaidar Institute of Economic Policy
2023
|
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://repository.londonmet.ac.uk/8698/1/57-108-1-SM.pdf |
| _version_ | 1804072934131630080 |
|---|---|
| author | Stephenson, Svetlana |
| author_facet | Stephenson, Svetlana |
| author_sort | Stephenson, Svetlana |
| collection | LMU |
| description | In recent years, we have seen a resurgence in the practice of public branding, a process in which members of a society express moral indignation at the views or behaviour of an individual or a group. This stigmatization is especially common on social media, but it can also take other forms (meetings of Academic Councils and ethics commissions, the so-called cancel culture, and so on). The splitting of the public into opposing groups, the fury of the accusations, the severe consequences of stigmatization for social status, the reputation of a person, the often revealed interest of the state and certain institutions in unleashing or using stigmatization - all this makes it an important phenomenon of modern public life. Stephenson’s article examines the practice of prorabotka, a ritual of public shaming that took place in schools, universities and workplaces in the Soviet Union. It argues that rather than being events dedicated to moral improvement and re-education of individuals by the collectives (as they were seen in the official discourse), these were repressive rituals that led to social degradation of the victims of shaming. It shows that in addition to an official script, the meetings had a supplementary script that unleashed negative moral emotions and affects but also generated guilt and fear. |
| first_indexed | 2024-07-09T04:07:02Z |
| format | Article |
| id | oai:repository.londonmet.ac.uk:8698 |
| institution | London Metropolitan University |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-07-09T04:07:02Z |
| publishDate | 2023 |
| publisher | Gaidar Institute of Economic Policy |
| record_format | eprints |
| spelling | oai:repository.londonmet.ac.uk:86982023-08-18T12:18:26Z http://repository.londonmet.ac.uk/8698/ "What was the meaning of this theatre of absurdity": public shaming meetings in the late USSR Stephenson, Svetlana 320 Political science 340 Law In recent years, we have seen a resurgence in the practice of public branding, a process in which members of a society express moral indignation at the views or behaviour of an individual or a group. This stigmatization is especially common on social media, but it can also take other forms (meetings of Academic Councils and ethics commissions, the so-called cancel culture, and so on). The splitting of the public into opposing groups, the fury of the accusations, the severe consequences of stigmatization for social status, the reputation of a person, the often revealed interest of the state and certain institutions in unleashing or using stigmatization - all this makes it an important phenomenon of modern public life. Stephenson’s article examines the practice of prorabotka, a ritual of public shaming that took place in schools, universities and workplaces in the Soviet Union. It argues that rather than being events dedicated to moral improvement and re-education of individuals by the collectives (as they were seen in the official discourse), these were repressive rituals that led to social degradation of the victims of shaming. It shows that in addition to an official script, the meetings had a supplementary script that unleashed negative moral emotions and affects but also generated guilt and fear. Gaidar Institute of Economic Policy 2023-08-08 Article PeerReviewed text en cc_by_4 https://repository.londonmet.ac.uk/8698/1/57-108-1-SM.pdf Stephenson, Svetlana (2023) "What was the meaning of this theatre of absurdity": public shaming meetings in the late USSR. Versus, 2 (5). pp. 15-40. ISSN 2782-3679 https://doi.org/10.58186/2782-3660-2022-2-5-15-40 10.58186/2782-3660-2022-2-5-15-40 |
| spellingShingle | 320 Political science 340 Law Stephenson, Svetlana "What was the meaning of this theatre of absurdity": public shaming meetings in the late USSR |
| title | "What was the meaning of this theatre of absurdity": public shaming meetings in the late USSR |
| title_full | "What was the meaning of this theatre of absurdity": public shaming meetings in the late USSR |
| title_fullStr | "What was the meaning of this theatre of absurdity": public shaming meetings in the late USSR |
| title_full_unstemmed | "What was the meaning of this theatre of absurdity": public shaming meetings in the late USSR |
| title_short | "What was the meaning of this theatre of absurdity": public shaming meetings in the late USSR |
| title_sort | what was the meaning of this theatre of absurdity public shaming meetings in the late ussr |
| topic | 320 Political science 340 Law |
| url | https://repository.londonmet.ac.uk/8698/1/57-108-1-SM.pdf |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT stephensonsvetlana whatwasthemeaningofthistheatreofabsurditypublicshamingmeetingsinthelateussr |