Anthropology of Smells: History and Modernity

Authors

  • Laura AVAKYAN Saint Petersburg State University of Film and Television, Saint Petersburg, Russia
  • Svetlana GOLUBEVA Saint Petersburg State University of Film and Television, Saint Petersburg, Russia
  • Galina TSIMMERMAN Saint Petersburg State University of Film and Television, Saint-Petersburg, Russia
  • Vladimir SHCHERBAKOV Saint Petersburg State Research Institute of Phthisiopulmonology, Saint Petersburg, Russia

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.24234/wisdom.v15i2.363

Keywords:

human, culture, anthropology of smell, the process of civilization, cultural practices, computer technologies

Abstract

Smell, as evidenced by modern science, is one of the most significant factors influencing human consciousness and behavior. This is due not only to the biological aspects of its origin and the actualization of the bodily being of a human, but also to deeply rooted in culture and society stereotypes and patterns of perception that determine the value system, cognitive attitudes and social structure of each particular culture. This is the essence of relevance of the project of historization and anthropologization of smell, based on the original model of describing the transformation of human cultural practices, which equally takes into account the natural and social aspects of human life and can identify the regulatory mechanisms, order and principles of sociocultural changes. Although a modern man does not fully realize the power of olfactory area of his sense empire, this does not free him from the power of reflex reactions, cultural norms and social demarcations, originating in the olfactory receptivity. Perhaps, that is why the rationalistic ideal of deodorization has not been achieved by modern perfumers, who only mask, but not destroy smells, that are, in some sense, completely indestructible, because they can effectively shape a person’s cultural identity, historical memory and even self-awareness.

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Author Biographies

Laura AVAKYAN, Saint Petersburg State University of Film and Television, Saint Petersburg, Russia

(PhD in Philosophy) is Associate Professor of the Department of Foreign Languages at Saint Petersburg State University of Film and Television, Saint Petersburg, Russia. Her areas of interest include philosophy of culture, civilization theories. Avakyan is the author of 32 scientific articles, among them 6 articles in scientific journals recommended by HAC. Recent publications: “Research Approaches to Studying the Social Space of Modern Man”, “Civilizational Platform of the Modern World”, “The Use of Figurative Method for Philosophical and Sociological Analysis of Modern Society”, “Philosophy and the Crisis of Globalization”.

Svetlana GOLUBEVA, Saint Petersburg State University of Film and Television, Saint Petersburg, Russia

(PhD in Philosophy) is Associate Professor of the Department of Foreign Languages at Saint Petersburg State University of Film and Television, Saint Petersburg, Russia. Her areas of interest include human-computer interaction and the impact of internet communication on different cultural aspects. Golubeva is the author of 33 scientific papers and co-author of 1 textbook. The most recent publications: “Sociocultural Aspects of the English Language Globalization”, “The Internet of Things and Its Influence on Emerging Technologies in Education”, “Film as the Open Work”, “Artificial Intelligence in the Film Industry”.

Galina TSIMMERMAN, Saint Petersburg State University of Film and Television, Saint-Petersburg, Russia

(PhD in Pedagogy) is Associate Professor, the Head of the Department of Foreign Languages, the Head of the International Relations Office at Saint Petersburg State University of Film and Television, Saint-Petersburg, Russia. Her areas of interest include the history of language communication and its cross-cultural aspects. Tsimmerman is the author of 2 monographs, 1 textbook and 53 scientific articles. Recent publications: “Creating a Multi-Layered Interpretation of Meaning in the Conditions of the Language Compression of the Subtitles of the Film Dialogue”, “Film Translation as a Factor of Cross-Cultural Communication”.

Vladimir SHCHERBAKOV, Saint Petersburg State Research Institute of Phthisiopulmonology, Saint Petersburg, Russia

(Dr. of Science in Philosophy) is Professor of the Educational Department at Saint Petersburg State Research Institute of Phthisiopulmonology of the Ministry of Healthcare of the Russian Federation, Saint Petersburg, Russia. His areas of interest include philosophical and cultural anthropology, philosophy of science, bioethics. Shcherbakov is the author of 3 monographs and 54 scientific articles. Recent publications: “Ethical and Ontological Foundations of Justice in E. Levinas’s Philosophy”, “Justice and Good in the Debate of Liberalism and Communitarianism”, “Social Technologies and Other Technical Metaphors in Modern Social Sciences”, “Sartre and Heidegger on Human Existence: Abandonment and Freedom”.

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Published

2020-08-25

How to Cite

AVAKYAN, L., GOLUBEVA, S., TSIMMERMAN, G., & SHCHERBAKOV, V. (2020). Anthropology of Smells: History and Modernity. WISDOM, 15(2), 77–92. https://doi.org/10.24234/wisdom.v15i2.363

Issue

Vol. 15 No. 2 (2020): 2-2020

Section

Articles

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