I.S. Gurvich: science as a thread connecting eras

DOI: 10.33876/2311-0546/2020-51-3/7-18

Abstract

The paper is an overview of the Northern studies during the Soviet era (1960–1980s) in comparison with their current state in Russia through the prism of scientific work of I.S. Gurvich. The all-Russian Scientific Conference dedicated to his 100-th Anniversary was held in IEA RAS, Moscow on October, 24–25 in 2019. The article describes the initial stage of Gurvich’s scientific career related to his residence in Yakutia and analyzes his work as the head of the Department of Northern Studies of the Moscow Institute of Ethnography. The article particularly emphasizes the role of the Northern expedition of this Institute in the development of Northern studies in Russia and the role of the personality factor in formation of the discipline. The author discusses problem of the connection of scientific research with the political context.
It is concluded that some areas and principles of scientific work originated by I.S. Gurvich retain their importance for current research. At the same time, post-Soviet Northern studies have been changing significantly under the influence of socio-political transformations and new scientific theories. The scientific paradigm is shifting; the subject area and the toolkit of applied methods are expanding. The new context of fieldwork, the inclusion of the minorities' opinions themselves in the scientific discourse, compel us to re-conceptualize the idea of “field”. The current situation makes scientists face many new challenges, for which the experience and scientific heritage of I. S. Gurvich and former employees of the Department of the Northern and Siberian Studies are of great importance.

References

1. References
2. Antropova, V.V. 1971. Problema nekapitalisticheskogo puti razvitiia narodov Severa v sovetskoi istoriko-etnograficheskoi literature [The problem of the non-capitalist path of development of the peoples of the North in Soviet historical and ethnographic literature]. In Osushchestvlenie leninskoi natsional'noi politiki u narodov Severa [Implementation of the Leninist nationality policy among the peoples of the North], edited by I.S. Gurvich, 50–65. Moscow: Nauka.
3. Batyanova, E.P. 2013. Severnaia ekspeditsiia Instituta etnografii (1956–1991) [Northern Expedition of the Institute of Ethnography (1956-1991)]. Etnograficheskoe obozrenie 4: 17–34.
4. Batyanova, E.P. 2017. Severnaia ekspeditsiia Instituta etnografii i ee rol' v razvitii sovetskoi shkoly polevogo etnograficheskogo severovedeniia [Northern expedition of the Institute of Ethnography and its role in the development of the Soviet school of field ethnographic northern studies]. In Pole kak zhizn': K 60-letiiu Severnoi ekspeditsii IEA RAN, edited by E.A. Pivneva [Field as Life: To the 60th Anniversary of the Northern Expedition of the IEA RAS], 13–38. St. Petersburg: Nestor-Istoriia.
5. Bat'ianova, E.P. and L.L. Boichuk. 1999. Iakutskaia perepiska (k 80-letiiu I.S. Gurvicha) [Yakut Correspondence (To the 80th Birth Anniversary of I.S. Gourvich)]. Etnograficheskoe obozrenie 6: 104–118.
6. Bat'ianova, E.P. and M.I. Zhornitskaia. 1992. Ilya Samuilovich Gurvich (1919–1992) [Ilya Samuilovich Gurvich (1919-1992 )]. Etnograficheskoe obozrenie 5: 167–172.
7. Gurvich, I. 1975. Tainstvenyi chuchuna (istoriia odnogo etnograficheskogo poiska) [The mysterious chuchuna (the history of one ethnographic search)]. Moscow: Myssl'. 96 p.
8. Gurvich, I.S., ed. 1975. Semeinaia obriadnost' narodov Sibiri: opyt sravnitel'nogo izucheniia [Family rite of the peoples of Siberia: experience of comparative study]. Moscow: Nauka. 1980. 240 p.
9. Gurvich, I.S., ed. 1987. Etnicheskoe razvitie narodov Severa v sovetskii period [Ethnic development of the peoples of the North in the Soviet period]. Moscow: Nauka.  220 p.
10. Gurvich, I.S., ed. 1985. Etnokul'turnye protsessy u narodov Sibiri i Severa [Ethnocultural processes among the peoples of Siberia and the North]. Moscow: Nauka, 206 p.
    1. Gurvich, I.S. 1979. Nekotorye voprosy istoriografii natsional'nogo razvitiia narodov Krainego Severa v sovetskii period [Some issues of historiography of the national development of the peoples of the Far North in the Soviet period]. In Osnovnye napravleniia izucheniia natsional'nykh otnoshenii v SSSR [The main directions of the study of national relations in the USSR], edited by M.I. Kulichenko; foreword Yu.V. Bromley. Moscow.
11. Gurvich, I.S. 1967. Nekotorye problemy etnicheskogo razvitiia narodov SSSR [Some problems of ethnic development of the peoples of the USSR]. Sovetskaia etnografiia 5: 62–77.
12. Gurvich, I.S. 1990. Severnaia ekspeditsiia Instituta etnografii AN SSSR (issledovanie voprosov material'noi i dukhovnoi kul'tury) [Northern expedition of the Institute of Ethnography of the USSR Academy of Sciences (study of issues of material and spiritual culture )]. In Problemy izucheniia istoriko-kul'turnoi sredy Arktiki [Problems of Studying the Historical and Cultural Environment of the Arctic], edited by V.N. Bulatov, 198–204. Moscow: NIIK.
13. Gurvich, I.S., and B.O. Dolgikh, eds. 1970. Preobrazovaniia v khoziaistve, kul'ture i etnicheskie protsessy u narodov Severa [Transformations in agriculture, culture and ethnic processes among the peoples of the North]. Moscow: Nauka. 280 p.
14. Dolgikh, B.O. 1958. Voprosy razvitiia khoziaistva, kul'tury i perestroiki byta malykh narodov Severa [Issues of the development of agriculture, culture and the restructuring of the life of the small peoples of the North]. In Tezisy dokladov na sessii Uchenogo soveta Instituta etnografii im. N.N. Miklukho-Maklaia, posviashchennye itogam ekspeditsionnykh issledovanii 1957 g.: 10–12. Moscow.
15. Zibarev, V.A., ed. 1974. Perekhod k sotsializmu narodnostei Severa: istoriograficheskii ocherk [Transition to socialism of the peoples of the North: a historiographic essay]. Tomsk: Publishing house of Tomsk University.
16. Pivneva, E.A., ed. 2017. Pole kak zhizn'. K 60-letiiu Severnoi ekspeditsii [The field is like life. To the 60th anniversary of the Northern expedition]. Moscow; St. Petersburg: Nestor-Istoriia.
17. Pivneva, E.A. 2019. Severovedenie v IEA RAN: po sledam I.S. Gurvicha i v nogu so vremenem [Northern Studies at the IEA RAS: following the footsteps of I.S. Gurvich and keeping up with the times]. In Ekho arkticheskoi Odissei: sud'by etnicheskikh kul'tur v issledovaniiakh uchenykh–severovedov. Sb. materialov Vseros. nauch.– prakt. konf. s mezhd. uchastiem 14–16 noiabria 2019 g., g. Iakutsk, edited by E.N. Romanova, 29–39. Iakutsk.
18. Tishkov, V.A., ed. 2004. Sovremennoe polozhenie i perspektivy razvitiia malochislennykh narodov Severa, Sibiri i Dal'nego Vostoka: Nezavisimyi ekspertnyi doklad [Current situation and prospects for the development of small peoples of the North, Siberia and the Far East: Independent expert report]. Moscow; Novosibirsk: Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography SB RASIAET SO RAN. 184 p.
19. Tishkov, V.A. 2008. Nauka i zhizn'. Razgovory s etnografami [Conversations with ethnographers]. St. Petersburg: Aleteia. 176 p.