Formation of symbolic capital on the example of the festival Winter Sun of Arkaim

Abstract

This study is devoted to studying the process of formation of symbolic capital of Arkaim using the example of an intra-city event. The author examines the concepts of symbolic capital, memorial landscape and «memory of place». Based on the theoretical works of S. I. Simakova, the criteria for the formation of the symbolic capital of Arkaim are identified: 1) a famous person, 2) natural objects and features of geography, 3) statuses and brands of the territory, 4) symbols of the territory and memorable places, 5) visual components of territorial space, 6) unique events of culture and history. It is proposed to expand the established criteria by adding a new criterion – 7) media trail of the event. In accordance with the criteria, the festival «Winter Sun of Arkaim» was analyzed. As part of the criteria for the media trail of the event, 18 media materials were considered for the request «Winter Sun Festival of Arkaim», published within a month after the event. Using the same parameters, 54 publications on users’ personal pages on the VKontakte social network were selected. Using the method of content analysis, 11 media publications, represented by press releases and photo reports, and 54 posts on social networks were examined using selected lexemes, reflecting the meaning of the festival, the organizing committee and its geographical location: «reconstruction», «Arkaim», «Texler», «ancient». A comparison of the analysis of lexemes in media texts and the texts of posts on user pages showed that visitors were not interested in the historical component of the festival – the word «reconstruction» was mentioned by 11 % of users. 19 % of users used the word «ancient» in the contexts of home, ritual, image of ancestors – the context is the same as in media texts. For 31 % of visitors, the presence of the family of Chelyabinsk Region Governor Alexei Teksler at the event was important. The author comes to the conclusion that this intra-city event, along with those festivals that take place directly on the territory of the museum-reserve, is also an effective means of developing tourism. Acknowledgments: The study was Supported by the Russian Science Foundation and Chelyabinsk region, № 23-18-20098, https://rscf.ru/en/project/23-18-20098/