Moscow Urban Environment as the Cultural Context for

Communication

Dr. Olga Andreevna Zinovievaoz@urbansymbols.org

www.urbansymbols.orgCenter for Russia and the US

MSU Main Building, A-161, 939 45 16

Ground Rules:• To be involved and interactive

• A learning experience for everybody

• 10 minutes of each class will be dedicated to the previous themes

• Do not be afraid to speak English

• We shall discuss general mistakes in English as a whole

• Grading – attendance (20%), course involvement (40%), presentations (40%) or a final test.

Goals and Objectives

• Learn how to read urban messages

• Be aware of the urban symbols but do not get driven by them

• Improve speaking and writing skills in English

Communication carriers• City outlay• Street planning• Buildings (public &private)• Décor• Monuments• Fortifications• Religious constructions• Cultural objects

(education, theaters, museums)

• Transport• Markets and malls• People (creators and

historians)

Symbol

• something used for or regarded as representing something else; a material object representing something, often something immaterial; emblem, token, or sign.

• a person, place, or thing, representing an abstract idea or concept -- anything that stands for something beyond itself.

Roadmap

Spring Semester 2010• Introduction to urban

communication • Legacy of pageantry and

Christianity of Kiev Russ• Medieval messages in

contemporary city• Classical Styles (Baroque,

Classicism, Empire)• Nobility versus

industrialists: architectural rivalry

• Symbolic messages of revival styles and art nouveau

• Revolutionary Constructivism

• Justification of the totalitarian power

• Ottepel, Stagnation, Perestroika, Post-Perestroika

Where do communications come from?Appearance of communicative

carriers around the world 30000 – 3000 BC

What is the driving force behind the development of cities?

• People had more food and the technology

• Division of labor• Differences in labor, origin,

material status• Desire to keep a privileged

position – competition• Protection against other

humans not nature• Expansion• Warfare becomes legal

What messages could be conveyed by the city design, architecture and monumental art?

• I am strong/stable• I am good• Remember me• Follow me/join us• Give me something• I am interested in

something

Paradise lost • The Golden Age

Paleolithic/Neolithic Influence

• Comfortable weather, enough fruit and vegetables for everybody

• Animals were either friendly or proud, not terrifying

• No emotions, no responsibility• Follow somebody else’s well-

established order• The mythical age , which never

existed; but early Sumerians looked at it as pre-urban rural tranquility and peace with no “fear, nor terror, man had no rival”

• “Unarmed, naked, primitive man had become cunning enough to dominate all his natural rivals”

Remains of the Paradise in cities• Nostalgic place• People should get

there if they behave• Perception of good

weather• Plenty of known and

unknown plants• Lack of emotional

sphere (no excitement – no disappointment)

• Well-balanced biodiversity

Paradise lost

• Curiosity of Neolithic people did not lead civilization to collective scientific investigation but to collective attacks and aggression

• The expansion of human energy and enlargement of human ego lead to differentiation of social and economic roles

• War, nicely communicated, becomes one of the reasons for the city’s existence

Division of Labor• Charles Darwin:

evolution of species through better adaptation

• Evolution of human beings through specialization

What is communication and PR in the urban environment?

• Based on cultural studies

• Urban messages are influenced by:• economic and

political realities• historical events• social dynamics• religious and spiritual

ideas• technological

advances• Interdisciplinary topic

Communication through Monumental Art

Tower of Babel, Peter Brueghel the Elder 1563, Vienna

• Vertical and horizontal bridges between peoples

• Similarities of art among different nationalities and historical periods

• Attitudes to and preferences for past epochs may vary

• Accumulative character of art and architecture

Reflections of the TimeThe tallest building in the world from 2560 BC to 1300 AD.

Cheops (Khufu) Pyramid, 2560 BC, Giza, Egypt

• Totalitarian power• Cheap labor• Centralized ownership

of resources • Culture of the dead

and death• Available technology

How do we read messages?

• Plan• Scale• Proportion• Composition• Material• Color• Symbols• Words• Smell • Sound

Monumental Art:• From Latin: “monere”

to remind• Designed for a certain

geographical location• Does not reflect space,

time – works for eternity

• Generalization, outside the framework of everyday life

• Epic character

Target Audiences• The current population• Future generations• Visitors

Questions for the Next Session• Why are cities so fertile

for communication and PR?

• How and why is the concept of Paradise present in cities?

• What are the original messages of the first cities?

Please, give examples!!!!!

Books to read• Lewis Mumford, The City in History• Carolyn Steel, Hungry City• Федосюк Ю.. Лучи от Кремля• Романюк С. Из истории московских

переулков• Романюк С. Московские слободы• Баранова С. Москва изразцовая• Лопатин История Москвы• Зиновьева О..Символы Сталинской

Москвы• www.sovarch.ru• www.metro.ru