Contents and abstracts

Historical Demography

A. V. Akimov. Long-term Forecast of the World Population Growth (pp. 5–24).

The population forecast technique elaborated by the author in the middle of the 1970s and checked by real population growth until the year 2000CE is used to estimate world population dynamics up to the year 2300 CE. Furthermore, the most important limits to population growth are estimated and interaction between civilizations is discussed. By the end of the 21^st century, the global spread of technological and social change may produce both cooperation and confrontation between Western and non-Western civilizations.

Keywords: long-term forecast, population number, natural resources, international migration, civilizations, scenarios of interaction.

Demography of the future. Interview with A. V. Akimov (pp. 25–27).

A. V. Dmitriev, S. Milioevich. Demographic aggression: the precedent in Kosovo and the situation in Russia (pp. 28–48).

In the article of a Russian and a Serbian authors, historical and statistic data are used to analyze the conflict potential of ethnical migration in Kosovo and Metokhia. Cultural and political consequences of demographic pressure are studied. The precedent of Kosovo is compared with the politics of the Russian Federation (particularly in the Caucasus) concerning demography and migration.

Keywords: demographic fracture, tension, ethnic migration, cultural and political consequences, genocide, separatism, segregation, universality, specificity, Kosovo, the Caucasus.

What should be done? Interview with A. V. Dmitriev (pp. 49–50).

Conceptions of History

N. L. Pushkareva. Women's and gender history: resume and the perspectives of development in Russia (pp. 51–64).

Our discussion of the trends in gender history in contemporary Russia is based on our long research and teaching experience in this field. Russian women's and gender history began to develop as a result of both a lack of attention to this subject in Russian classical historiography and the influence of Western concepts and theories. The article examines the growth of Russian gender studies in history over the last 30 years, including contextual differences as well as theoretical approaches to investigation into Russian social and family histories.

Keywords: women's history, gender history, gender relations, women's social and politic position in Russia, gender studies, theoretical approaches in gender studies.

N. N. Kradin. The teaching problem of the theory and methodology of history (pp. 65–78).

In the discussion about the theory and methodology of the historical science the philosophical approach prevails. The author sees the main task in teaching a historian the specific methods of profession with the help of which he can examine and interpret the collected facts.

Keywords: methodology of history, historical process, formations, civilizations, World-System, multilinearity.

Big History

D. J. Stasko, B. H. Rodrigue. Changing the future with the past. Teaching Big History in universities around the world (pp. 79–91).

The inclusion of macro-studies in the world's educational systems is of great importance for resolving some of the most serious problems that humanity is facing today. One such pedagogical model is the rapidly growing discipline of Big History. This paper describes the status of Big History courses, their instructors and their students around the world today. It also serves as a call for academics to engage in a process of “Global Enlightenment”.

Keywords: Big History, education, university program, interdisciplinary view, global problems, globalization.

Will Terrestrial civilization have a cosmic future? (On the book by Fred Spier “Big History and the Future of Humanity”) (pp. 92–97).

This new inspiring monograph by a well-known Dutch anthropologist and one of the most competent specialists in Big History provokes a discussion about a possible continuation of human (or post-human?) activities outside our cradle planet. This question is considered in an interview with the author following a general review of the book.

Keywords: Big History, mega-trends, life, civilization, intelligence, resources, global future, cosmos, technologies, creativity.

Social-psychological pictures of history

L. E. Grinin. Psychology and Sociology of Fame Phenomenon (pp. 98–124).

The article is devoted to the role of the fame phenomenon; its psychological and sociological foundations are examined. The fame performs important for a society functions, in particular, it creates a specific motivation for individuals' behavior, increases the level of social mobility in the aspect of selection of useful and worthy individuals' from the society's viewpoint; helps preserve the traditions in a society, etc. in modern society the urge for fame forms the value guidelines for the increasing number of people and the competition for it constantly rises. It could be pointed out that commercialization of fame changes its meaning and social role. Fame stops being a sieve through which socially important merits and actions are sifted, it becomes just a mere way of increasing of the individual's status and income.

Keywords: fame, publicity, people of celebrity, inequality, business technologies, fame commercialization, stars, celebrities, show business.

R. M. Ziganshin. The military etiquette of the Samurai (pp. 125–151).

The Samurai's etiquette reflects the traditional Japanese culture and to some extent also the military men's mentality in other traditional societies. By investigating this subject we can improve our understanding of some intrinsic and unconscious human motivations in the past as well as in the present. The Samurai's etiquette continues in the modern Japanese martial arts; while learning and applying those arts people from all cultures are obliged to follow their norms.

Keywords: etiquette, Samurai, hara-kiri (seppuku), Japan, bushido, death.

Evolutionary studies in religion

A. V. Markov. Evolutionary origins of ethics: From bacteria to the humans
(pp. 152–184).

Contrary to the opinion popular among non-specialists, modern evolutionary biology successfully explains the origin of moral and altruistic behavior. Cooperation, mutual support and self-sacrifice are found not only in humans but also in many animals and even microbes. Exactly like in human society, altruism of some individuals creates an ideal environment for selfishness of others. Therefore the future of a social system depends upon its ability to develop effective mechanisms for constraining social parasites and cheaters. The paper reviews the results of recent experimental and theoretical studies that throw light on the evolution of cooperation and altruism in bacteria, protista and animals, including humans.

Keywords: evolutionary ethics, altruism, sociobiology, cooperation, cheating, social parasitism, kin selection, Hamilton's rule, moral, parochialism, nepotism, reciprocal altruism, indirect reciprocity.

Scientific heritage

B. F. Porshnev (1905–1972). Counter-suggestion and history. An elementary social-psychological phenomenon and its transformations in the process of human history (pp. 185–219).

The outstanding Russian (Soviet) historian, sociologist and psychologist, a well-known specialist in the history of France, devoted the last years of his life to the studies of the global evolution of human society and mind. In this article, first published in 1971, he subtly reconsidered some of the basic positions in the Marxist philosophy of history. In Porshnev's view, the development of consciousness is related to the qualities of human communication: liability to suggestion, vital necessity to resist against it (counter-suggestion) and overcome the resistance (counter-counter-suggestion) for effective social control and the manipulation of behavior.

Keywords: social evolution, communication, culture, suggestion,counter-sug-gestion, counter-counter-suggestion, behavior-manipulation.

Contents and abstracts (pp. 220–222)

Authors of the issue (p. 223)