Narrative and the problems of national cognition

Abstract

The "linguistic turn" diagnosed in XX century stipulates the "narrative turn" occurred in contemporary humanitarian science and acknowledged by contemporary theoretics, to a certain degree too. In this article analysis of narrative as the most important cognitive mechanism in research of national life specific is performed. Having analyzed theoretic approaches to research of narrativity, authors came to conclusion that in last decades this phenomenon has gained the status of cross-disciplinary method of cognition and it has become one of the most important instrumentations of contemporary science, including the historical one. It is noted in the research that the most important function of narrative is the production of meaning. In process of comprehension and estimation of social experience, including national, "assignment" of meaning is conducted, and it happens namely in the frames of narrative. It is irreplaceable mechanism of national-ethnic group preservation. Every culture creates its own foundations for self-identification, but the most important strategies in this process belong to those that are aimed at preservation, uniting of national community. It can be stated that narrative becomes the most important mechanism in building of international relations in multi-culture society.