Renaissance of Ideology: Reflections on the Fields of the Russian Symposium

Abstract. On August 20–21, 2020, the Russian Symposium “Ideology: Revitalization of the Concept in Historical Research” was held online, organized by the Southern Federal University, the National Research Tomsk State University and the Institute of History of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences. The organizers and participants considered it necessary, in the context of the “renaissance of ideology” in social and intellectual practice, to discuss the current state of this concept in the scientific and historical research process. Participants made 14 reports presented at three sessions: “The birth of the concept of “ ideology” in the intellectual situation of the “long XIX century” (1789–1914)”, “Between “doctrine” and “discourse”: ideology in political practices and scientific interpretations of the “short XX century” (1914–1991)”, ““Renaissance” of the concept of ideology at the turn of the XX–XXI centuries”. The participants of the symposium are agree that the concept of “ideology” has never completely disappeared from the historical vocabulary, but remained in the infringed status of a relic, and today is experiencing a renaissance both in public practice and in scientific-historical narrative. The symposium was another step towards the formalization of the approach in modern historical research that can be identified as New Ideological Studies.

Keywords: ideology, concept, historical research, revitalization, symposium.