Distinction of the categories "synchrony, diachrony" and "chronotope" in the methodology of Cultural Studies

Abstract

The purpose of the article is to clarify the categories "synchrony, diachrony" and "chronotope" in the context of the conceptual apparatus of cultural studies. The article is designed to prevent the incorrect use of these terms, to overcome the problem of identifying the concepts of "synchrony" with "statics" and "space", as well as to facilitate the differentiation of the categories "synchrony, diachrony" and "chronotope". The methodology of the study consists in the use of system approach and the lens of structuralism: synchronіс, diachrоnіс and chronotopic approaches (M. Bakhtin), methods of synchronіс and diachronіс analysis, as well as the lens of semiotics: semantic and terminological analysis. The scientific novelty of the work lies in the fact that the article is the first study on the conceptual differentiation of seemingly very similar categories of "synchrony and diachrony", "chronotope", "statics", "space". As a result of the research, we have formulated and substantiated a number of conceptual provisions, which have theoretical and practical significance for improving the gnoseological apparatus of cultural studies. Conclusions. The concept of "synchrony and diachrony" is considered as one of the key epistemological coordinates of cultural studies and sciences of culture, which requires clarification of its semantic boundaries. The definition of synchrony and diachrony in cultural studies has been clarified. It was revealed that in culture as a system it is appropriate to distinguish between diachrony, which is the historical development of culture (or its subsystems), and synchrony, which is a cross-section of culture (or its subsystems) within a certain point in time. The explication of the semantics of the concepts of "synchrony and diachrony" demonstrates that the identification of the concepts of "synchrony" and "statics", "synchrony" and "space" is inaccurate. The concepts of "synchrony and diachrony" and "chronotope" were differentiated as well.

Key words: cultural studies, methodology, terminological analysis, structuralism, synchrony, diachrony, chronotope, statics and dynamics.