Interdisciplinary Vectors of Folkloristics in the First Quarter of the 21st Century: Forms and Functions of Folklore in the Digital Age

Abstract

The purpose of the study is to reveal the forms and functions of folklore in the context of interdisciplinary vectors of folkloristics in the first quarter of the 21st century and to highlight the mechanisms of preserving and acquiring new qualities of tradition in the process of cultural transmission. Methodology. The theoretical basis consists of contemporary concepts of semiotics, ethnolinguistics, cognitive and philosophical anthropology, axiological hermeneutics, social psychology, and media anthropology. The use of axiological, historical-analytical, and systemic approaches ensured the functional, communicative, anthropological, and contextual analysis of folklore in the context of digitalisation and intermedial interaction. The scientific novelty lies in the identification and interpretation of new forms and functions of folklore in the digital environment and the clarification of the current interdisciplinary vectors of folklore studies in the first quarter of the 21st century. Folklore is understood as an open system of cultural meanings, a semiotic resource capable of intermedial interaction, creative rethinking, and the generation of new meanings, as well as a ‘social technology’ of collective memory and local identity. An analytical model of folklore as a dynamic instrument of cultural communication is proposed. The concept of ‘soft traditionalism’ is understood as a strategy for maintaining a connection with folk tradition in modern conditions. Conclusions. Folklore studies in the first quarter of the 21st century function as a comprehensive field of humanities knowledge that integrates cognitive, axiological, communicative, anthropological, and aesthetic approaches. Folklore appears as an open system of cultural meanings and a semiotic resource capable of intermedial interaction, creative rethinking, and the generation of new meanings. Despite changing social paradigms, it remains relevant and demonstrates adaptability in the digital age, forming new communicative models and mechanisms of collective cultural memory and identification.