Critical Thinking in Popular Culture Context: the Transformation of the Image and the Differentiation of the Concept – МЕЖДУНАРОДНЫЙ ЖУРНАЛ ИССЛЕДОВАНИЙ КУЛЬТУРЫ

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Anastasia V. GOLUBINSKAYA
Lobachevsky State University of Nizhny Novgorod
23 Prospekt Gagarina (Gagarin Avenue), Nizhny Novgorod, 603022 Russian Federation
Department of Social Security and Humanitarian Technologies, Associate Professor
PhD (Philosophy)
e-mail: golub@unn.ru
ORCID: 0000-0002-7119-3968

Critical Thinking in Popular Culture Context: the Transformation of the Image and the Differentiation of the Concept

Abstract: Just a few decades ago, one could predict the content of a text following a title that combined terms such as "popular culture" and "critical thinking". The traditional viewpoint described critical thinking as something that diminishes or deteriorates under the influence of pop culture, and as something that is reflected in a decreased interest in popular culture itself. Today, this stance does not seem as confident. Firstly, because popular culture is acquiring a niche character, catering to different consumers with various ways of thinking, and thereby becoming a platform for the dissemination of ideas and principles of critical thinking (for example, science festivals). Secondly, because the objects of popular culture themselves are being involved in the educational process as tools and mediators of certain modes of thinking. As noted in this article, the evolution of the relationship between popular culture and critical thinking has developed gradually: initially, this relationship was mutually negating, then popular culture was redefined as a neutral participant in the process of learning critical thinking, and today it is beginning to be recognized as an active mediator in this process. Identifying the specific characteristics of the third, i.e., current stage, is the goal of this article. As key manifestations of the "active participation" of popular culture in the processes of constructing the image of a critical thinker, the transformation and differentiation of this image are considered. It is shown that within the context of popular culture, critical thinking, usually interpreted through specific cognitive operations, is transformed into what is called a "black box", that is, a process with known initial conditions and final conclusions but inaccessible for observation and explanation by intermediate transformations. Differentiation is manifested in how critical thinking is defined depending on the sociocultural context and the community for which this definition is developed. For mainstream Western culture, critical thinking is associated with ideals of scientific rationality, but beyond its boundaries, critical thinking is defined through the ability to come to an agreement, articulate one's thoughts in mutual dialogue, and the degree of multicultural receptivity. Representations of these descriptions can be found in popular culture oriented towards the respective community.

Key words: critical thinking, popular culture, critical thinking transformation, critical thinking differentiation, pop-science, science popularization.

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For Citation:

Golubinskaya, A. (2024) Critical Thinking in Popular Culture Context: the Transformation of the Image and the Differentiation of the Concept. International Journal of Cultural Research, 1 (54). 21–36. DOI: 10.52173/2079-1100_2024_1_21

DOI: 10.52173/2079-1100_2024_1_21