Наумлюк, М. В. Региональная литература Кольского Севера XX-XXI века в аспекте идентичности и мультикультурности. Страницы истории и современность / М. В. Наумлюк ; М-во образования и науки Рос. Федерации, Мурм. гос. гуманитар. ун-т. - Мурманск, 2013.

Chapter 1. The Kola North Literature as Russian, Regional and the Part of the World Literary Process Overview Concepts of identity and multiculturalism have become crucial in under standing of society and culture of the XX-XXI centuries and in identifying the place of man in modern civilization. It should be noted that since ancient times it was literature that played almost the main role in understanding of identification processes by an individual and society. During early Middle Ages in the period of “the great migration of peoples” every ethnicity in epics created its own, often idealized world model and “pra-ancestor-culture hero”, as E.M. Meletinsky said, enchanted its “glorious national past” [Meletinsky, 1986, p. 79]. In the XX century the concept of identity has acquired many meanings, often obscure, and has gained different interpretations in philosophy, history, social sciences, philology and aesthetics. In most cases a definition of identity is based on an individual’s attitude to basic national values, as well as on their eth nic group, language, history, religion, traditions and gender. These days scien tists proceed from natural-biological and social-cultural factors that influence national character formation. However, fundamental values in multicultural so ciety, as an American scientist Samuel Huntington assumes, are losing sustain ability. He notes that in “a very fluid world” “established identities dissolve, the selfmust be redefined and new identities created” [Huntington, 1997, p. 117-118]. Thus, a concept of “fluid identity” appears which presupposes that during life time a man is continuously changing his worldview, freely chooses a language, religion, cultural preferences and, hence, the concept of identity in the modem global world is losing its accuracy and is becoming subjective. Many culturologists, and M. Tlostanova in particular, collate identity with “multiculturalism” that, in turn, is an important part of “revision of cultural and literature canons” [Tlostanova, 2004, p. 296] as well as refusal from traditional national values in conditions of modem civilization. Concept of multiculturalism is developed in works of Western researchers - Fiedler, Kermode, Lauter, Said and it presupposes rewriting of national history, rejection of set ideas of national character, language and literature on the basis of multicultural model. Multicul turalism suggests phenomena of pluralism and diversity inherent to the XXI cen tury civilization and the concepts of hybridity, marginality and other theories. Multiculturalism is connected with the crisis of national and personal identity and, moreover, it includes consideration of animosity of cultures to each other. It is considered that multiculturalism in greater degree is inherent to social cultural situation in the USA, however, marginality, loss of dominant values are the real ity of modern European countries and a result of globalization. Nonetheless, the faster the process of diffusion of national and cultural values is, the stronger the opposing motion is aimed at preservation of genuine 79