{"id":9256,"date":"2018-02-04T20:01:03","date_gmt":"2018-02-04T20:01:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/media.am\/media-provides-information-but-it-doesnt-become-new-knowledge\/"},"modified":"2018-02-04T20:01:03","modified_gmt":"2018-02-04T20:01:03","slug":"media-provides-information-but-it-doesnt-become-new-knowledge","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/media.am\/en\/viewpoint\/2018\/02\/04\/9256\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cMedia provides information, but it doesn\u2019t become new knowledge\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"

Sociologist Anna Zhamakochyan (Socioscope<\/a> NGO researcher) considers our attempts to smooth out a not-homogenous society and fit it in a single ideological mold useless.<\/em><\/p>\n

Society has little opportunity to gather knowledge about itself, since being bombarded with big and abstract speech structures, we don\u2019t get to know ourselves, but rather we are led more astray.<\/em><\/p>\n

In recent years, there has been an attempt in Armenia to create a state ideology. How can it be described?<\/strong><\/p>\n

There has always been state ideology; it is itself assumed. Independent Armenia initially introduced itself as a market economy that builds civic nationalism, then the ethnic element and growing conservatism was emphasized more. We experience that trend till today.<\/p>\n

In any case, the dominant ideology in Armenia is nationalism \u2014 with various formulations. It exists in all nation-states, but in Armenia it is so-called combat nationalism, which in no way assumes that coexistence with other ideologies is possible.<\/p>\n

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The existence of another worldview is ruled out.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Nationalism will be around as long as there are states, but here [in Armenia] it\u2019s so dominant and such a monopoly that we often don\u2019t even notice it.<\/p>\n

Those with power are invested in it and strive to deepen the conservative wing.<\/p>\n

Does the new concept \u201cnation-army\u201d evoke resistance in society?<\/strong><\/p>\n

There is resistance, though even until the formulation of the \u201cnation-army\u201d connection, broad segments of society were internally ready to stand by the army and had quite a militarized consciousness.<\/p>\n

But since \u201cnation-army\u201d is not just the militarization of the nation but has a market speculative component (roughly speaking, the ruling authorities are selling the army idea to the people), it evokes resistance in society.<\/p>\n

\n

I think many are against not the nationalist but the market route.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

And probably the greatest achievement in recent years is that many more people started asking questions. For years, those asking questions were not many in number, now they\u2019re growing. And some people are expecting more profound and conscious answers.<\/p>\n

I get the feeling that state institutions with their ideological structures simply aren\u2019t able to keep up with the progressive groups in society. Though they\u2019re also not trying to\u2026<\/p>\n

How is this concept \u201csold\u201d?<\/strong><\/p>\n

All the delicate strings of \u201cArmenian\u201d national sentiment and patriarchal culture are exploited.<\/p>\n

For example, the \u201ctraditional wishes\u201d or more precisely, the cultural requirements of absolutely having a boy and raising \u201ca man,\u201d as well as mandatory motherhood for women, are applied.<\/p>\n

\n

As a result, ideology states that every boy is a soldier, and every woman, a mother who gives birth to a soldier.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Let\u2019s remember the students\u2019 meeting with members of government and the Ministry of Defense\u2019s reproach to the student as to, what, the student wasn\u2019t planning on serving in the army? The students gave a reply that, though not fully formulated, resisted this remark.<\/p>\n

It seems that on one hand, they agree that yes, serving in the army is everyone\u2019s obligation, but on the other hand, they understand that something\u2019s not right here.<\/p>\n

The \u201cnation-army\u201d could\u2019ve worked at some stage, when class differences and the privileges of some groups weren\u2019t so obvious.<\/p>\n

And here, opportunities arise for questions to emerge: for example, why must all boys be obliged to serve? Or, if not all have to serve, then who will choose those who are privileged and how will they choose? And why according to this and not some other criteria?<\/p>\n

We\u2019re now in a situation where the army (as well as the state) as an institution has to either be updated (let\u2019s abandon the idea of \u201ceternal war\u201d and mandatory service, which at this moment seems unsolvable) or continue to remain under this strain.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s like we\u2019re on the brink of collapse, and no matter what move state institutions make, all the same, the rocks are going to fall. The question is on whose head \u2014 on civil society groups or on the so-called ruling elite?<\/p>\n

The <\/strong>April War<\/strong><\/a> revealed an interesting demographic situation. The <\/strong>soldiers who were killed mainly came from poor families<\/strong><\/a>, whom the state proclaimed to be \u201cheroes.\u201d It turns out that the hero (that is, the exemplary, the elite) is now another type.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Crises are a good opportunity to see society\u2019s problems exacerbated and for self-review. For example, to ask why and for whom is the idea of a \u201chero\u201d needed.<\/p>\n

If we judge based on what we had, it turns out that the \u201chero\u201d idea is needed to convince the poor that life can be made meaningful through death. If they won\u2019t have a dignified life, then [at least] they will have a dignified death.<\/p>\n

I think it\u2019s this feeling of unfair reality and real injustice that drives people to resist the \u201cnation-army\u201d idea today.<\/p>\n

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The idea of a nation has an attribute that creates an illusion of equality, that we\u2019re all equal because we\u2019re \u201cArmenian\u201d or \u201chayastantsi<\/em>\u201d (Armenian from Armenia). Whereas during a crisis, it becomes clear that we\u2019re not equal \u2014 even when faced with a threat to all of us.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

The definition of a nation or a people is provided by the ruling elite and the excluded are identified also by the elite.<\/p>\n

And so, on March 1, 2008, the president of the National Assembly declared that those who have gone out to the public square and armed themselves with wooden rods are not the people. The concept ensuring unity at the time was still \u201cthe people,\u201d and not \u201cthe nation,\u201d but the logic was the same, since excluded from unity were those civil society groups not included in the elite or not subordinate to it.<\/p>\n

The same thing happened in 2016, when it was said about Sasna Tsrer (Daredevils of Sasun<\/a>) that they\u2019re not the nation because they\u2019ve come out against the state (the police). It turns out that those who come out against the ruling elite are not the nation.<\/p>\n

Resistance groups, in turn, speak in the same ideological language, trying to redefine \u201cthe nation.\u201d The Sasna Tsrer group, using the same logic, claimed with its declarations and actions that it itself is in fact \u201cthe nation.\u201d<\/p>\n

As a result, resistance sits squarely in a nationalist frame, where people speak on \u201cthe nation\u2019s\u201d behalf and have their definition of \u201cthe nation.\u201d<\/p>\n

And \u201cthe nation\u2019s\u201d paradox and contradictions easily become noticeable.<\/p>\n

And what is the media\u2019s role? Or more accurately, what can it be?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I believe the mainstream media, like the ruling elite (in whose hands it finds itself), is completely unable to keep up with society\u2019s progressive classes and again, neither does it try to.<\/p>\n

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To reflect on ourselves and the world, we need new knowledge. But mainstream media doesn\u2019t produce new knowledge (with the exception of small platforms that have a targeted audience).<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Not only news broadcasts, but also entertainment programs are uninteresting; they don\u2019t provide additional knowledge to the public.<\/p>\n

They provide information, but it doesn\u2019t become knowledge, since one piece of information usually doesn\u2019t have anything to do with the other. There is no context; the picture of the world remains outdated or partial.<\/p>\n

For example, you can hear what happened in some province in Armenia, in China, in the US (not to mention that the sources can be very dubious), but no connections between different incidents or processes are offered.<\/p>\n

For people sitting in Armenia and browsing Armenian-language channels or websites, it\u2019s hard to understand what is happening in the world and why.<\/p>\n

By and large, the image of the world has narrowed, and the debates and the search for solutions seethe in these narrow ideas. Whereas it\u2019s possible that by broadening a little, opening up, and talking to the world, we can see our problems more clearly and find more accessible solutions.<\/p>\n

Can society be tempered, helping to distinguish manipulative ideas?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Society must know itself. And this social scientific knowledge become ordinary and everyday, appearing in the field of culture: in art, cinema, the media\u2026<\/p>\n

Not only the academy (universities), but also culture and the media are knowledge producers, which is not possible in controlled and unfree conditions.<\/p>\n

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As a result, the dominant and accessible knowledge is not suited even for those controllers.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

For example, developing in social science today is PR, so that politicians can promote [themselves].<\/p>\n

The ruling elite produces \u201cthe national\u2019s,\u201d \u201csecurity\u2019s,\u201d or church-state coalescing ideologies, but they are not suited even to establish themselves this way. Let alone for the public.<\/p>\n

Till now the elite is unable to explain the point of \u201cArmenians living in Armenia.\u201d Why should Armenians live in Armenia? Because they are Armenian? Clearly, Armenians, as a rule, remain Armenians also outside the country. You won\u2019t explain the meaning of the existence of the state of Armenia only with the national component. Nor by being surrounded by \u201cenemies.\u201d<\/p>\n

If political issues have not been resolved for years but are concealed, no amount of Mount Ararat will help.<\/p>\n

Perhaps it\u2019s good for society that the ideology is poorly sewn and the seams will come undone quickly.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Of course, even regressions ensure movement. But you can\u2019t be happy about this, since now it seems more important to me to have several sustainable environments that will be able to produce for our society knowledge that is fit to understand our own problems.<\/p>\n

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More useful can be those who remain the shadows, who with small steps can produce significant results, but all the same, these groups have to have opportunities to work sustainably.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Those who have pure economic means, who don\u2019t have anything to do with the ruling elite, currently pin their hopes on the political parties. When they understand that the hope is not the political parties but new modes of thinking and groups who produce knowledge, the situation will change.<\/p>\n

Existing political parties still consume and reproduce old, self-made knowledge.<\/p>\n

Interview by Nune Hakhverdyan<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Sociologist Anna Zhamakochyan (Socioscope NGO researcher) considers our attempts to smooth out a not-homogenous society and fit it in a single ideological mold useless. Society has little opportunity to gather knowledge about itself, since being bombarded with big and abstract speech structures, we don\u2019t get to know ourselves, but rather we are led more astray. Read the full article…<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":9234,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9256","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-viewpoint","author_posts-nune-hakhverdyan"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/media.am\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9256","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/media.am\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/media.am\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/media.am\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/media.am\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9256"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/media.am\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9256\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/media.am\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9234"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/media.am\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9256"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/media.am\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9256"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/media.am\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9256"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}