Time and Space of Memories of Factory Workers in Construction of Collective Identity of First Uralmash Builders

Abstract

The article is the result of a long-term study of autobiographies and memoirs from the Fund of the First Builders of Uralmash, collected in 1967-1984 and dedicated to the construction of the plant (1926-1934). The question of the role of spatial and temporal markers in the construction of the collective identity of factory workers is considered. Particular attention is paid to the relationship between strong discursive practices and the “weak positions” of the official discourse, which allow authors to independently write their personal history into the history of the plant. The novelty of the research lies in the fact that the Foundation's documents are viewed not as a factual source, but as a way of creating collective and personal identity of factory workers in the process of forming the concept of the FIRST BUILDER and as a body of texts, which reflects the practice of constructing the “Soviet”. It is emphasized that a special perception of space (the plant and the social city of Uralmash) and the placement of oneself in a certain historical era (with the opposition “then-now”) unite most of the Foundation's texts, among the authors of which are workers of the plant of different specialties and social status. It is proved that the texts have a common chronotope associated with the axiological picture of the world and with the practice of social communication through the text.

Keywords

• фонд первостроителей уралмаша
• коллективная идентичность
• хронотоп
• дискурсивные практики
• автобиография
• uralmash first builders fund
• collective identity
• chronotope
• discursive practices
• autobiography