Concerning the ethnic self-consciousness and forms of its expression in the modern world

The paper deals with the problem of ethnic self-consciousness and its structure. The relevance of the study is determined by the fact that ethnic stereotypes as the basis of ethnic self-consciousness are stable and firm at the everyday level. The stereotypical views on “us” and “them” still exist in proverbs and sayings that are often a barrier to intercultural dialogue. At the same time, ethnic stereotypes allow one to adapt to changes in the environment and reduce the uncertain existence. The study focuses on the ethnic self-consciousness and its structure at the everyday level; the ethnic myths are the scope of research. The ethnic self-consciousness is a unique worldview that reflects the attitude towards one’s own ethnic group compared to the others. The research emphasizes that ethnic stereotypes contain information about the ethnic group of the author rather than the ethnic group of the character. The representatives of other cultures are always marked, it is a “demarcation line”. In this case, one’s own “space” is always “safe”, “cultural” while the social and cultural space of other ethnic groups is “dangerous”, “strange”, and “hostile”. In such mythologemes, other ethnic groups have negative features, and hatred towards “foreigners” can lead to the idea of messianism and ethnic exclusiveness. The paper highlights the myths about autochthony and bearing culture that provoke conflicts because these myths distort historical facts. Under the influence of globalization and unification, there is a unique situation entitled globalization paradox that leads to the oblivion of ethnic traditions and languages and the growth of ethnic self-consciousness.