Sergey Alferov | Moscow State University (original) (raw)

Papers by Sergey Alferov

Вестник Антропологии (Herald of Anthropology) , 2021

Bridging dance anthropology and multimodal discourse analysis, the article focuses on language us... more Bridging dance anthropology and multimodal discourse analysis, the article focuses on language used to teach and/or describe various versions of the pas de basque step in Highland, Scottish country, Scottish step and "called" Ceilidh dancing of Scotland. It analyses pedagogic discourse observed during on- and offline classes and dance events across the globe alongside the author's own embodied experience as a Scottish dancer, learner and teacher. When examining culturally and somatically contextualised uses of English in Scottish dance pedagogy, the article takes into account a range of dance manuals and instructions published between 1950 and 2020 by the Royal Scottish Country Dance Society, the Royal Scottish Official Board of Highland Dancing, the United Kingdom Alliance of Professional Teachers of Dancing and other organisations and individuals. Revisiting issues of communicating (and delegating) authority, (re)shaping the dance tradition(s) and providing/refraining from regulation, the study is aimed at helping to better appreciate the mutual interconnectedness between pedagogic discourse, on the one hand, and dance learning and teaching as an embodied social and cultural experience, on the other.

Boswell, D., O’Shea, R., Tzadik, E. (eds.). Interculturalism, Meaning and Identity. Oxford: Inter-Disciplinary Press, 2012. , 2013

"The chapter focuses on several gender identity patterns implicitly present and/or applicable to ... more "The chapter focuses on several gender identity patterns implicitly present and/or applicable to various existing forms of traditional Scottish dancing. Dwelling on participant observation of Scottish dance communities worldwide, the author tries to find out whether gender identity patterns (i.e., ways of thinking and perceiving reality) are relevant to understanding or describing current situation there. The paper applies semiotic methods to most existing forms of Scottish dance regarding the latter as an issue of choreography, dance history, cultural anthropology etc. The main purpose of the work remains, after all, general and theoretic. Taking various dance forms as an example, the author tends to map the field for further research of contemporary identity thinking and its relevance to current gender, social and cultural phenomena as well as to the life of different social and cultural groups nowadays and in the past.
Evidence provided in the paper leads the author to a conclusion that identity thinking has been generally overused when dealing with complicated social realia such as traditional dance forms and practices. Identity thinking, or ‘semiotic labeling’, when applied to gender issues in Scottish dancing, proves to be ambiguous, sometimes vague, and quite often misleading. Important and convenient a perceptive tool identification might be, it should be considered carefully and applied with accuracy, taking its epistemological limitations into account. The relevance of identity thinking proves to be highly dependent on circumstances it is used in and therefore can never be taken for granted.
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Вестник Антропологии (Herald of Anthropology), 2019

В статье рассмотрены различные значения понятия “(не)естественный” в письменном и устном дискурсе... more В статье рассмотрены различные значения понятия “(не)естественный” в письменном и устном дискурсе, посвященном традиционным шотландским танцам. Анализ совместной встречаемости этого понятия с другими прилагательными и наречиями в источниках XVIII-XXI вв. позволяет полнее осмыслить семиотическую сложность концепта и его употребления. В статье подчеркнута кажущаяся самоочевидность того, что значит танцевать “естественно” с точки зрения разного рода заинтересованных лиц (танцоров, преподавателей, зрителей и исследователей). Также в центре внимания связь между тем, что представляется естественным в танце, и человеческими привычками, как кинестетическими, вытекающими из танцевальной практики или ее нехватки, так и визуально-стилистическими, основанными на знакомстве зрителей с теми или иными проявлениями шотландского танцевального репертуара.

The article explores various meanings of the concept “(un)natural” in written and spoken discourse devoted to traditional Scottish dancing. Looking at this concept alongside its co-occurent adjectives and adverbs in 18th-21st-century sources allows to better appreciate the semiotic complexity of the concept and its uses. The article highlights the seeming obviousness of what dancing naturally means to different kinds of stakeholders (dancers, teachers, spectators and researchers). It also emphasises the link between what is seen as natural dancing and people’s habits, both kinaesthetic, resulting from dance practice or the lack thereof, and stylistic or visual, grounded in spectators’ exposure to various manifestations of the Scottish dance repertoire.

Etnograficheskoe Obozrenie, Number 3, 2010., 2010

The article presents a semiotic overview of identity thinking in contemporary Russian glossy maga... more The article presents a semiotic overview of identity thinking in contemporary Russian glossy magazines. It inquires into the cognitive nature of the self-identification process in the modern world. The author argues that self-identification is a clear semiotic procedure based on the personal need to dwell on certain "objective" criteria in the process of self-representation within a semiotic network depicting the reality.

"For centuries regarded by major ministers and elders of Reformed Church in Scotland as a sinful,... more "For centuries regarded by major ministers and elders of Reformed Church in Scotland as a sinful, intolerable pastime, Scottish country dancing appears nowadays as one of usual activities to be held in church halls of various denominations in Scotland and worldwide. Reformed Christianity and old-time dancing suddenly at peace, the consequences of such an unprecedented liaison are bound to be controversial.
The paper presents a cultural typology analysis of how the concepts of ‘Spiritual,’ ‘Inherited,’ and ‘Authoritative’ can equally apply to twenty-first-century Scottish dance and Scottish Christianity. Arguable as it may seem, Scottish country dancing and Reformed Church in Scotland correspond not only in common venues and people involved but also in a paradigmatic way, sharing certain values and facing similar problems.
Among the latter, the paper draws attention to a tendency to be reduced to a rather rigid, motionless form characterizing both Scottish country dancing and Reformed Christianity at times of no ‘spiritual uplift’. From cultural typology perspective this tendency originates in purely ‘syntactic,’ in Yuri Lotman’s terms, semiotic nature of Scottish country dancing and Calvinist Protestantism, leading in their case to little or even no connection between a cultural form as such and spiritual forces at times making the form alive and – in a broad sense – graceful.
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Магия ИННО: новые измерения в лингвистике и лингво-дидактике : сб. науч. трудов. Москва : МГИМО–Университет., 2017

Addressing the need for enhancing accuracy and confidence in using definite/indefinite/zero artic... more Addressing the need for enhancing accuracy and confidence in using definite/indefinite/zero article(s) by professionals in computer science and engineering, the paper provides a two-step algorithm to cater for this need, especially relevant when proof-reading a piece of academic writing.
The proposed algorithm is verified by means of analyzing language samples from the British Academic Written English corpus (BAWE) as well as contemporary mainstream EFL grammar references. The author’s classroom practice and teacher training experience are used to further contextualize the need for a more ‘deductive’ (or rather, a less ‘traductive’) approach to form-focused instruction when teaching learners with a dominant logical-mathematical intelligence.

Магия ИННО: новое в исследовании языка и методике его преподавания: материалы Второй научно-практической конференции (Москва, 24–25 апреля 2015 г.). Т. 2, Dec 1, 2015

Drawing from the author's experience of teaching English to software developers working for inter... more Drawing from the author's experience of teaching English to software developers working for international companies in Moscow, Russia, the paper examines several strategies of teaching the future and their implications for Russian students with a dominant logical-mathematical intelligence. Taking into account typical problems faced by students with highly developed logical-mathematical intelligence when studying some more ambiguous aspects of expressing the future, the paper contributes to a discussion of relevant and efficient ways of presenting English grammar to Russian learners, suggesting using the concept of purpose to explicitly clarify and facilitate analytical comprehension of futurity by the students.

The final published version of the paper is also available here: http://www.inno-conf.mgimo.ru/i/Tom-2_inno-magic-2015.pdf

Cambridge Delta Essays: Modules 2 and 3 by Sergey Alferov

This extended assignment for my Cambridge Delta Module 3 is devoted to teaching EAP in high schoo... more This extended assignment for my Cambridge Delta Module 3 is devoted to teaching EAP in high school contexts. The paper proposes a course of academic writing targeted at Year 2 learners following the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme (IB DP) in Moscow, Russia. The grade awarded by Cambridge: Pass with Merit. The full text of the assignment and all the appendices are published here.
"DELTA Module Three aims to develop candidates’ knowledge of, and competence in, course planning and assessment in relation to a specialist area, and includes: research into a specialist area; approaches to needs analysis; curriculum and syllabus design principles and different types of syllabus; course design and evaluation; and assessment of learners."

This background essay for my Cambridge Delta Module 2 LSA 3 (Productive Skills: Speaking) is devo... more This background essay for my Cambridge Delta Module 2 LSA 3 (Productive Skills: Speaking) is devoted to preparing learners to engage in 'scripted' spoken interactions in everyday situations and business contexts. Grade: Distinction (The ELT Hub France. Strasbourg, May 2018).

Cambridge Delta Module 2 'focuses on developing awareness and expertise in the principles and professional practice of teaching English in a range of contexts'. In particular, working on Delta essays helps apply 'knowledge and understanding of factors affecting teaching to your practice', develop 'selection criteria to choose materials', expand your 'range of teaching and learning strategies which are appropriate to learners’ needs and context' and boost 'critical reflection skills to identify areas for ongoing professional development'. (Adapted from https://www.cambridgeenglish.org/teaching-english/teaching-qualifications/delta/about-the-delta-modules/)

This is my background essay for Cambridge Delta Module 2 LSA2 (Receptive Skills: Listening). Grad... more This is my background essay for Cambridge Delta Module 2 LSA2 (Receptive Skills: Listening). Grade: Merit (The ELT Hub France, Strasbourg, March 2018).

This background essay for my Delta Module 2 LSA 1 (Systems) is devoted to helping learners deal w... more This background essay for my Delta Module 2 LSA 1 (Systems) is devoted to helping learners deal with the English article. Grade: Merit (March 2018, The ELT Hub France, Strasbourg).
Cambridge Delta Module 2 'focuses on developing awareness and expertise in the principles and professional practice of teaching English in a range of contexts'. In particular, working on Delta essays helps apply 'knowledge and understanding of factors affecting teaching to your practice', develop 'selection criteria to choose materials', expand your 'range of teaching and learning strategies which are appropriate to learners’ needs and context' and boost 'critical reflection skills to identify areas for ongoing professional development'. (Adapted from https://www.cambridgeenglish.org/teaching-english/teaching-qualifications/delta/about-the-delta-modules/)

Conference Presentations by Sergey Alferov

A video snapshot of my presentation at Oxford Dance Symposium, 2016

The paper focuses on the concept of ‘natural’ as used in one of the most influential works on dan... more The paper focuses on the concept of ‘natural’ as used in one of the most influential works on dancing in Scotland – Sketches relative to the history and theory, but more especially to the practice of dancing… intended as hints to the young teachers of the art of dancing. Published in 1805, the treatise was a result of a long and prolific career of an Aberdonian dancing master Francis Peacock (1723-1807). It remains a must-read for anyone interested in traditions of dancing in Scotland.
The paper presents a semiotic analysis of Peacock’s emphasis on the ‘natural’ as both an initial condition of a dance student and the desired outcome of teaching to dance. Building on John Locke’s philosophy, Peacock’s use of the concept remains valid for some forms of Scottish dancing to this day. Analysing the cultural, choreographic and somatic implications of dancing ‘naturally’ in various contexts is, therefore, vital for clearer understanding of how Scottish dancing can be evolving as a globalised phenomenon in the 21st century. It can also help re-contextualise one of the core values of several European dance traditions, such as classical ballet, as deeply rooted in the philosophy of the Enlightenment.
An 8-minute video snapshot of the presentation is available online: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_dBuRPYdHKY.

Teaching Documents by Sergey Alferov

This is the Scottish (Ladies') Step Dance Syllabus, officially approved and implemented by the Un... more This is the Scottish (Ladies') Step Dance Syllabus, officially approved and implemented by the United Kingdom Alliance of Professional Teachers of Dancing and Kindred Arts. Devised in 2011 by Sergey Alferov (then associate UKA), the syllabus aims at facilitating teachers leading regular classes of this unique Scottish soft-shoe solo dance style worldwide. The syllabus gives an opportunity to build up tailor-made Scottish step dance courses for young and adult learners using a well-established UKA medal tests system. It also provides, for the first time ever, clear guidelines for taking professional teachers examinations in Scottish (Ladies') Step Dancing.

Blog entries by Sergey Alferov

A summary of my taking part in the 18th Oxford Dance Symposium (2016) with a paper "The art of be... more A summary of my taking part in the 18th Oxford Dance Symposium (2016) with a paper "The art of being natural in Francis Peacock's Sketches".

Most basic variations of pas de basque in various styles of Scottish dancing in one blog entry. A... more Most basic variations of pas de basque in various styles of Scottish dancing in one blog entry. Accompanied by videos and links to published sources and internet discussions of some technical points.

A not-too-serious examination of some reasons why smiling is rare in competitive Highland dancing... more A not-too-serious examination of some reasons why smiling is rare in competitive Highland dancing at the beginning of the 21st century. 9 videos illustrate the points made.

A short overview (in Russian) of Scottish solo dances named "Blue Bonnets", from Scottish Nationa... more A short overview (in Russian) of Scottish solo dances named "Blue Bonnets", from Scottish National and Scottish soft-shoe step dance repertoire, with 4 videos.

Magazine Articles by Sergey Alferov

'Moscow Expat Life', May 2015

'Moscow Expat Life', March 2015

'Moscow Expat Life', September 2014