Abstract: the article is devoted to the main mass culture concepts in sociology. The author examines Western historiography and a whole series of Soviet studies for understanding the main trends in the study of mass culture history. Fundamental to modern Russian culture is the question of how destructive or creative a mass culture model can be in the interests of the state and society development, and how much the values and behavioral orientations transmitted by the mass culture correspond to Russia’s strategic national interests.
Mass culture should also receive consideration and theoretical understanding in its connection with the mass consciousness,as the basic values and orientation are transmitted both to the individual and to the mass consciousness level. This should take into account the mass consciousness temporal characteristics, as well as the role of mass communication channels in the translation of mass culture reduced values. The category “mass culture” is a link for related concepts: “mass”, “mass society”, “mass man”, and, of course, “mass consciousness”. The change of the semantic meaning of the concept is noted by researchers in the 19th century within the framework of the Western European concepts of “mass society”. Throughout the twentieth century, foreign philosophical thought developed and elaborated theoretical approaches to the study of mass culture, and the term was often used as synonymous with the concept of “mass society”. The basis for all synonyms is precisely the concept of mass character which needs additional clarification based on the study of the historiography of the problem.
Keywords: sociology of culture, mass culture, mass consciousness, cultural values, historiography of mass culture