ANR-Lab Seminar "Practices of building trust through joint leisure (on the example of the Moscow night club "Mutabor")"

A low level of trust characterizes Russia. One of the sources of trust is shared leisure time. In the modern world, there are various forms of leisure, including-night leisure, recreation places that work after midnight. Although such places are often associated with deviant behavior, many European cities are institutionalizing this area. At the same time, nightclubs in the Russian capital continue to close. Following the wave of attention to nightlife, the paper examines the process of building trust in the popular Moscow nightclub Mutabor. The variety of trust types generates a discussion about what kind of trust is formed during joint leisure.

The study works with three types: interpersonal, intragroup, and generalized trust, trying to understand which of them can be formed during joint leisure time in a nightclub. At the same time, the phenomenon of trust seems to be highly difficult to empirical study; there is a range of problems that complicate the researcher's task. This paper uses the indirect trust study methodology, which is proposed to solve the problems that arise in the study of trust.

Based on 14 semi-formalized interviews with the Mutabor nightclub visitors, the practices of building trust during joint leisure are described. The various practices that arise during joint leisure can simultaneously form several types of trust. Practices of direct face-to-face interaction can form interpersonal trust between club visitors. In turn, the practices of communication and behavior of club visitors, which create a sense of community, can form intragroup trust, solving collective action within the boundaries of the club. The revealed manifestations of trust in strangers are directed towards the club's audience and do not go beyond it, extending to all people in general. Generalized trust is not reflected in the practices of building trust through joint leisure time in a nightclub.

The language of the seminar is Russian. The seminar will be held online on the Zoom platform. Registered participants will receive a letter with an invitation to the video conference.

Registration for the seminar is available here.
We will be glad to see everyone!