Nikolenko V. Gastronomic determinants of public life: sociological dimension.

Object: gastronomy as a public phenomenon. Aim: to uncover socio-cultural application of dietary habits within a particular gastronomic culture and to identify the specific nature of its impact on life sustenance of an individual and the society as a whole, as well as to expose a possibility of raising life standards via raising the gastronomic one, in Ukrainian society among others. Research methods: theoretical generalization, deductive method, analysis and synthesis, historical method, formalized interview, survey. Theoretical and practical results: it has been proved that gastronomic determinants of public life in its gnosiological and ontological dimensions are most fully uncovered through the corresponding concept of gastronomic culture, as well as through its essential characteristics visible in a particular culinary order, eating habits and gastronomic discourse; it has also been established that a gastronomic culture of any society (traditional, industrial, post-industrial) is stimulated by religious, political, mental, social, economic and scientific dimensions and affects them all in return, which allows its continuous connection with system-forming processes of public life organization; some unique formats of institutionalization of national culinary practices have been discovered, which gave a heuristic possibility to determine some particular traits of mentality, social issues of a society. Novelty: rationale for the connection with gastronomic dimension of public life, on the one hand, and, on the other hand, with social processes and relationships in retrospect and in modern context. Implementation: the findings have been used while teaching a course of 'General Sociology' for the students of 'International Economics' department of Dnipropetrovsk National University named after Oles' Honchar.