This department provides students with the opportunity to explore a number of subjects sometimes in areas students may not have known about before coming to the university.
In the curriculum of the department there are a number of fundamental academic subjects such as history of world culture, history of Russian culture, politology, and social psychology that are to form the qualities of a future specialist. These subjects focus on the course of students so that student could graduate with a thorough knowledge of the chosen discipline.
In close relation with the major subjects, the department offers a number of supporting and optional courses. They broaden the students’ mind and, thus, take them well beyond the general introductory level. The curriculum is not limited by narrow specialization. As a result, one can find such additional courses as logic, history of religion, design and the like which offer students a chance to explore the field much better.
All the traditional areas such as comparative culturology or history of culture are covered by the scholars of the department in the lectures and also in their publications.
During the academic year, the students are given lectures and seminars. The curriculum also includes practicals in foreign languages. In the course of study, students acquire command both of English grammar and spoken English. Through the teaching of English, the lessons strive to deepen the students’ knowledge in contemporary culture of the English speaking countries and their national cultural heritage and traditions.
By the end of the academic year, students are to write a project paper on the problem they are interested in. Students’ projects focus on a variety of problems, some of them are interdisciplinary and include topics in philosophy, comparative culture, history of culture, modern literature, social sciences and psychology.
All the students of the department have an opportunity to know their profession through practical experience. This experience can give students valuable assistance in making a career choices.
Education at the Culturology Department provides students with the opportunities to explore the subject of culture as deeply and effectively as possible. This training may lead to a number of careers in different cultural institutions, businesses or to future research as postgraduates.
Sociology
The name sociology was first suggested in the 1830s by the French philosopher Auguste Comte, but for many years it remained only a suggestion. Comte urged others to study sociology.
It was not until late in the 19th century that we can identify people who called themselves sociologists and whose work contributed to the development of the field. Among these were Herbert Spencer in England who published the first of his three-volume “ Principles of Sociology ” in 1876 and Ferdinand Tönnies in Germany. A decade later, Emile Durkheim published “ Suicide. ” The first sociologists studied moral statistics. Their work proved so popular that it led to the rapid expansion of census questions. However, sociology as an academic speciality was imported from Germany. The progressive uncovering of social causes of individual behaviour - in response to the questions raised by moral statistics - produced the field called sociology.
Sociology is one of the related fields known as the social sciences. They share the same subject matter: human behaviour. But sociology is the study of social relations, and its primary subject matter is the group, not the individual.
There is a close connection between sociology and other disciplines such as psychology, economy, anthropology, criminology, political science, and history. But sociologists differ from psychologists because they are not concerned exclusively with the individual, they are interested in what goes on between people. They differ from economists by being less interested in commercial exchanges; they are interested in the exchange of intangibles such as love and affection. Sociologists differ from anthropologists primarily because the latter specialize in the study of preliterate and primitive human groups, while sociologists are interested in modern industrial societies. Criminologists specialize in illegal behaviour, while sociologists are concerned with the whole range of human behaviour. Similarly, political scientists focus on political organization and activity, while sociologists survey all social organizations. Finally, sociologists share with historians an interest in the past but are equally interested in the present and the future.
Sociology is a broader discipline than the other social sciences. In a sense, the purpose of sociologists is, in general, to find the connections that unite various social sciences into a comprehensive, integrated science of society.
Sociology consists of two major fields of knowledge: micro sociology and macro sociology. Micro sociologists study the patterns and processes of face-to-face interaction between humans. Macro sociologists attempt to explain the fundamental patterns and processes of large-scale social relations. They concentrate on larger groups, even on whole societies.
Sociologists attempt to use research to discover if certain statements about social life are correct. The basic tools of their research are tests, questionaires, interviews, surveys, and public opinion polls.
Defining Politics
Politics, in its broadest sense, is the activity through which people make, preserve and amend the general rules under which they live. Politics is also an academic subject, or more exactly, the study of this activity.
Any attempt to clarify the meaning of “politics” must address two major problems. The first is the mass of associations that the word has when used in everyday language, in other words, politics is a “loaded” term. The second is that even respected authorities cannot agree what the subject is about. Politics is defined in such different ways: as the exercise of power, the exercise of authority, the making of collective decisions, the allocation of scarce resources, the practice of deception and manipulation, and so on.
Whether we are dealing with rival concepts or alternative conceptions, the debate about “What is politics?” is worth pursuing because it exposes some of the deepest intellectual and ideological disagreements in the academic study of the subject. The different views of politics are as follows:
· politics as the art of government;
· politics as public affairs;
· politics as compromise and consensus;
· politics as power and the distribution of resources.
According to chancellor Bismarck “ politics is not a science but an art. ” Bismarck understood the art as the art of government. This is the classical definition of politics developed from the original meaning of the term in Ancient Greece. However, what is striking about this definition is that it offers a highly restricted view of politics. Politics is what takes place within a system of social organization centred upon the machinery of government, that is in cabinet rooms, legislative chambers, government departments and the like; it is practiced by a limited and specific group of people: politicians, civil servants, and lobbists. On the one hand, it means that most people, most institutions and social activities can be regarded as being “outside” politics. By the same token, to portray politics as an essentially state-bounded activity is to ignore the increasingly important international or global influences upon modern life. On the other hand, in popular mind politics is closely associated with the activities of politicians. Politics is considered as a self-serving, two faced and unprincipal activity. The task is not to abolish politicians and bring politics to an end, but rather to ensure that politics is conducted within a framework of checks and constraints so that governmental power is not abused.
A second and broader conception of politics is thought of as “public life” or “public affairs.” Such a view of politics is often traced back to the work of the famous Greek philosopher Aristotle. This view of politics has generated both positive and negative images. For example, it is portrayed as a form of unwanted inteference.
The third conception of politics is related to the way in which decisions are made. Politics is seen as a particular means of resolving conflicts by compromise, conciliation and negotiation, rather than through force and naked power. In this view, the key to politics is therefore a wide dispersal of power. This view of politics has a positive character. Politics can be seen as a civilized and civilizing force.
The fourth definition of politics as power is both the broadest and the most radical. At its broadest, politics concerns the production, distribution and use of resources in the course of social existence. Politics is, in essence, power: the ability to achieve a desired outcome through whatever means. Politics can be seen as a struggle, and power can be seen as the means through which the struggle is conducted. Advocates of this view of power include feminists and marxists. Views such as these portray politics in largely negative terms.
Disagreement about the nature of political activity is matched by controversy about the nature of politics as an academic discipline. One of the most ancient spheres of intellectual inquiry, politics was seen as an arm of philosophy, history or law. From the late 19th century onwards, this philosophical emphasis was displaced by an attempt to turn politics into a scientific discipline. The high point of this development was reached in the 1950s and 1960s. Today, the resulting discipline is more fertile and more exciting, because it embraces a range of theoretical approaches and variety of schools and analysis.
Social Work
What makes a good social worker? Many things. Paramount in the make-up of a social worker is a deep and genuine interest in good people, bad people, famous people, humble people, rich people, poor people, young people and all people. People of every type.
A person, who doesn’t have this interest in other people will never make a good social worker. If you are not interested in other people, if you think that most people are a bit of a nuisance, if you prefer not to have anything more to do with others than is necessary, then social work is not for you.
Hand in hand with this interest in people should go the qualities of sympathy, open-mindedness and an inquiring mind. These traits allow you to get to the bottom of the problem you are trying to resolve. The social worker spends most of his time talking or listening to other people. These are the basic qualities for a social worker, but the required qualifications are very different.
Obviously he must be well educated. He must be a real psychologist who understands the inner world, mental state and feelings of a person.
Nowadays, social work is at an important stage in its development. All professions must be responsible for changing social and economic conditions. Social workers can make contribution to the well-being of our society. In fact, every social worker is in a position to solve a variety of problems: Children at risk, violent families, or even the seriously handicapped.
Family therapy has proved to be a creative method of problem solving for social workers. In family therapy, attention should be paid to single parent families, step families and foster families. That’s why social workers are required, more often than other professionals, to help families who are in different stages of fragmentation.
Sources of knowledge for such work are derived both from clinical experience and clinical literature. They are also evolved from a close familiarity with family studies which helps to develop the professional eye so as to be able to know which families are most vulnerable.
The main methods of a social worker are: interviews, inquiries and surveys. These methods enable the worker to understand the needs of a particular family more sensitively and accurately. Understanding enables introduction of appropriae and novel tools for helping the family evolve a satisfying pattern of group life.
How can the social worker learn to help a family discover their own resources? By being in a position where the social worker can ask questions that only the outsider can ask. A high proportion of first interviews takes place within the family’s own home. There may also be an agency interview. In the first case preliminary courtesies are part of therapeutic work.
There can be variations on handing of family interviews. Here are some of them:
· We like to see all the members of the family.
· Fathers as heads of the family are very important in all kinds of interviews.
· In families everybody has a point of view and these are not always the same. In our experience it is very important to hear what everybody has to say.
· We often find other people in the family have ideas about how to deal with the trouble that’s going on. A chance to talk about it together produces a much better plan for changing the situation in the family for the better.