Exercises:

I. Comprehension Questions.

1. What is philosophical anthropology?

2. Which theme is considered to be central in modern philosophy?

3. Why was the Department founded?

4. What is the research work at the Department concerned with?

5. How can students participate in the research activity of the Department?

II. Word Study.

1. Translate into English:

1. возложить задачу

2. выработать теорию

3. гуманитарные науки

4. заслуживать изучения

5. круг научных интересов

6. лекционный курс

7. многообещающий

8. неотъемлемая часть

9. умственная деятельность

10. участвовать в конференциях

2. Translate into Russian:

applied discipline	comparative studies
within the framework	spiritual
self-awareness	to contribute to
pivotal issue	to gain knowledge
to comprehend	part and parcel
contemporary theory	to encourage
academic achievement

3. Find antonyms in the text for the following words:

bodily	failure
insignificant	malicious
minor	narrow
permanent	talentless
theoretical	to discourage
to exclude

4. Match definitions to the following terms:

psychoanalysis	the scientific study of the human race, including its different types and its beliefs, social habits and organization, etc.
anthropology	the part of a science that deals with general principles and knowledge as opposed to practical methods or skills; set of rules or principles for the study of a subject.
mentality	a way of treating certain nervous disorders of the mind by examination of the sufferer’s memories of past life, experiences, dreams, etc., in an effort to find hidden causes of the illness.
theory	a person’s habitual way of thinking; character.

III. Questions for Discussion:

a. What problems do you think philosophical anthropology can tackle?

b. Where does practical applicability of philosophical anthropology consist in?

c. Do you agree that philosophical anthropology is a discipline “integrating within its framework various studies of a person”? Why? What other sciences concerned with a human and human nature can claim to be integrating?

Department of Religious Studies

The Department trains its students:

- to be aware of the beginnings and evolution of religion, its role in the formulation of man and society;

- to be conversant with ancient and contemporary religions;

- to be able to define the place and role of religion and church organizations in the context of contemporary culture.

Future employment prospects for graduates lie in college and museum work, consultancy work both in private and state organizations. In the course of the training undergraduates are given the possibility of studying two foreign languages, like all students of the Faculty, and the basics of classical languages - Greek, Latin, Old Church Slavonic, as well as Oriental Languages. The Department maintains a close working relationship with various international religious and public organizations, engaged in research and education. For example, “Buddha’s Light International Association” (USA, Taiwan), which presented the Faculty with a valuable collection of Buddhist texts in Chinese. Special attention is paid to international exchange programmes and getting grants for educational trips to University centres abroad.

After a four-year course our students receive a Bachelor’s Degree in Religious Studies, and after a further two-year course - a Master’s Degree. Apart from the Humanities and social-economic disciplines, compulsory subjects include:

- Introduction to Religion Studies

- Introduction to the History of Religion

- Mythologies and Religions of the Ancient World

- Hindu and Buddhist Cultures and Religions

- Religions of the Far East

- History of Judaism

- History of Orthodoxy

- History of Catholicism

- History of Protestantism

- Christian Sectarianism

- History of Islam

- History of Freethinking

- Psychology of Religion

- Sociology of Religion

- Philosophy of Religion

From the philosophical disciplines undergraduates study “Logic”, “Aesthetics”, “Ethics”, “History of Western European Philosophy”, “History of Foreign Philosophy”, “History of Russian Philosophy”, “Social Psychology”, “Philosophical Anthropology”, “Philosophy of Science”, “Rhetoric and Theory of Argumentation” and others.

Optional courses are as follows: “Genesis of Man and Human Society”, “Ethnography”, “Art and Religion”, “The Bible as a Historical and Cultural Monument”, “Ancient Philosophy of Religion”, “Medieval Catholic Theology and Philosophy”, “Philosophy and Religion in the 20th century”, “Church and State in the History of Russia”, “Church-State Relationship in Europe and USA”, “Buddhism in Chinese Culture”, “Science and Religion”, “Moral Issues in Russian Philosophy and Orthodox Theology”.

Instruction in the subjects studied is provided by highly qualified teaching staff of the Department of Philosophy of Religion and Religious Studies headed by Associate Professor M. M. Shakhnovich. Guest lecturers from other research institutions of St. Petersburg are also invited.

The Department runs a course of post-graduate studies in “Philosophy of Religion”. It also holds two regular seminars: “Religions and Culture” and “Christianity on the Brink of the Third Millennium”. The Department’s staff publish annually a number of academic papers, including translations and conference theses. Among the monographs are “Philosophy of Religion by K. Jaspers. Critical Analysis” (1982), and “German Existentialism and Religion” (1990) by A. N. Tipsina, “Taoism. Experience and Description in Terms of History of Religious Studies” (1993) and “World Religions” (1997) by Y. A. Torchinov, “History and Ideology of Qumran Community” (1994) by I. R. Tantlevskiy, “Paradoxes of Epicurean Theology” (2000) by M. M. Shakhnovich.