III. Questions for Discussion:

a. Do you think that religion should be studied in terms of religious or atheistic consciousness? Why?

b. Should priority in the curriculum of the Department be given to the disciplines connected with Christianity? Explain your point-of-view.

Institute of Political Science

Saint Petersburg State University is one of the first Russian universities that started to provide professional training in the area of political science. In 1989 the first Department of Political Science was established in Russia. Today, there are four departments at the Institute of Political Science: Political Science, International Political Processes, Political Institutions and Applied Political Research, and Political Governance. They train researchers, instructors, and specialists in different areas of political science. Two centres based at the Department: the Centre for Political Analysis and the Centre for Political Management – participate in the training as well.

Training and research are conducted by highly qualified, internationally recognized teaching staff. Students also take an active part in the research work; annual student conferences are held leading to publication of student research papers.

New electronic technologies in training and research (such as data processing programmes, Internet resources, Saint Petersburg On-Line Journal of Political Science) ensure that the training of political scientists at the University meets the highest international standards.

The Institute has achieved wide international recognition thanks to international exchanges; foreign lectures by the professors in universities of Germany, Italy, South Korea, Poland, USA, Japan; student visits to foreign universities on exchange programmes and fellowships; visits by foreign professors.

The Institute’s alumni work for governmental and administrative bodies centres of political analysis and prognosis, consulting firms, international organizations, universities and academic institutions, PR departments of companies and banks. They also participate in the organization of electoral campaigns.

There are two independent but interconnected curricula at the Institute.

The first one is designed to train students in the following three fields: political theory, comparative political studies, and applied political studies. Students are taught up to 15 courses in the area of their specializations; they receive practical training in teaching and politics, and write annual research papers and final year dissertations.

The second curriculum provides training for Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in political science taking four and two years respectively. It is designed to provide an extensive training in the areas of public administration and law. This is the first such curriculum in Russia which gives students the opportunity to become experts in the area of public management and policy. Along with general academic courses, students are also taught administrative and legal disciplines. Saint Petersburg State University was the first in Russia to develop a curriculum for Master’s degree in political science that was taken as a basis for the State Standard in the field.

Full-time students taking courses in political science are taught:

I. General Humanities and Socio-Economic Disciplines:

• Foreign Language

• History

• Economics

• Psychology

• Cultural Studies

• Sociology

• Social Statistics

• Pedagogy

• History of Philosophy

• Logic

• Ontology and Theory of Knowledge

• Social Philosophy

• Russian Philosophy

II. General Political Science Disciplines:

• History of Political Thought

• History of Political Science

• History and Theory of Political Institutions

• Political Anthropology

• Theory of Political Science

• Political Sociology

• Comparative Political Studies

• Political Psychology

• Methods and Techniques of Empirical Political Research

• Theory and Practice of International Relations

• Public Administration and Management

• Political Strategies and Processes in Today’s Russia

III. Optional Courses:

• Issues in Methodology for Socio-Political Disciplines

• Philosophy of Politics

• Political Geography

• Ethno-Political Science