From the History ofšthe Department

The Department ofšTheory ofšCulture and Philosophy ofšScience was founded inšearly July 1990. Atšthe time the Department was the first one inšthe USSR pursuing the new conceptual theoretical subject matter, which the process ofšliberation from totalitarianism required having already begun inšall spheres ofšlife. The main concept ofšthe Department was based onštacking the problem ofšthe spirituality crisis ofšscientist-oriented European culture and the rationalistic paradigm inšmodern philosophy and science. The first Head ofšthe Department was elected Professor Ivan Tsekhmistr, Doctor ofšPhilosophy, academician ofšthe Higher School Academy ofšPolitical Sciences ofšUkraine, Corresponding Member ofšthe Ukrainian Academy ofšComputer Sciences.

Faculty

The Faculty ofšthe Department includes 7šfull professors, 12šassociate professors, ašsenior lecturer, 3šlecturers. There are 21špostgraduate students and 1šdoctoral student working onštheir theses.

Research

Research Areas: holistic philosophy ofšscience; gender studies; ludological cultural aspects; Orthodoxy and orthodox philosophy; philosophy ofšreligion; theology; postmodernism (gnosiological, culturological, social aspects). The department has ašlaboratory ofšgender studies.

The complex research theme ofšthe Department isš?Problem ofšspirituality inšscience and culture? that belongs tošthe republican interuniversity program ?Classics, Modernism, Postmodernism: Problem ofšSpirituality atšthe Turn ofšthe Century?. Itšincludes both individual scientific and research works executed byšthe faculty ofšthe Department and budget-funded scientific and research topics ?Postmodernism and relational holism? (2000?2002), ?Comparative Studies ofšPost-Modernist and Holistic Tendencies inšModern Philosophical Science and Culturology? (2003?2005), ?Science and Religion Today and inšFuture? (2006?2008), ?Science and Religion inšthe Epoch ofšPost-Modernism? (2009?2010), ?Quantum Holism, Studies ofšits Background and Scope ofšApplication? (2011?2012) exploited under supervision ofšProfessor I. Tsekhmistr.

Ašsignificant achievement inšthe state-of-the-art trends ofšphilosophy was creation and work ofšKharkiv Centre for Gender Studies conducting considerable scientific work asšwell asšmethodological and organizational activities. The Laboratory ofšGender Studies functioning atšthe Department ofšTheory ofšCulture and Philosophy ofšScience serves asšašresource centre for regional university faculty, postgraduate and undergraduate students majoring inšgender studies. One ofšthe main resources ofšthe Lab isšits gender-themed library (1,000 editions inšRussian and Ukrainian and over 300 ones inšEnglish). The library offers its serves tošfourth and fifth-year students asšwell asšpostgraduates and faculty members whose research focuses onšgender-related issues. The Lab hosts presentations inšgender studies and acquaints students ofšthe School ofšPhilosophy with the Lab?s activities, the research opportunities itšprovides for undergraduate and postgraduate students. The Lab holds monthly meetings ofšKharkiv City Youth Philosophical Seminar addressing gender-related issues.

Academics

The Department teaches philosophical and culturological disciplines atšthe School ofšPhilosophy and atšthe Schools ofšthe natural sciences profile ofšV.šN.šKarazin Kharkiv National University. Asšfar asšthe Schools ofšthe natural sciences profile are concerned, these are primarily normative courses inšphilosophy (including logics and religious studies) and inšhistory ofšUkrainian and world culture. Besides the normative courses the Department has developed and teaches such optional and special culturological courses asšLanguage ofšMusic; History ofšTheatre; History ofšArtistic Culture ofšUkraine; Fundamentals ofšCulturology; Sociocultural Aspects ofšInformatization ofšSociety, Problem ofšPower: State, Society, Person; Problems ofšSpirituality inšScience and Culture; and philosophical courses suchšas: Cognition and Reality; Philosophy ofšScience; Philosophy and Methodology ofšNatural Cognition and ašnumber ofšothers. The faculty ofšthe School ofšPhilosophy (Philosophy Division) teach courses: Ontology and Metaphysics; Gnoseology and Epistemology; Logics and Methodology ofšScientific Cognition; Logics and Methodology ofšNatural Cognition; Philosophy ofšScience, etc.

Inš2002 the School ofšPhilosophy introduced the major ?Culturology?. Since then the Department has been ašgraduating one inšthe major ?Culturology? offering students the main body ofšnormative and special courses inšthe major. They include Ancient Culture; Culture ofšMedieval Ages and Renaissance; Culture ofšAncient East (Ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia, Persia); Orientalism (India, China, Japan, Tibet, Muslim East); Culture ofšModern Age; Õ?Õ Century Culture; Modern Culture; Theory ofšCulture; Philosophy ofšCulture; Semiotics ofšCulture; Paradigms ofšModern Culturology; Methodology ofšTeaching Culturological Disciplines; Introduction tošGender Theory.

Moreover, the Department covers the whole scope ofšacademic activities (lectures, seminars, consultations, exams) inšthe courses ofšphilosophy atšthe Schools ofšthe natural sciences profile and within the candidate?s minimum program for postgraduates (degree-seeking students) ofšthe Schools ofšthe natural sciences profile and foreign postgraduate students.

The Department has atšits disposal three rooms (Department?s room, office ofšthe Head ofšthe Department and faculty room), 2šcomputers and 1šprinter.