Fall 2024: September 9 – December 27
Subject: PHIL (Philosophy)
Course Level: 300
Number of Credits: 4 U.S. / 8 ECTS
Max Enrollment: 22
Schedule: Mon 18:00 – 21:00 CET (Berlin) | Mon 12:00 – 3:00 PM EDT (New York)
Distributional Area: Meaning, Being, and Value
Language of Instruction: Russian
Course Prerequisites: Russian B2 / Equivalent or higher

This course is devoted to the study of dialectics as a philosophical methodology that allows studying historical and social reality through the lens of logic. Common sense does a good job of defining phenomena and categorizing their qualities and quantities, but it is much less capable of grasping their fundamental, often revolutionary, transformations, such as the precipitous turns from liberalism to fascism, from fear to sadism, and from peace to war. Even if common sense notices such transformations, it encounters yet another barrier : one must perceive that the new phenomenon does not replace the old one but contains it within itself as an unconscious layer.

We will address dialectics as a theory of reflection, aiming to see how by reflecting themselves, ideas pass into life. Although one often thinks that dialectics was invented by Hegel, in fact it had existed earlier as one of the philosophical methodologies. We will be reading works by Plato, Aristotle, Proclus, Schelling, Hegel, Marx, Kojeve, Vygotsky, Adorno, Marcuse, Ilyenkov, Lacan, and Zizek, along with the contemporary scholarship which applies dialectics to social analysis.

Guidelines for the Statement of Purpose:
Craft a reflective statement of purpose explaining your interest in the Smolny Beyond Borders online course. The file should be saved with your name and course title as the filename and uploaded accordingly. Your statement’s clarity and substance will significantly influence our selection. Convey your motivations and aspirations for this course succinctly but thoroughly. Kindly write your statement in the course’s Language of Instruction.

Application Portal Instructions:
1) Use the Latin alphabet for all entries on the portal, including your name. If the Language of Instruction is Russian, you may use Cyrillic only within the Statement of Purpose file, and the title of the file should still be in English.
2) Refrain from using email addresses associated with Russian or Belarusian educational institutions.
3) While completing the “Required Information” section, ensure you fill in the “Province” field for your address.
4) Provide an address outside Russia or Belarus in both the “Required Information” and “Geographic Location Confirmation” sections of the “Online Course Application”. This ensures we can send your transcript.
5) You must press the “Sign” button twice during the application.
6) If you hold a bachelor’s degree, select “4th+” in the “Academic Year (online)” section.
7) Applicants either unaffiliated or affiliated with educational institutions in Russia and Belarus should list ‘Smolny Beyond Borders’ as their educational institution.
8) In the student ID section, enter ‘SBB’.
9) Consider drafting your motivation letter ahead of time. Save it as a separate file with this format: LastName_FirstName_CourseTitle for a smoother application process.