Fall 2024: September 9 – December 27
Subject: PHIL (Philosophy)
Course Level: 100
Number of Credits: 4 U.S. / 8 ECTS
Max Enrollment: 22
Schedule: Mon Wed 16:10 – 17:30 CET (Berlin) |10:10 – 11:30 EDT (New York)
Distributional Area: Meaning, Being, Value
Language of Instruction: Russian
Course Prerequisites: Russian B2 / Equivalent or higher

This course is devoted to the study of foundations of ancient civilization and culture, which determined the subsequent development of the humanities. Lectures and seminars will focus on reading and discussing ancient histories, narratives of geographical exploration and travel, tragedies and comedies, biographies, and philosophical treatises. How individual and polis; individual, family and city; individual and history, collective and historical memory are connected with each other? What are the cultural, political, religious, ethical, gender mechanisms of identity formation, reconstructed through the texts of the ancient tradition (from Herodotus to Plutarch, from Sophocles to Cicero, from Plato to Augustine)? Forming the basis of modern ideas about the humanities and art, these works create a common basis for further study of these fields form an idea of the logic of the development of knowledge and develop skills in reading and analyzing texts of various kinds. The focus of the course will be concentrated on texts, which make it possible to reconstruct ancient (Greek and Roman) reflection on group (political, social, cultural) and personal subjectivity.

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.