Voronezh State University

Center for the Study of Cross-Cultural Communication

Scholars from the Voronezh CASE

1. Mikhail Dolbilov The Bureaucratic Elite and the Representation of Imperial Power in 19th Century Russia
   Voronezh State University -- Harriman Institute, Columbia University
2. Galina Khizrieva Muslim Identity in Russia's Regions
   Institute for Culturological Studies, Ministry of Culture -- Northwestern University
3. Vadim Musaev The Political and National History of the Russian Northwest in the 20th Century
   St. Petersburg Institute of History -- University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
4. Maria Popova National Identity in Literature
   Voronezh State University -- Washburn University, Topeka, Kansas
5. Alexander Porotikov Research in American Conflict-of-Law Theory
   Voronezh State University -- University of Pittsburgh
6. Maxim Proskuryakov The Russian Mentality and Community Organization
   Saint Petersburg State University -- University of Kansas, Lawrence
7. Elena Rogacheva Foreign Language Teaching: Cross-Cultural Dialogue in Contemporary Russian and American Education
   Vladimir State Teacher Training University -- University of Chicago
8. Oleg Ryabov "Ours" and "Theirs" in Cold War Propaganda Gender Discourse: The Case of America
   Ivanovo State University -- University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
9. Natalia Srebryanskaya Moral and Behavioral Criteria in Communication and Their Dependence on Age and Culture
   Voronezh State University -- Davis Center, Harvard University
10. Varvara Vovina The Shakhmatov School: Unknown Pages of History
    St. Petersburg Institute of History, Russian Academy of Sciences -- Harriman Institute, Columbia University

Directors of the Voronezh CASE

Academic Director:

Alexander Kravets
Doctor of Philosophic Science, Professor

Administrative Director:

Vladimir Titov
Candidate of Philological Science, Associate Professor

Contacts for the Voronezh CASE

Address:

1, Universitetskaya Pl., 394693,
Voronezh, RUSSIA

Web: www.voronezh.iriss.ru, e-mail: iunfo@voronezh.iriss.ru

Voronezh State University: Russian and English

Priority Research Areas

• Inter-Cultural Communication and Mutual Understanding.
• Socio-Cultural Roots of Conflict.
• Historical and Cultural Heritage in the Inter-Cultural Dialogue.
• Region Within its Economic, Political and Legal Setting.
  
  

Centers for Advanced Studies and Education: Growth Problems

Vladimir Mironov, Supervisor of the Voronezh CASE

Science does not develop in a vacuum, but rather in a system of social and cultural relations, and is greatly influenced by those relations. In this sense, academic studies have always transcended national borders, and any breakthroughs were only possible within the context of global trends. This does not downgrade the importance of academic achievements of any particular country, but underscores the fact that the ultimate goal of a scientist is to discover objective truth, irrespective of his/her cultural, religions or social allegiance. This principle has long become trivial in natural sciences and Mathematics: even though certain types of research are classified, this is still a single and uniform scientific system in which country-specific treatment of various problems always supplements the common scientific worldview.

In social sciences the situation is somewhat different, because they inevitably develop in line with the national specifics and traditions, responding to a certain system of ethnic, religious and ideological values. It is, in fact, one of the functions of social sciences to develop value systems, including those specific to the particular nations. In modern times, conditions are favorable for deeper integration of social sciences.

Russia is currently facing a number of well-known historic constraints to the development of social sciences which are felt even now.

For decades, social sciences in Russia (or, rather, in the USSR) were developing under a severe ideological pressure. The uniform "ideological paradigm" excluded the possibility for any real professional competition in this area; for example, instead of comparing alternative social development models to select the most acceptable one, scholars were forced to formulate arguments in favor of the dominant social system. Moreover, even leaving aside the "scholars" directly performing ideologic tasks (a type which has always been in demand in any country), serious scholars whose efforts did produce tangible results in Philosophy and Sociology, were still out of touch with the wealth of international research in their respective areas, for the simple reason that they had no access to professional literature.

Another key constraint was the "imperial" hierarchy between the center and the regions. The system of academic training and retraining fully corresponded to this basic hierarchy. With regional research institutions ousted to the periphery of academic activity, the whole system of training and (most importantly) retraining was inevitably concentrated in the capital city. This, in turn, triggered an outflow of the most talented scholars to research and educational institutions of Moscow and St. Petersburg, resulting in reduced regional capacity. It would be unfair to say that this problem was totally ignored. A number of strong research centers were established in the country, each covering several regions; but they were primarily focused on fulfilling some practical demands of the country, including defense programs. On the other hand, even in Moscow social sciences were funded on a peripheral basis.

Changes in contemporary Russia's social system have removed most barriers to social sciences development, but, as with the rest of research areas throughout the nation, funding is far from sufficient. It is important to recognize the fact that further development of social sciences is impossible without modern information technologies; those technologies are costly but their absence may isolate Russian scholars from the world-wide trends as effectively as "ideology barriers". A global communication environment is emerging which does not fit within any traditional culture. Instead, it places a culture in its own domain, at the same time creating unprecedented opportunities for the integration of knowledge, including that of social sciences. Under these conditions, a region where this knowledge is limited to local research may be eventually ousted to the periphery of world science.

One of the ways to further develop regional social sciences was establishment of Centers for Advanced Studies and Education (CASE), with the purpose to assist the advancement of social sciences in the country and integrate Russian social scientists into the world academic community.

Implementation of this Program may help to significantly improve the quality of social sciences in Russia, making them internationally competitive, both in terms of content and costs. Using CASE facilities and modern information technologies, it would be possible to create an integrative, dialogue-supporting information environment nationwide that would give any scholar access to the most recent literature, and an opportunity to maintain a dialogue with colleagues in Russia or elsewhere in the world. This is especially important for social sciences where, unlike in natural sciences, professional recognition is often based on external criteria such as academic rank or official position, which are not always directly related with actual academic contribution.