Oriental Studies at the Institute of International Relations and World History of Nizhny Novgorod University: Achievements, Problems and Prospects (2013—2021)

Abstract

The article is devoted to the analysis of the current level of development of oriental studies in a regional university on the example of the Lobachevsky State University of Nizhny Novgorod. The expansion of the international relations of the Russian Federation with the countries of the East in various fields in the context of globalization, the development of the tourism business has significantly increased the demand for specialists with knowledge of oriental languages, history and culture of Asian and African countries in the labor market. In this regard, in recent years, the interest of applicants to those universities that can offer relevant and promising areas of study has sharply increased. The area of training orientalists is expanding significantly at the expense of regional universities that respond to the challenges of the time, actively participating in the process of training specialists in the field of oriental studies. The purpose of this study is the formation and development of oriental studies at UNN, identifying the features of teaching and scientific work, problems and prospects facing university teachers. The methods of scientific research were general philosophical — analysis, synthesis, as well as comparative historical and comparative genetic methods. As a result of the study, the authors note that theoretical and practical oriental studies at the Institute of International Relations have now achieved certain success, which finds expression in the preparation of generalized collective works and monographs, scientific articles in domestic and foreign publications, collections of articles and conference proceedings by the staff of the UNN; the release of educational and methodological literature that provides the educational process; regular defense of candidate and doctoral dissertations on oriental studies; initiating and holding international and all-Russian scientific conferences. Special attention is paid to the linguistic training of orientalists, which includes the possibility of studying Chinese, Arabic, Turkish, Armenian and Korean languages. Teaching is carried out using a variety of formats and teaching methods, taking into account the characteristics of the modern generation of students, which allows to achieve high quality training of specialists, develop creative and communication skills, and form the originality of thinking of graduates. An important means of popularizing and deepening knowledge about the East are student clubs that are successfully functioning at IMOMI. UNN has created all the necessary conditions for the training of graduates-orientalists who are competitive in the labor market.