News

A meeting as part of the cultural exchange between HSE’s Humanities Faculty, the RAS Institute of Philosophy and the Amalfi Center of History and Culture took place on September 2-3.

Higher School of Economics (HSE) moved from the 501-550 to the 411-420 group on the QS World University Ranking for 2016/17.

The first Moscow-Tartu School in Digital Humanities has taken place at the Leo Tolstoy House and Museum in Yasnaya Polyana. The school‘s aim is to create an interdisciplinary academic environment in which modern computer methods are applied to the study of texts. The school was organized by the HSE School of Linguistics, Leo Tolstoy House and Museum in Yasnaya Polyana, and the Department of Russian Literature at the University of Tartu.

A new English-taught master’s programme ‘Linguistic Theory and Language Description’ starts in the new academic year. Ekaterina Rakhilina, Head of the School of Linguistics, told us about some details of the programme, project work and the potential for international cooperation.

During the annual road expedition 'Cultural Effects of Borders', culture studies students from HSE visited Georgia, Armenia, and – for the first time – Iran. They talked to HSE News about the tastes and colors of Iran, and about how compliments form the foundation of the country's communications culture.

Professor Peter Anstey from the University of Sydney held a series of seminars on research methods in the humanities and early modern philosophy at HSE Moscow last week. The seminars were connected to his project ‘The Nature and Status of Principles in Early Modern Philosophy’. How have the studies of philosophy evolved? What is the role of philosophy of the modern world? How can Russian students become involved in global research projects? These were some of the issues Peter Anstey talked about with HSE News Service.

This year, many students and staff of HSE in Moscow will change the location of their study and work. Instead of some sites in districts on the outskirts of the sity, the university is using buildings in the centre. In addition to that, faculty departments which are now scattered in various parts of the city will move closer to each other. This will allow lecturers and students to spend less time commuting.

From November 14 - 24th a series of lectures on 'Diversity and Uniformity in Linguistic Sound Systems' by Ian Maddieson, Adjunct Research Professor at the University of New Mexico, Adjunct Professor Emeritus at the University of California was held at the HSE School of Linguistics. The course was dedicated to the phonetic diversity of languages and included eight lectures. During the series, Professor Maddieson talked to HSE English News Editor, Anna Chernyakhovskaya’s questions about his research into the relations between language and environment.

Honorary Professor at the University of Chicago and Sydney University, historian Sheila Fitzpatrick gave a lecture on Stalin and Post-War Anti-Semitism in the USSR at the HSE’s International Center for the History and Sociology of World War II and Its Consequences on Thursday 22nd October. In her talk, Professor Fitzpatrick looks at anti-semitism as a bone of contention between Stalin and his closest colleagues in the years when challenging the leader could have life-threatening consequence. As she explained in an interview with the HSE English News website, Sheila Fitzpatrick’s interest in the ‘Jewish question’ came out of her latest book.

On October 15-21, the second Italy-Russia cultural exchange meeting took place at Amalfi. Devoted to art and spirituality, the event drew the participation of staff members from the HSE Faculty of Humanities. During the meeting a book on the Russian footprint in Amalfi’s history was presented.