School of Sciences and Humanities
School of Sciences and Humanities
School of Sciences and Humanities
Department of History, Philosophy and Religious Studies
The department offers an undergraduate major in History and minors in History and in Philosophy and Religious Studies. In addition, our faculty offer a significant contribution to the MA in Eurasian Studies.
Click here if you would like to learn more about the program and the admission requirments.
Click here if you would like to learn more about the program and the admission requirments.
History
HST 100: History of Kazakhstan
This course focuses on the history of the Kazakhstan region and its peoples from the emergence of the Kazakh khanate in the late 1400s through the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991. This course will place the history of Kazakhstan in a global context, first examining the re-ordering of steppe in the post-Mongol period, then turning to the questions imperial expansion and colonial rule in the 18th and 19th centuries, and, finally, to questions of modernization, nation and multi-ethnic state under Soviet rule. This course will introduce students to the basic methods of history as an academic discipline and to the different sub-fields of history (political, economic, social, intellectual, etc.). Students will read short excerpts from primary sources, participate in discussion sections and complete a brief analytic writing assignment.
HST 110/REL 110: Introduction to World Religions
This course offers an introduction to the major religious traditions in the world. We will study seven of the major religious traditions (Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam) focusing on historical development, central teachings, and religious practices. We will also consider some basic theoretical and comparative concepts in the study of religion, including ritual, symbol, myth, sacred spaces, and the distinction between the academic study of religion and religious instruction.
PHIL 210: Ethics
We often judge actions to be either right or wrong, praiseworthy or blameworthy, admirable or shameful, but we rarely consider the grounds of our judgements carefully. Sometimes we think of them as obviously true and we find it difficult to imagine how anyone could ever have thought otherwise. At other times we are tempted to think that moral judgements are neither right nor wrong, but are simply a matter of opinion. This course will enhance your ability to scrutinize such attitudes and to think clearly about a variety of moral issues. We will consider questions like: Do we have a duty to maximize the happiness of the people around us? Under what conditions, am I morally responsible for my actions? Do animals matter morally? Can any action be permissible depending on the consequences, or are there actions that are always wrong, whatever their consequences? Are moral norms, rules and principles valid across cultures? By the end of the semester, you will have a better understanding of some of the fundamental problems in ethics.
This course focuses on the history of the Kazakhstan region and its peoples from the emergence of the Kazakh khanate in the late 1400s through the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991. This course will place the history of Kazakhstan in a global context, first examining the re-ordering of steppe in the post-Mongol period, then turning to the questions imperial expansion and colonial rule in the 18th and 19th centuries, and, finally, to questions of modernization, nation and multi-ethnic state under Soviet rule. This course will introduce students to the basic methods of history as an academic discipline and to the different sub-fields of history (political, economic, social, intellectual, etc.). Students will read short excerpts from primary sources, participate in discussion sections and complete a brief analytic writing assignment.
HST 110/REL 110: Introduction to World Religions
This course offers an introduction to the major religious traditions in the world. We will study seven of the major religious traditions (Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam) focusing on historical development, central teachings, and religious practices. We will also consider some basic theoretical and comparative concepts in the study of religion, including ritual, symbol, myth, sacred spaces, and the distinction between the academic study of religion and religious instruction.
PHIL 210: Ethics
We often judge actions to be either right or wrong, praiseworthy or blameworthy, admirable or shameful, but we rarely consider the grounds of our judgements carefully. Sometimes we think of them as obviously true and we find it difficult to imagine how anyone could ever have thought otherwise. At other times we are tempted to think that moral judgements are neither right nor wrong, but are simply a matter of opinion. This course will enhance your ability to scrutinize such attitudes and to think clearly about a variety of moral issues. We will consider questions like: Do we have a duty to maximize the happiness of the people around us? Under what conditions, am I morally responsible for my actions? Do animals matter morally? Can any action be permissible depending on the consequences, or are there actions that are always wrong, whatever their consequences? Are moral norms, rules and principles valid across cultures? By the end of the semester, you will have a better understanding of some of the fundamental problems in ethics.
You will acquire a range of skills that will prepare you for work in diverse and competitive areas. History graduates pursue careers in
- law, the civil service
- diplomacy
- management and marketing
- information technology
- financial services and corporate analysis
- journalism
- education and research.
Recent graduates of our History program have also been accepted into prestigious graduate school programs, including those at Georgetown University, Central European University, and the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy in Singapore.
- law, the civil service
- diplomacy
- management and marketing
- information technology
- financial services and corporate analysis
- journalism
- education and research.
Recent graduates of our History program have also been accepted into prestigious graduate school programs, including those at Georgetown University, Central European University, and the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy in Singapore.