The Asian Studies Department is devoted to the spirit of tolerance and mutual understanding through which its subjects are explored. The program covers the economic universe in all its integrity, not only as a subject for understanding, but also as an object of control. Advanced theory and special problems, ideas of the founders and modern discoveries, pragmatic and cultural-cognitive aspects are represented in order to enrich as well as compete with each other. Such an overview assures the ability of the program to participate in a dialogue at an interdisciplinary level. Courses in this program complement a variety of disciplines, including history, politics, and business.
Emphasis is placed on analysis of traditional and non-traditional economic theories.
Students may design an individualized, interdisciplinary program in preparation for specialization in professional fields of regional studies, for example Asia and the Pacific Region, Political Processes in Post-Soviet Regions, or European Unity. The History Program is designed to give students a broad range of methods with which to analyze the historical experience of humanity and the relativity of cultural standards. It demonstrates the necessity of contextualization in the analysis of social, political, and cultural phenomena and the unity of those phenomena within the particular conditions of time and place. These topics are utilized to teach students basic critical methods and rules of historical research that are also useful in other fields. The program includes methods for the interpretation of texts for further research and for understanding different historical phenomena, especially those related to cultural and intellectual history.