The Faculty of Humanities was created on December 1, 2014. It trains instructors and researchers in the field of language and literature, as well as specialists in philosophy, history, and modern culture.
The main goal of the faculty is to teach students how to understand and analyse various cultural processes, employ current research strategies, and effectively put their knowledge into practice.
The faculty’s staff are leading Russian academics and practitioners from various cultural fields, as well as invited foreign specialists. Students receive a modern education in the humanities, as well as thorough language preparation, which allows them to find extensive professional opportunities upon graduation. Students are given the opportunity to conduct research and gain practical experience at major private and public establishments.
Our strengths:
1. Interdisciplinary approach
We study the humanities alongside other academic fields so that students can apply their skills in various areas.
2. International cooperation
We maintain active international ties, which allows students to undertake internships and study abroad, as well as broaden their outlook and cultural experiences.
3. Research
We encourage and support student participation in research projects. This gives them an opportunity to apply their knowledge in practice and make a contribution to the development of the humanities.
Our graduates pursue careers in public and commercial organisations and various types of mass media. They also implement their own media, cultural, social, and educational projects.
.jpg)
Publications
-
Book
The T-Stems in Soqotri. A Contribution to Semitic Detransitivising Derivation
The book presents the results of a field research on the verbal system of Soqotri, a little-known language spoken on the island of Soqotra in the Arabian sea and belonging to the Modern South Arabian branch of Semitic. The investigation focuses on the so-called T-stems (marked by the infix -t-), mostly employed as derivational means of detransitivisation. The book contains comprehensive descriptions of their synchronic morphology and semantics, as well as an evaluation of their origin, taking into consideration the data from the major branches of Semitic languages. The diachronic dimension involves both the morphological reconstruction and reflections on the semantic development of T-stems in Semitic. Simultaneously, the study is a contribution to the general typology of detransitivising derivation in the languages of the world.
Leiden: Brill, 2024.
-
Article
Abnormalities in both stimulus-induced and baseline MEG alpha oscillations in the auditory cortex of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder
The neurobiology of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is hypothetically related to the imbalance between neural excitation (E) and inhibition (I). Different studies have revealed that alpha-band (8–12 Hz) activity in magneto- and electroencepha- lography (MEG and EEG) may reflect E and I processes and, thus, can be of particular interest in ASD research. Previous findings indicated alterations in event-related and baseline alpha activity in different cortical systems in individuals with ASD, and these abnormalities were associated with core and co-occurring conditions of ASD. However, the knowledge on auditory alpha oscillations in this population is limited. This MEG study investigated stimulus-induced (Event-Related Desynchronization, ERD) and baseline alpha-band activity (both periodic and aperiodic) in the auditory cortex and also the relationships between these neural activities and behavioral measures of children with ASD. Ninety amplitude-modulated tones were presented to two groups of children: 20 children with ASD (5 girls, Mage = 10.03, SD = 1.7) and 20 typically developing controls (9 girls, Mage = 9.11, SD=1.3). Children with ASD had a bilateral reduction of alpha-band ERD, reduced baseline aperiodic-adjusted alpha power, and flattened aperiodic exponent in comparison to TD children. More- over, lower raw baseline alpha power and aperiodic offset in the language-dominant left auditory cortex were associated with better language skills of children with ASD measured in formal assessment. The findings highlighted the alterations of E / I balance metrics in response to basic auditory stimuli in children with ASD and also provided evidence for the contribution of low-level processing to language difficulties in ASD.
Brain Structure and Function. 2024. Vol. 229. P. 1225-1242.
-
Book chapter
Back to Basics: Does Geomancy Still Influence Urban Sustainability in North Korea?
The chapter examines how sustainable urban development was traditionally achieved in the settlements of the northern part of Korea. First, it provides an overview of the basics of urban sustainability. Second, the chapter details the history of urban sustainability in premodern Korea. Finally, the chapter analyzes whether p’ungsu chiri sŏl, also referred to as p’ungsu, helped Korean cities acquire their sustainability. Undoubtedly, the term “urban sustainability” is a product of the modern era, but this chapter explores how Korean states considered urban sustainability from a historical perspective. Ever since the late Silla period, Koreans carefully followed the rules of p’ungsu chiri sŏl, a “geographical theory of wind and water,” also known as the Korean variation of feng shui. In Korea, this theory developed its own traits, apart from the Chinese original. The p’ungsu chiri sŏl worldview explained many facets for living a prosperous life, including how to select sites for tombs, dwellings, and cities. The theory penetrated deeply into the Korean state political system, Korean philosophy, and Korean culture, and it still influences society on both sides of the Korean Peninsula. In short, p’ungsu chiri sŏl appears to have helped bring about a robust, unique form of Korean urban sustainability.
In bk.: Pursuing Sustainable Urban Development in North Korea. Routledge, 2024. Ch. 12. P. 165-175.
-
Working paper
You shall know a piece by the company it keeps. Chess plays as a data for word2vec models
In this paper, I apply linguistic methods of analysis to non-linguistic data, chess plays, metaphorically equating one with the other and seeking analogies. Chess game notations are also a kind of text, and one can consider the records of moves or positions of pieces as words and statements in a certain language. In this article I show how word embeddings (word2vec) can work on chess game texts instead of natural language texts. I don't see how this representation of chess data can be used productively. It's unlikely that these vector models will help engines or people choose the best move. But in a purely academic sense, it's clear that such methods of information representation capture something important about the very nature of the game, which doesn't necessarily lead to a win.arxiv.org. Computer Science. Cornell University, 2024