Models of Dissertation Defense: From Post-Reform University to Soviet Era (Case of Saint Petersburg University)
https://doi.org/10.24224/2227-1295-2023-12-10-452-472
Abstract
This study explores the issue of obtaining academic degrees in prerevolutionary Russia, a process that was an integral part of scientific initiation, allowing individuals to enter the ranks of the country’s intellectual elite. The aim of this paper is to determine the interplay between socio-political, corporate, and scientific elements in shaping the discourse of academic disputation. The analysis presented herein draws upon data primarily concerning Saint Petersburg University, which was a leading center for Russian scholarly activity. Specifically, this research utilizes unpublished materials from the minutes of the University Council meetings, journals of public assemblies of various faculties, and archives managed by the Saint Petersburg educational district, containing information on planned disputes. The authors conclude that there were eight formal obstacles a candidate had to overcome in the pursuit of a degree. The key hurdle was access to the public defense, which was a closed affair, being an internal corporate matter that excluded not only the degree candidate but also external authorities and society at large. The public defense of a thesis served more as a socially significant rite of corporate initiation, demonstrating the public importance of the corporation.
Keywords
history of higher education,
Saint Petersburg University,
dissertation defense,
university culture,
history of science,
anthropology of science
Supporting agencies: The study is supported by Russian Science Foundation, project number 23-18-00048, https://rscf.ru/en/project/23-18-00048/
About the Authors
E. A. Rostovtsev
Tomsk State University; St. Petersburg State University
Russian Federation
Russian Federation
Evgeny A. Rostovtsev - Doctor of History, Associate Professor Leading Researcher, Professor.
Tomsk, St. Petersburg
I. V. Sidorchuk
Tomsk State University; St. Petersburg State University
Russian Federation
Russian Federation
Ilya V. Sidorchuk - PhD in History, Associate Professor, Senior Researcher.
Tomsk, St. Petersburg
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Review
For citations:
Rostovtsev E.A., Sidorchuk I.V. Models of Dissertation Defense: From Post-Reform University to Soviet Era (Case of Saint Petersburg University). Nauchnyi dialog. 2023;12(10):452-472. (In Russ.) https://doi.org/10.24224/2227-1295-2023-12-10-452-472
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