A special case
The first event was deprived of the Humanities separate Fund, which would have spoken to them in a special language. The statements by the Russian Foundation for basic research that support the Humanities has not diminished after joining RHF, was not so largely confirmed by practice. A number of contests and grants has steadily declined.
Strategy NTR mentions the Humanities only in passing as a possible source of methodologies (along with the social Sciences) to formulate the answer to big challenges. Of course, such a formulation requires a detailed study of the man himself, as well as the "interaction of man and nature, man and technology, social institutions on the modern stage of global development". However, it's all a subordinate and dependent sound.
Pure Humanities gradually became persona non grata in the scientific politics. Her increasingly forced to look for some applied outcomes. This led to technologization, digitalization and securitization of humanitarian knowledge. Attempts to link humanitarian issues with technological solutions, digital competence and security issues added dynamic, but stripped of the format itself, the knowledge of the person in all its manifestations. However, let with full budgetary support to carry out research in universities – they have ceased to be purely fundamental.
The situation is certainly not as critical as you think you are prone to dramatization scientists. Strategy NTR provides not only priority areas of scientific-technological development, but also fundamental science. In the framework of the Program of fundamental researches of a possible implementation of the humanitarian projects, which, however, is not very fit to budget rules for universities. They are going to change, but the final decision is still pending.
With the assessment of Humanities research is not simple. Tradition is the scope focused not on the article, and the sources and monographs. This causes problems with the use of scientometrics. Moreover, the Web of Science index on the arts and Humanities does not imply the definition of the quartiles and the impact factor. If not hooked classification in social Sciences some of these quantitative data either about the magazine or about the article to not work. This poses additional challenges with the introduction of the coefficients. Whether to consider such cases for the most expensive "tax" as the first quartile in other areas of knowledge? Or, on the contrary, in low – as in 3-4? Will it track these publications with the assessment of the achievement of indicators of the national project "Science"? There are lots of issues and simple solutions is not trivial.
The Humanities are often involved in national and local subjects, which is not always interesting to foreign audiences. This is a normal situation, but leads to problems with plans and reports publications in the framework of grant programs, and state assignment. However, this does not diminish the value of the research, including for the state.
No less large in this region the inertia of thinking traditional forms of publication activity (in the traditional domestic journals and continuing publications), specialization in narrow subjects.
All these circumstances lead to the fact that very often projects in the Humanities and grants them "quoted" by a residual principle.
People
Humanists are not so numerous as even the representatives of the social Sciences, especially doctors or technicians. But among them the most integrated space of academic and University science, as well as higher education.
The fact that the hungry zero and the background of the stimulation of University science a significant part of the scientists went into teaching, especially because they had the cards on hand – communication and the ability to write articles, for which reporting was required more and more. Universities with a worthy humanitarian level has always been little, so for Moscow, for example, a significant portion of the community has the affiliation of the HSE, Ranepa, Russian state University for Humanities or Moscow state University. For regions – local and Federal(or) state University. People who have kept full-time employment in academic institutions, much less.
These crossings give rise to its problems in the thesis – it is necessary to find organizations and personalities that are mutually parallel and digested would be presented to defense approaches. And at least tolerated each other, if you cannot shuffled deck of mutual respect.
At the same time, in the humanitarian sphere, above all the percentage of people with advanced degrees, which is not surprising – technicians and laboratory assistants there is almost not needed. Only scientists.
Incidentally, these same factors make the "party" is very close. A number of experts on a focused topic amounts to a maximum of a few dozen across the country. So all know each other – hence the constant conflicts of interest in matters of examination of applications or reports. "Cute" learn to walk, features writing, and even favorite quotes.
Along with the difficulties with the quantitative assessment of the results of research in the Humanities has been one of the most powerful among the other fields of knowledge, but at the same ossified reputational mechanisms. Here is a very sharp disputes among the regional schools, career scored over any action, leaders can ruin a career of a young scientist with a pen.
It was here, in the humanitarian sphere, still twitching in agony tips "dinosaur" whose members do not know the modern scientific terms. The worst situation was for many years at MSU. In this space inhabited by magazines, editors which don't do anything to develop your edition.
Note that in the field of Humanities and social Sciences to unfold a very interesting educational experiments – vengeance is a fight between the Institute of social Sciences the Academy and the Higher school of Economics. All offer very specialized courses and technologyservice, on the contrary – the overall direction of the format with an equally broad "specializations. They have in common is the fact that everywhere is very big variability in the implementation of educational programs. And more recently – the desire to transfer the maximum part of them online (at least lectures).
On the other hand, Humanities courses provide a very good "addition" for all other programs. Students often choose to take a break from hardcore "tegnestue".
Elder history
These problems and experiments do not mean that this area does not have a policy and a elite.
One of the key players is the Institute of General history, and his supervisor (and before that for many years the permanent Director) Mr. Chubaryan. Quickly enough he realized that we have mentioned above the loss of Humanities from the scientific and technological agenda, it is possible to create political capital.
Even in the summer many of the leading humanists of the country began to receive letters urging them to share their ideas – how to get back the rightful place of the Humanities in the strategy of the NTR and the national project "Science." Small text of the letter was full of distortions, and demonstrated almost complete disorientation of its initiators in the processes of science policy and the structure of its strategic documents. However, this simple crowdsourcing (as expected) was developed in the framework of the recently held round table.
Participants noted the dehumanization of scientific and technical process and adopted a resolution in which it noted the need for the development of the concept of humanitarian and technological development of the Russian Federation as one of the main directions of the national project "the Science" and Program of fundamental researches of Russia. Also, in their opinion, requires the inclusion in the passport of the "Science" of humanitarian technologies as one of the priority areas of the plan of development of scientific and scientific-industrial cooperation, the organization of scientific-educational centers of the international level on the basis of integration of universities and scientific organizations.
What is so beating elder history Chubaryan? The reasons are the same – budgets and subjectivity. The implementation of this Concept is to get the budget, will not deny the power of the Humanities in the pursuit of humanism. Moreover, the humanitarian-technological theme looks quite applied and practice-oriented. However, historians are hard to keep up with the speed of their processes – hence late with this resolution and initiatives concerning the passport of the national project at least two months.
The second reason is existential. Yet, FANO plans to seriously simplify the structure of scientific organizations in the field of social Sciences and Humanities. With the advent of the Ministry of education, these ideas closer to implementation. In particular, it is proposed to create a single Institute for the history where you can combine all the organizations and groups that deal with processes, for example, until 1991 (or any other). And by analogy is one powerful institution in international relations, global and regional issues, which would lead to modernity. It is obvious that the Institute of General history – the first in the queue for the separation and optimization.
Save all of these organizations from the productive integration of the personnel and their supervisors and (less frequently) of Directors. And they are anxious to secure their institutions and their positions optimized.
However, such actions allowed Chubaryan to usurp the role of the voice of domestic Humanities – he embodies the idea of self-regulation community.
Humanitarian convergence
The second most powerful player in the field of humanitarian (and social) Sciences is the Kurchatov Institute.
Mikhail Kovalchuk is actively performing on the field not only that resemble natural ones, but convergent technologies, some of which are very humanitarian. And Kurzetnik is one of the main think tank on the concept of the Strategy of scientific and technological development. He about one and a half years developing the Outlook on the priority associated with the response to big challenges and socio-Humanities methodology.
Such "nepravilnosti" of the Humanities for the Kurchatov Institute produces an ambivalent situation. On the one hand, there is a real danger of the final marginalization of the humanitarian sphere as alien to scientific and technological breakthroughs. On the other, this detachment can be useful – at least, it will be possible at the highest level of care to avoid unnecessary politicization.
Indeed, one of the key problems of research and expertise in social and humanitarian sphere is excessive distortion (especially public opinion) in favor of political interests and narrow subjective interests of individual scientists and experts. It is all greatly devalue the Humanities.
However, man is still to break, and hence human, social, legal and humanitarian dimension of change. This was a President Putin on the meeting of the Council for development of civil society and human rights:
"All of these changes, new technologies, new projects are large scale, of course, must go hand in hand with the development of society itself, with increasing maturity of the state itself. This is not, of course, to allow for the solution of global challenges of breakthrough lost and a concrete man with his daily chores and needs. The Council mission today is to help the state and society to keep these matters in the zone of constant attention."
And earlier, at the meeting of the world Russian people's Council, he put the question: "How harmoniously will be combined with technological innovations and the ethical and moral standards."
This is the "humanitarian program" breakthrough in the understanding of the whole complex of relations within the state and in the international arena, the study of the past to avoid mistakes in the future, the consideration of man as a Central feature of all systems of interactions. Humanitarian knowledge is "control and supervision" for other industries.
This is another area of development with other basic and applied – can make new contents of such studies.
Self-reflection of the scientific community and in General throughout the country – takes place in the Humanities. So they are valuable and often uncomfortable. To all who will coordinate the development of Humanities in the country will bear the great responsibility to work on very phantom and subtle level of understanding. To give the right to the self-regulation community (conditional group of Chubaryan) is the risk of drowning in the squabbles and warped in favor of market conditions knowledge, but in the end – closure and degeneration of the Humanities. Pass it neutral and powerful scientific structure (conditionally – "a group effort") is the risk that it will not be able to understand the specialness of humanitarian mindset and results.
Scientific policy in the humanitarian sphere presented the highest demands for accuracy practice, the balance of interests and the breadth of strategic vision.
Source: https://t.me/scienpolicy
Tags: assessment , Russia , innovation