Oriental studies specialty. What does an orientalist do? — Ideas about hierarchy are different

An orientalist is a scientific specialist who studies the languages, history, culture, literature, economics, ethnography and art of the peoples of Africa and Asia.

Wage

20,000–50,000 rub. (rabota.yandex.ru)

Place of work

Orientalists work in research institutes, universities, companies communicating with countries in Asia and Africa, in the media, publishing houses and libraries.

Responsibilities

The peoples of the East are ideologically different from Europeans. And, despite the diversity of cultures, they are all united by devotion to their traditions and ancestors. An orientalist must thoroughly understand the diversity of Afro-Asian regions.

Experts study monuments, folklore, household items, history, and traditions. Based on the data obtained, scientific views and concepts are developed, and scientific works are formed. In fact, the essence of the activity comes down to: research work, teaching, translations, writing scientific materials.

Orientalists can also work as translators, editors and consultants in foreign trade companies, media, libraries and publishing houses.

Important qualities

The following qualities are important in the profession: a penchant for research, perseverance, flexible character, focus on results, big interest to the East and its culture.

Reviews about the profession

“For us Westerners, it’s really not very clear what relation, for example, historical information has to business, to trade. We are accustomed to the fact that a person can come to any American state and live and work wonderfully there, without knowing whether Indians live in this state, when the first white settlers came there, etc. But in the East this is not the case. In China, if you have not read Confucius and cannot quote him appropriately, you will be considered a barbarian and treated accordingly. A specialist who is involved in setting up economic ties with the East, one cannot do without studying the history of countries and their traditions. If, having arrived in Shandong province, you are in conversation with Chinese partner remember that Confucius was born here, your chances of success will greatly increase.”

Alexey Maslov,
Head of the Department of Oriental Studies, National Research University Higher School of Economics.

Stereotypes, humor

A young man turns to an orientalist professor:
- Dear Apollinariy Aristarkhovich, I ask for your daughter’s hand in marriage!
“You know, young man,” the professor answers with pathos in his voice, “I must find out the answer from the Great Dragon, as the sages in the East have always done.”
- Apollinariy Aristarkhovich, this is not necessary. I have already received your wife’s blessing!

Education

To work as an orientalist, you need a higher specialized education. The direction is presented at St. Petersburg State University. Then you need to constantly improve your knowledge through books, lectures, seminars and travel.

Humanitarian universities in Moscow: Moscow Pedagogical State University, Institute liberal arts education And information technologies, Moscow State University named after M.V. Lomonosov.

The undergraduate degree at the HSE Department of Oriental Studies turned out to be one of the most popular among applicants in 2011: about a hundred students were enrolled in the first year, of which 47 were in budget places, instead of 40 planned, and the average score was 95 - the highest at HSE and one of the highest in Russia. The head of the department, Alexey Maslov, talks about how first-year students will be taught here.

Alexey Alexandrovich, for the second year in a row, applicants have shown noticeable interest in the HSE Department of Oriental Studies. What do you attribute this to? What prospects, in your opinion, are most significant for current applicants?

Indeed, we have been “breaking all records” for the second year now. And we have more students of oriental studies than the vast majority of other Russian and even foreign universities for similar specialties. If last year we had one of the highest competitions for oriental studies per place, and not only in of today's Russia, but also throughout history Soviet Union, then today we also had one of the highest passing scores in the country - an average of 95 points. I confess - we are proud of our students, their perseverance, passion and level of preparation.

And the point is not only in some special “rushing demand” for Oriental studies (although this factor is also present), there is a combination of two “interests” among applicants at once: in Oriental topics in general and in teaching Oriental studies specifically within the Higher School of Economics. At our Oriental Studies department we have several unique features, which you will not find in any other university.

Firstly, this free choice oriental language and specialization in general. Upon admission, the student himself has the right to choose an Eastern language, and in the first two weeks he can also change it after consultation with the teacher. All other universities determine in advance the number of applicants entering a particular language. And conflicts arise: what to do if you wanted to go to Chinese or Japanese, but there are no more places for it and the group is limited? Please go to another language - less popular. And it turns out that students for less popular languages ​​(although in fact very popular in real practice) are recruited on a “residual basis”. HSE is the only university that provides complete freedom of choice. And this is important, since the applicant chooses not just one of the eastern languages, thereby choosing the culture in which he will most likely live and work for decades.

Secondly, we are unique in our methods of teaching oriental languages. We not only have the most intensive workload (from 16 to 24 hours per week of the Eastern language), but also innovative methods and a wide variety of specialized courses.

Thirdly, we have many additional forms of education: the opportunity to study a second Eastern language, summer schools, internships, trainings, etc.

Fourthly, this is a unique composition of teachers - excellent experts on the East, excellent linguists and deep researchers. Thanks to HSE’s high brand, we have the opportunity to select truly the best personnel from the labor market. And finally, the department has an atmosphere of creative exploration and exciting learning.

- Which universities are HSE’s competitors in this area?

Strictly speaking, there are no direct competitors, but there are, of course, universities with much deeper traditions of teaching Oriental studies, primarily Moscow State University, St. Petersburg, and Far Eastern Federal University. But often deep traditions can also play a role negative role, manifested, for example, in outdated methods and approaches, isolation from modern realities East, the lack of impulse for innovation or, for example, in teaching those forms of the Eastern language that, due to the rapid development of Asian countries, have already become a thing of the past. We, fortunately, are free from all this. In many respects, we compete with ourselves, for example, in the popularity of admission, the development of new courses and methods, and the variety of programs. Russian university oriental studies are small in scale and cannot compete with each other. And the field of study “Oriental and African Studies” that we teach is quite rare in Russia. I say this with regret, since educational competition is the basis for improving training methods, and professional orientalists are in great demand today. We are not so much competing as we are jointly solving many issues of training orientalists with specialists from the Institute of Asian and African Studies at Moscow State University, Moscow State Linguistic University, and Russian State University for the Humanities.

If we take scientific, methodological training, the depth of course construction, then it makes sense for us to focus on the world's largest centers of Oriental studies, for example, in Berkeley, Cambridge, Yale, Hong Kong, Singapore.

However, there is special type“competition”, which has been flourishing in Russia over the past few years. Everything connected with the East - language, culture, politics, economics - is popular and attracts applicants. Therefore, some universities, lacking orientalist personnel, offer palliative solutions, for example, “economics with the Chinese language,” “philosophy with Arabic“or they teach some oriental specialization within the framework of “Regional Studies,” creating the illusion among applicants that they will study oriental studies. Unfortunately, most often this is self-deception: four hours a week of an oriental language and a couple of courses, say, in the history of Asia without any additional regional studies and fundamental training will not give any effect. And as a result, we get a lot of economists, journalists, political scientists who are extremely superficial knowledgeable about the features East, which give frankly erroneous judgments. Therefore, our competitors are not oriental university centers with strong traditions, but similar educational institutions. Just for the sake of comparison, I’ll give an example: the level of language proficiency of students in the HSE Department of Oriental Studies after the first year is higher than that of undergraduate graduates of other universities with so-called “specializations in the East,” as shown by student interuniversity competitions this year.

- Has the profession of orientalist always been popular?

Here one should not confuse “interest in the East” with “the popularity of the orientalist profession.” There has always been an interest in the countries and cultures of the East. I would name three factors for this. First, the cognitive factor: the East is fascinating, literally charming in the diversity of its culture. And it's always interesting. Secondly, the factor of self-knowledge. For us people Western culture, The East is like a mirror, we are trying to “identify” ourselves in it cultural values, confirm or, conversely, refute their own cultural, religious, economic views. The East is a challenge to our stereotypes and an expansion of our cultural horizons. Thirdly, it is extremely applied value“Engaging in the East” - it is in the East that the world’s largest problems can be solved today, and it is from there that a new economic and even civilizational impulse for development comes.

It is worth considering that we do not create the “popularity” of the East; applicants react to certain impulses that come from the media, from a certain “information aura”. Some are passionate about feng shui, some about anime, some about oriental martial arts, some about the philosophy of the East, and as a result, applicants decide to devote themselves to a deeper study of this region. And a lot depends on how popular a particular region is. Let me give you a well-known paradox - today we need good professionals in African countries, but due to the low popularity of this specialization, we are unlikely to be able to provide a large recruitment.

But now China is the center of interest, and many people have decided to study it. About 75% of our freshmen chose Chinese studies. There has been a steady interest in Japan over the past few decades. I also consider Arabic and Korean studies to be extremely promising areas, given the lack of professionals in this field.

But the most main factor- demand professional orientalists in any areas - from fundamental science and expert analytical work to civil service and business.

In his last interview, HSE Vice-Rector Grigory Kantorovich, commenting on the situation with admissions this year, said that the Department of Oriental Studies is experiencing a “normal overflow” of applicants, not as rushed as last year? Has the increase in applicants affected the learning process? What did last year show?

I admit, last year we did not expect such an influx of applicants - the admission was more than 170 people against 50 planned. But HSE fulfilled all its obligations - everyone who met the criteria was accepted. We, perhaps for the first time, solved a non-trivial problem: launch 17 language groups simultaneously instead of 5 planned with the same high quality training. And we not only did this, we developed unique technique“synchronization” of teaching in different language groups, having achieved that, for example, in 10 groups Chinese language students maintain an equal pace of learning, and this is important for assessing their knowledge in exams.

This year, primarily due to an increase in tuition fees, the number of applicants has become smaller - we accepted about 100 people. But their “quality” has become higher: the average passing grade has increased noticeably. Moreover, we increased the admission to budget places from 25 to 40, while the actual admission was 47 people to budget places.

Several trends can be identified here. Firstly, the motivation of applicants has noticeably increased. This year, people came to our Department of Oriental Studies, consciously choosing it from among several faculties large universities. It is characteristic that the overwhelming majority of Olympiad winners who applied to us along with other universities, for example, Moscow State University, ended up staying with us - they clearly understand what level of training they will receive. Secondly, a new generation of young people is beginning to come to us who have already studied Oriental languages ​​and, moreover, even have publications on Eastern countries. The School of Young Orientalists, created at the department, has shown great effectiveness, within the framework of which classes are taught free of charge for high school students: several of its students came to us for the first year. It is characteristic that, unlike other similar schools, our classes are taught not by students or graduate students, but by leading teachers and professors of the department. There is another trend - students come to us or even “re-enroll” from other universities who began studying Oriental Studies there, but were not satisfied with the quality of training or the internal atmosphere.

And based on the results of the first year of study, we can say that reality even somewhat exceeded our expectations. This concerns, first of all, the quality of student preparation. What is important here is not even how we evaluate them ourselves, but how they are evaluated “from the outside.” Just one example. Our Japanese students went to Japan and Macau for summer school. And there they passed the final certification, where they received no lower than “4+” on a five-point system, which surprised even the traditionally reserved Japanese.

- What innovations await students this year? How will the educational process be structured?

We are not standing still, there are a lot of innovations. I will list only the most basic ones. Firstly, we are starting courses taught by leading foreign orientalists in English language. We start with a course of lectures on South Asia by an Indian professor, and then the baton will be picked up by several lecturers from the largest European centers of oriental studies. Secondly, for the first time in Russia we are launching E-classes - regular lectures for Korean scholars together with the Seoul national university. Thirdly, we are actively transferring oriental studies to the widest possible use of multimedia and language technology - students from the very first days must learn to live in “forms” oriental culture. Fourthly, from the second year we are introducing the teaching of a second elective oriental language, in addition to those that we teach specialized (Chinese, Korean, Japanese, Arabic), Hebrew will also be added to them. Fifthly, we will not only continue, but also expand the tradition of summer schools in the countries of the East, which this year fully met our hopes, since we ourselves controlled all stages of preparation and conduct. By the way, speaking about forms of preparation, I do not exclude the possibility that within a few years, oriental studies at HSE will become attractive to students from the USA and Europe.

- What will be the first “important” event for freshmen in the new academic year?

And here we have originality. Throughout the first week of classes, we will read “Introduction to Oriental Studies” - a unique course in the presentation of material, which is designed to immediately immerse students in the specifics of learning, orient them in methods of approaching the East, and gradually transfer them from the level of lovers of the East to the level of competent, universally educated professionals . In a few years they will learn to think like oriental people, understand them, while maintaining your integral “I”, your cultural core. And on the first of September, hundreds of people will begin a fascinating journey to the East.

- In short, what are your wishes and parting words for first-year students?

I always wish one thing for future orientalists: patience in learning, maximum demands on themselves and respect for the culture they are studying.

Hello, dear readers – seekers of knowledge and truth!

Orientalist - there is something exotic and unusual in this word. In conditions of constant time pressure, continuous rush, you really want to touch the world where everything is measured, unhurried and there is always an hour or two for a tea ceremony or afternoon rest.

But it’s not enough to be a fan of anime and sushi, accept the deep philosophy of Confucius and dream of working somewhere on a Thai island studying culture. The profession of orientalist is fraught with much more; it requires enormous effort, many years of study, dedication to one’s calling and great love east.

Today’s article will tell you about all the intricacies of the specialty: what orientalists do, where they are taught, what real professionals should know and what key qualities they should have, whether this profession is in demand at all, and most importantly, whether it is worth mastering.

Students of the Faculty of Oriental Studies of St. Petersburg State University

This article will be useful to young people who are facing difficult life choice– choice of profession, adults, accomplished individuals, in in a good way"sick" eastern countries, as well as simply curious researchers of the world. So...

What does an orientalist do?

An orientalist is a person who knows everything about the East or its individual countries. This is a universal professional who understands a whole range of scientific disciplines regarding Asian and African countries.

This includes:

• story;
• cultural studies;
• economy;
• jurisprudence;
• geography;
• policy;
• literature;
• linguistics;
• art;
• philosophy;
• religion;
• material and spiritual heritage;
• cultural phenomena;
• holidays, customs and traditions;
• literary works;
• folklore;
• household items, etc.

Despite the wide range of sciences, an orientalist is a narrow specialist. He usually studies a specific country or region, such as China, Japan, Vietnam, Indochina or Southeast Asia. African studies is sometimes distinguished separately from oriental studies.

Nicholas Konstantinovich Roerich (09/27/1874-12/13/1947). Russian artist, orientalist, traveler, writer, mystic philosopher, public figure, academician

In this regard, orientalists who study specific countries, peoples or languages ​​can be called more highly specialized.

Here are just some of the sciences they deal with:

• Vietnam Studies;
• Buddhology;
• Sanskritology;
• Korean studies;
• Malaistics;
• Kalmyk studies;
• Sinology, also known as Sinology;
• Turkology.

It would seem that after so many years of scientific study of the cultures of other countries, everything has already been discovered, told and proven. But this is by no means true - every year oriental scientists explore the cultural heritage of Asia and find something new, becoming discoverers. Confirmation of this - great amount fresh scientific works, research, monographs, dissertations, concepts, scientific views.

Specialists do not just study theoretical foundations, they immerse themselves in the history and traditions of countries, get acquainted with their people, spend a huge practical work without visiting the country being studied. To fully understand what kind of profession an orientalist is, it takes them more than one year of continuous practice.

You can study the East only by seeing it from the inside. It is very different from the Western world, so globalized, focused on income, power and other attributes of a successful life.

Although Asian countries have come a long way in terms of modern technologies, technology, industry, and in some industries even go ahead of the rest, here the connection with the ancestors, traditions, and culture of the past remains strong. And orientalists, understanding this, study what is so important eastern peoples.

Nicholas Konstantinovich and Yuri Nikolaevich Roerichs during the Manchurian expedition, 1934

Moreover, their work is not limited to research institutes, translations, and teaching. Good specialists are also needed in the field of trade, business, when it comes to international relations.

It would seem, how are business and knowledge of culture connected? In the East they are even very connected! Knowing their traditions helps build relationships. For example, if we give our Chinese, Korean or Japanese partners a business card with one hand, they will be offended - in their homeland it is customary to hand important documents and gifts with both hands as a sign of respect. Knowing this, you can make Asian friends.

What qualities does he have?

Despite the narrowness of his specialty, an orientalist must be versatile personality and have a broad outlook.

First of all, he must know at least two foreign languages: English and the language of the country he is studying. Moreover, knowledge should not be limited literary language, rules of grammar, you should apply these rules in practice, be able to understand native speakers and master colloquial speech. This is complicated by the fact that eastern languages ​​have much less in common with Russian than European languages.

A specialist must know history, law, culture, religion, literature, art, customs, characteristics of the country being studied, and the current economic, social, and political situation. It is important to be able to summarize this information, work with documents for the archive, and write scientific works and articles for periodicals.

To the necessary personal qualities can be attributed good memory, emotional stability, patience, willingness to study long and hard. When choosing a profession as an orientalist, you need to understand that quick results you don’t have to wait - a lot depends on the person himself, his cognitive abilities, desire and love for the East.

Yuri Nikolaevich Roerich (08/16/1902-05/21/1960). Russian orientalist, linguist, art critic, ethnographer, traveler, language specialist, etc. Doctor philological sciences, professor, director of the Urusvati Institute of Himalayan Studies, head. Sector of Philosophy and History of Religion of the Institute of Oriental Studies of the USSR Academy of Sciences.

At the same time, the abilities that a professional must have depend on the specifics of the job. If this is a researcher, translator, editor, then he is required to be careful, persevering, and attentive. If this is an employee in the trade or business sector, then his communication skills will be important.

Where to get an education?

Before you firmly decide to become an orientalist, you need to study one of the oriental languages ​​at a basic level and prepare for the fact that studying will take a lot of time. Since the specialty is quite complex, it is mainly assumed to be a full-time course of study: 4 years of bachelor's degree and 2 years of master's degree, during which a foreign internship is usually planned.

Today there are more than 30 Russian universities give the opportunity to become an orientalist. The largest of them include:

• Moscow State University, Institute of Asian and African Countries;
• MGIMO;
• National Research University Higher School of Economics, Department of Oriental Studies;
• RSUH;
• RUDN;
• MSLU;
• St. Petersburg State University;
• Far Eastern Federal University;
• Siberian Federal University.

More detailed description faculties, specialties, information on the availability of budget and paid places, admissions committee can be found on official websites educational institutions.

Institute of Asian and African Countries, Moscow State University. M.V. Lomonosov

Even after receiving education, a specialist needs to constantly improve his skills, attend courses, lectures, seminars, read professional literature, go to practice abroad.

Where to find a job?

People around us often scare people with “horror stories” that orientalists are not in demand anywhere, and this is more of an activity for the soul. There may be some truth to this - finding work for new graduates and future professionals can be difficult. But this is only because it is quite difficult for young specialists without work experience in any field to get a good position.

In the profession of oriental studies, as in many other specialties, much depends on the person himself, his aspirations, desires, experience, and ambitions. But here there is a clear advantage over other university graduates against the backdrop of Russia’s growing rapprochement with Asian countries, globalization, the strengthening of mutually beneficial trade, social and economic relations, and the development of tourism.

Meeting of Russian scientists in Dharamsala, India

Orientalists can realize themselves in completely different areas:

• Research institutes, educational institutions;
• publishing houses, libraries, magazines, newspapers and other media;
• translations, editing;
• domestic, foreign and international organizations– as consultants, translators, specialists in foreign economic activity;
• public service.

Evgeny Yanovich Satanovsky (born June 15, 1959). Russian scientist, orientalist, economist, professional

Is it worth becoming an orientalist?

If you are still asking this question, then you definitely should. And it doesn’t matter how old you are, what level of education, gender, Family status, civil position. If you are head over heels in love with Eastern culture, then why not give it a try?

Of course, first you need to weigh everything - after all, even the eastern sages always avoided hasty decisions. And like any profession, it has its pros and cons.

The clear advantages are interest, the opportunity to travel, internships in foreign companies, mastery of several foreign languages, communication with representatives of another culture, quite a large number of budget places in universities upon admission, originality of the profession.

The disadvantages include possible problems with initial employment and low salaries at the initial stage.

If such difficulties do not frighten you, you should become the same pioneer who is exploring the still unknown world of the East.

Conclusion

The history of Russian oriental studies includes dozens and even hundreds of famous world-famous scientists who throughout their lives have been engaged in the study of oriental culture and have written many works. In subsequent articles we will introduce you to some of the most famous of them. Follow our blog news - subscribe to new fresh articles.

Thank you very much for your attention, dear readers! May your chosen one life path gives joy and novelty of discoveries. Share this article on in social networks, if you liked it, and we will search for the truth together.

The most common entrance exams:

• Russian language
• Mathematics ( a basic level of)
• History - specialized subject, at the choice of the university
• Russian language - at the choice of the university
• Foreign language - at the choice of the university
• Geography - at the choice of the university
• Social studies - by choice of university

Most universities offer students three exams upon admission, one of which is specialized - this is always history, then one exam to choose a university - Russian, foreign language, geography or social studies. Also, at its discretion, the university may offer an additional exam - usually a foreign language or social studies, depending on which exam was set as an elective.

A bachelor's specialist in this field is a qualified expert who understands a specific aspect of the life of the states of the region being studied. The specialty is interesting due to the possibility of complete immersion in language, culture, literature, history, political system and the economy of African countries and Eastern states, which involves an exciting learning process using modern technologies and techniques, as well as a visit to the region being studied as part of practice.

Brief description of the specialty

The specialty provides for several areas of study, when the bias can be made in favor of history, languages ​​and literature, economics or politics of Eastern and African states. However, in most cases, a bachelor must have a comprehensive knowledge and apply it in different areas. The range of knowledge includes social, ethno-confessional, political, economic, cultural, linguistic and other features of development eastern states and peoples. The application of accumulated knowledge is possible in international structures, economic enterprises, diplomatic organizations, transport companies, government bodies different levels, educational institutions, various cultural organizations etc.

Large universities

Due to the specific nature of studying the Asian and African regions, many universities that offer knowledge acquisition under this program are located not in the capital, but in that part of Russia that is closest to Asia, including the Far Eastern region, about. Sakhalin and nearby regions of the Russian Federation.

• Moscow State University named after M.V. Lomonosov;
• Moscow City Pedagogical University;
• Sakhalin State University;
• St. Petersburg branch of the National Research University " graduate School economics";
• Far Eastern Federal University;
• Amur State University named after Sholom Aleichem.

Terms and forms of training

Training in this specialty primarily involves exclusively full-time study lasting 4 years, but some universities may offer part-time or part-time courses. After completing the bachelor's program, you can continue your studies in the master's program in Oriental and African Studies, where the program is usually studied jointly with leading European and Asian universities.

Subjects studied by students

As part of mastering their specialty, students master interesting academic subjects which they study with benefit and pleasure. Regardless of the chosen profile, the following subjects are considered mandatory for study:

• introduction to oriental studies;
• history of the country or region being studied;
• physical and economic geography of the selected country or region;
• history of literature of the selected country or region;
• socio-political thought of eastern countries;
• history of religions of the selected country or region;
• English or other Western European language;
• oriental language;
• theory and practice of translation.

A specific training profile provides additional academic subjects, which include the following:

• linguistics;
• ethnology of the country or region being studied;
• historiography and source studies;
• religious and doctrinal systems of the countries of the East;
• international economic relations of Asian and African countries and others.

It is possible to study a second Eastern or African language.

Gained knowledge and skills

A bachelor's degree graduate has a wide range of knowledge and skills, thanks to which he can perform highly professional tasks, including:

• research actual problems countries of the East;
• take part in the study of historical, spiritual and cultural heritage Asian and African states;
• be fluent in at least one Western and Eastern language;
• classify and separate information for a specific country (region) in different languages;
• predict the development of societies in the countries of the East depending on their economic, social and political development;
• translate texts from Russian into Eastern languages ​​and back;
• develop different types contacts with eastern and African countries, establish and develop existing connections in the field of culture, science and education;
• conduct consultations with organizations and government agencies of our country regarding cooperation with eastern countries;
• design and program the trajectory of development of relations between the Russian Federation and the countries of the region being studied;
• teach oriental languages ​​and other disciplines.

As a rule, training programs give preference to one of the following eastern languages ​​- Arabic, Japanese, Chinese or Korean. However, some universities may offer study and rare languages. The choice of profiles is usually provided in one of three directions: historical and cultural, socio-economic or political development countries of the East.

Who to work with

Mastering the political, economic, social, cultural, ethno-confessional and linguistic characteristics of the region being studied allows one to find work in embassies and diplomatic missions, as well as in various foreign policy and foreign economic organizations. The most common professions in this field are represented by the following proposals:

• expert on a certain region/country/people (expert political scientist, expert cultural scientist, etc.);
• translator from one of the languages ​​being studied;
• orientalist;
• cultural scientist;
• linguist;
• art critic;
• editor/proofreader;
• referent;
• linguist, etc.

Regardless of your choice of specialty, you can count on wages from 40,000 rubles after completion of training. It is from this amount or more that the payment for a translator-referent starts. The remuneration of a political scientist starts from 60,000 rubles or more. Remuneration for diplomats with work experience can be significantly higher.