Comparative Studies of Ideas and Cultures (Third level)

Study programme: Comparative Studies of Ideas and Cultures
Main fields of study: anthropology, archaeology, philosophy, linguistics, Slovene studies, history
Name of the qualification: Doctoral diploma
Qualification title: Ph. D. (Doctor of Philosophy)
Qualification abbreviation: dr.
Final examination: no

Programme director: prof.dr. Jelica Šumič Riha
ECTS coordinator: prof.dr. Iztok Arčon

Programme description

The doctoral program Comparative Studies of Ideas and Cultures is hosted by the Scientific Research Center of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts (ZRC SAZU) and is based on intellectual exchange of foreign and Slovenian instructors, researchers, and students in the humanities and social sciences. The program involves researchers and university instructors that are experts in fields spanning philosophy, archeology, history, ethnology, folklore studies, anthropology, art history, linguistics, literary sciences, and sociology. The program combines some traditional, classic knowledge and approaches (relevant for Slovenia, southeast Europe, and science in general) with interdisciplinary and comparative approaches, thus enhancing historical, social, and political contextualization of relevant issues. The program transcends the limits of conventional disciplines and cultural boundaries, and promotes critical analysis of contemporary global issues. The students become acquainted with leading ideas, representations, concepts, and practices that continue to shape contemporary Europe and closely related environments. They learn to recognize the interdependencies of bilateral and multilateral processes of cultural exchanges, and to critically approach the current dialectical relationships between apparently static tradition and endlessly changing life, between equality and diversity, and between special local features and global trends.

The doctoral program Comparative Studies of Ideas and Cultures consists of six modules: • Anthropology: Cosmologies, Communities, Events (module coordinator Borut Telban, associate professor) • Archeology: Millennia between the Adriatic and the Danube (module coordinator Jana Horvat, assistant professor) • Transformation of Modern Thought: Philosophy, Psychoanalysis, Culture (module coordinator Rado Riha, associate professor) • Language as Social Practice in Shaping Ideology, Memory, and Identity (module coordinator Tanja Petrović, assistant professor) • Cultural History (module coordinator Oto Luthar, full professor) • Slovenian Studies: Tradition and Modernity (module coordinator Marjetka Golež Kaučič, assistant professor)

Admission requirements

To qualify for entry into the graduate program Comparative Studies of Ideas and Cultures, applicants must satisfy the following admission requirements:

• have completed a 2nd cycle master’s study preogramme;
• have completed at least a four-year academic undergraduate programme accredited with 240 ECTS credits;
• have completed a specialization after previously finished professional study programme, and had passed additional study obligations within 30 to 60 ECTS credit points;
• have completed an equivalent program abroad;

If the number of applicants exceeds the 20 available slots, they are selected based on previous academic achievement.

Educational and professional goals

The Comparative Studies of Ideas and Cultures graduate program was designed by researchers at the Scientific Research Center of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts (ZRC SAZU) and is run at the ZRC SAZU in Ljubljana. In 2008, it was accredited by the Council for Higher Education of the Republic of Slovenia. The program is based on intellectual exchange of foreign and Slovenian instructors, researchers, and students in the humanities and social sciences. The program involves researchers and university instructors that are experts in fields spanning philosophy, archeology, history, ethnology, folklore studies, anthropology, art history, linguistics, literary studies, and sociology. The program combines some traditional, classic knowledge and approaches (relevant for Slovenia, southeastern Europe, and science in general), and is also enhanced by interdisciplinary and comparative approaches, and through historical, social, and political contextualization of relevant issues. It thus transcends the limits of conventional disciplines and cultural boundaries, and promotes critical analysis of contemporary global issues. The students become acquainted with leading ideas, representations, concepts, and practices that continue to shape contemporary Europe and closely related environments. They learn to recognize the interdependencies of bilateral and multilateral processes of cultural exchanges, and critically approach the current dialectical relationships between apparently static tradition and endlessly changing life, between equality and diversity, and between special local features and global trends.

Access to further studies

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Examination and assessment regulations

Each course has three exam dates set at the beginning of the year. The rules of the exam process depend on the content and course’s specific characteristics; the exam may thus consist of either exam papers or projects, and particular attention is paid to oral exams. This encourages a more active and creative approach, focusing on developing speaking skills and coherent argumentation in a discussion. Individual research work is assessed in regular interim reports; the final assessment is given by the Research Council, based on the final report presented by the student before supervisors and students. The exact rules concerning exam procedures are given in each course description. Ten days after the student passes the exam and no later than 30 September of the academic year, the instructor must submit a written statement to the Graduate Studies Administrator stating whether a student passed the exam or not. The program is completed when the PhD qualifying exam is taken before a three-member committee.

Once enrolled, the student chooses a supervisor in a relevant field and selects course units for a total of 18 credits (6 credits of required courses and 12 credits of elective course units); this selection must be approved by the supervisor. These courses can be also selected from other institutions’ programs. In the first year, in agreement with the supervisor, the student prepares an extensive term paper related to his or her doctoral dissertation, consisting of a relevant literature review and presentation of the state of the art in the field. The presentation and defense of the assignment must be completed in the first year. Presentation of this assignment and at least 75% participation in a research seminar is worth 26 credits, and an additional 16 credits may be acquired by conducting research defined in agreement with the supervisor at the beginning of the year. Before proceeding to second year, the student must: • Pass an exam in a required course unit • Fulfill research seminar requirements a (term paper and 75% course participation) • Conduct independent research In order to enter the second year, the student must have earned at least 48 of 60 credits. Before proceeding to the third year, the student must: • Pass all first- and second-year exams • Satisfy research seminar requirements (75% participation) • Conduct independent research In order to enter the third year, the student must have 120 credits. Once in the third year, the student is required to do research leading to a dissertation.

Course structure diagram

Module slovene Studies – tradition and modernity

Module cultural History

Module anthropological module: Cosmologies, communitites, events

Module archaeological module:Millennia between the Adriatic and the Danube

Module the Transformation of Modern thought – Philosophy, Psychoanalysis, Culture

Module language as social practice in shaping ideology, memory, and identity