Art History and Archeology in the Educational Space of Revolutionary Russia: Two Unknown Projects of 1917

Abstract

A discussion on the reform of higher education in humanities in Russia in the spring of 1917 is analyzed. At the center of this discussion, questions regarding the organization of the teaching of general history of arts and archeology at Petrograd University and in technical colleges are considered. This discussion reflected the long process of delimitation of a number of disciplines (classical philology, history of art, archeology) and the formation of their own research and teaching field. Two earlier unknown documents are published: a letter from S. A. Zhebelev to V. N. Rakint, the Scientific Secretary of the Institute of History of Arts, and a note by V. Ya. Kurbatov “About teaching of the history of art in the higher technical educational institutions” from the funds of the Central State Archive of Literature and Arts. These documents expand our ideas of the history of the reforming of the higher school in 1917–1922, and the final delimitation of history of arts and archeology not only as academic disciplines, but also as educational directions. Zhebelev’s letter and Kurbatov’s note characterize the atmosphere in the Russian pedagogical environment of 1917–1922, when large-scale and effective reforms of the higher school were possible. It is obvious that some of the ideas stated during the given discussion and realized during the formation of the faculty of social sciences of Petrograd University are relevant today as well: curricula, training of teaching staff, emphasis on practical use of theoretical knowledge, and a polydisciplinary approach in the educational process.