The Department of Cultural Studies was founded in 1991 at Kirov State Pedagogical Institute. At that time the idea of creating a new Department that would study history and theory of culture was announced. In 1991 academic year there was a group of lectures teaching ethics, aesthetics and world culture at the Institute. They became the basic staff of the new Department. Sergey Alexandrovich Lipin the Doctor of Philological Sciences became the first head of the Department. In 1997 the Candidate of Art Criticism Natalia Ivanovna Pospelova took over this position. Then the Department was headed by the Doctor of Philological Sciences Nina Osipovna Osipova from 1998 to 2005. Then the Department was guided by the Candidate of Art Сriticism Irina Valentinovna Berova up to 2007, when the position passed on to the Candidate of Culturology Marina Petrovna Golenok till 2014. From 2014 to 2016 the Department was directed by the Candidate of Culturology Natalia Valerievna Klementyeva.
At the same time, there was opened another Department of cultural studies in 2002 in another Kirov University. That was Vyatka State University. It was founded and initially headed by the Doctor of Philological Sciences Sergey Alexandrovich Lipin. After him this position was taken over by the Candidate of Culturology Elvira Viktorovna Gmyzina (2007-2014). From 2014 to 2016 the Department was headed by the Candidate of Culturology Marina Petrovna Golenok. After the reorganization of two leading higher education institutions of Kirov region (vyatGGU and VyatSU) these two Departments of Cultural Sciences united into one in 2016.
Since 2016 Marina Petrovna Golenok has been guiding the Department at the Basic University.
Study Programs
The following study programs are available now at the Department of Cultural Studies:
- Cultural Studies (Bachelor’s Degree)
- Cultural Studies. Technologies of Social and Cultural Projecting (Master’s Degree)
- Theory and History of Culture (Post-graduate Degree)
