The role of the discourse of museum collections in the distance course on the history of ancient civilizations

Abstract

Distance education is a hotly debated subject in the scientific and pedagogical environment of the newest period; in the methodological literature, issues of practical and theoretical nature are actively discussed (from the effectiveness of remote servers to ethical issues that arise during classes). As a positive experience, the article presents the materials of practical classes of the course “History of civilizations”, which is read by the author at St Petersburg State University of Industrial Technologies and Design, in a distance format as well. The material is built according to the problem-chronological principle, that allows students to consolidate what they have learned in lectures, supplement their knowledge using various visualization and illustration methods, thus deepening their understanding of the topic as a whole. An indirect appeal to historical sources is possible when analyzing monographic studies on the cultures of ancient ethnic groups, the 18-volume encyclopedia “Disappeared Civilizations”, and the content of the official websites of world museums that store the heritage of ancient civilizations. M.Montaigne in “Experiments” used the term ‘civilization’ (1581). Descartes in “Discourse on Methods” contrasted the concepts of “wild” and “civilized”; Herder was one of the first to connect civilization with the development of culture, pointing to the civilization of the East as the most ancient. In the 19th century, the concepts of “civilization” and “culture” were synonymous. In the 20th century, anthropological understanding of culture as a result of acquired behavioral skills began to be replaced by the concept of civilization. The article is devoted to a thematic review of individual historical monuments of a number of ancient civilizations, stored in various museums around the world, which can serve as illustrations for the educational discipline “History of Civilizations” in a distance format. The choice fell on some ancient “disappeared civilizations” that arose in various historical and geographical conditions.

Keywords:

civilization, ancient history, museum, collections, culture, distance learning