Transformation of university history education against the backdrop of the digital era: academic and methodological seminar at Moscow State University

Borodkin Leonid Doctor of History Corresponding Member of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Professor, Head of the Department for Historical Information Science at Lomonosov Moscow State University (MSU) 119991, Russia, Moskva oblast', g. Moscow, ul. Lomonosovskii Prospekt, 27-4 borodkin-izh@mail.ru Other publications by this author

In this issue of the journal, the main section is "Information Technology in historical education". It contains articles by a number of authors who made presentations at the All-Russian Scientific and Methodological Seminar with international participation, which took place on January 27, 2024 at the Faculty of History of Moscow State University. The seminar "Digital transformation of University historical education and the development of educational programs in the field of Historical Informatics and related programs" was organized by the Faculty of History of Moscow State University (with the direct participation of the Department of Historical Informatics) and the interregional association "History and Computer" (AIC). Such a seminar is traditionally held at the Moscow State University Faculty of History at the end of January (in recent years, its holding has been hampered by covid restrictions).

Scientific and methodological educational seminar at Moscow State University

In 2024, the seminar program included the following main areas:

· experience in the development of master's and bachelor's degree programs in historical computer science, as well as related programs;

· Digital technologies in the teaching of historical disciplines.

The seminar was held in a hybrid format: face-to-face and remotely. More than 80 people representing universities from six countries took part in its work. The reports were accompanied by a large number of questions and comments in the chat.

At the opening of the seminar, the Deputy Dean for Academic Affairs of the Faculty of History of Moscow State University, Associate Professor O.S. Petrova and Vice-President of the AIC, Professor V.N. Vladimirov, made welcoming remarks.

The report of Associate Professor G.V. was presented at the plenary session. Mozhaeva (HSE) “Current trends in the development of higher education in 2024: on digitalization and beyond.” The report noted that digital technologies, services and tools have a significant impact on the field of education, giving rise to many new trends. In order to effectively involve students in learning, teachers must be aware of the latest developments, innovative teaching methods and key factors affecting learning. By understanding these trends, it is possible to create a more dynamic and productive learning environment. The report presented the directions of digitalization of higher education relevant for 2024, supporting the tasks of managing the educational process, designing and developing educational solutions, and organizing training based on modern methods and tools. The interpenetration of educational environments, multimodal pedagogy, learning through challenge, collaborative, mixed, hybrid and nano–learning, the use of generative artificial intelligence, virtual and augmented reality are far from a complete list of digitally born technologies that will determine the development of advanced higher education in 2024.

The further work of the seminar took place in two parallel sections.

Two groups of reports were presented at the section "Experience in the development of specialized educational programs and courses: historical informatics and related profiles".   

The first group contained 11 reports characterizing the specialization in historical informatics, operating at the Faculty of History of Moscow State University. In the report of L.I. Borodkin "Specialization "Historical Informatics" at Moscow State University (bachelor's, master's, postgraduate studies): orientation towards the increment of historical knowledge" the evolution of this educational "line" over the past decade was presented. Another 10 reports demonstrated the department's experience in teaching general courses and special disciplines taught by the department, including new courses introduced in recent years into the curriculum:

· Salomatina S.A. Data analytics in R: features of the discipline of the variable part of Bachelor's degree programs in history;

· Garskova I.M. Digital technologies and complex methods of analysis of mass sources within the framework of specialization in historical informatics;

· Valetov T.Ya. Experience in teaching the basics of historical geography and geoinformation systems at the Department of Historical Informatics of the Faculty of History of Moscow State University;

Volodin A.Y. Promt as a search: the tasks of teaching Internet heuristics in a GPT situation;

· D.I. Zherebyatev. The experience of teaching courses at Moscow State University on the topic of preserving cultural heritage in digital 3D format: new challenges and modern approaches;

Dmitrieva A.V. Seminar on the course "Computer Science and Mathematics" at the Faculty of History of Moscow State University through the eyes of students: microanalysis of macro problems;

· Ilyashenko V.A. Experience teaching the course "Python Programming Language for Historians";

· Polevaya A.N. From the experience of teaching the course "Information Technology" to external undergraduates at the historical faculty of Lomonosov Moscow State University;

· Mironenko M.S. Experience of using virtual and augmented reality technologies in the educational process at the Faculty of History of Moscow State University;

Borodkin L.I., Garskova I.M. General course "Data Science and artificial intelligence" for historians-undergraduates of Moscow State University: an analysis of three years of experience.

The second group of reports of this section was devoted to the development of similar educational programs in universities of Russia and the Republic of Belarus. The report by O.L. Lipnitskaya (Minsk) presented the experience of developing Belarusian master's degree programs of this profile; in the report by E.V. Baranova and V.N. Maslov (Kaliningrad) – the experience of conducting "Digital Humanities" in the humanitarian areas of bachelor's degree at the Baltic Federal University named after I. Kant; in the report by V.N. Vladimirova (Barnaul) - experience in implementing an educational program on the profile "Applied Informatics in the Humanities" at Altai State University; in the report of A.A. Akasheva (Nizhny Novgorod) – experience in teaching information technology in the training of historians at Nizhny Novgorod State University named after N.I. Lobachevsky from the 1980s to the 2020s. In the report of S.A. Akasheva (Nizhny Novgorod) - experience in teaching information technology in the training of historians at Nizhny Novgorod State University named after N.I. Lobachevsky from the 1980s to the 2020s.A. Bakanova (Chelyabinsk) described the experience of teaching the disciplines "Digital History, quantitative methods and information technologies in historical research" and "Digital environment of the University" at Chelyabinsk State University.

The presentations of the participants of the second section "Digital technologies in teaching historical disciplines" introduced the seminar participants to the experience of a number of universities. In the reports of Yu.V. Stepanova Yu.V. (Moscow) and V.V. Kanishchev (Tambov) The experience of using electronic resources and digital technologies in teaching historical subjects at the Faculty of History of Tver State University and in teaching the course "Social History of Russia" at Tambov State University (respectively) was presented.

In a number of presentations, the experience of using it in the educational process was discussed   artificial intelligence technologies and data science. This applies, for example, to the reports of R.B. Konchakov (Moscow, RANEPA) "Teaching history and historical data infrastructure: trends and challenges", S.V. Shpirko (Moscow, RSUH) "Artificial intelligence in textual modeling", A.I. Pavlenko A.I. (Moscow, MPSU) "The use of artificial neural networks in research the political history of Russia (on the example of the crisis of autumn 1993)".

In three reports of the second section, new formats of educational work that have been introduced in universities in recent years were considered. E.V. Bobrova (Moscow) presented the experience of teaching the discipline "Project Activity" at RUT (MIIT), A.S. Shchetinina (Barnaul, Altai State University) made a report on the work of the tutor of the digital department for students The Institute of History and International Relations of the S.I. Kornienko and I.D. Ismakaeva AltSU (HSE - Perm) presented the experience of the Scientific and Educational Group "Zemstvo Self-government in Russia as a factor of socio-cultural transformation ...", focusing on the scientific partnership of students and teachers.

The seminar ended with a round table, the participants of which discussed current problems and prospects for the digital transformation of university historical education. Sharp discussions arose about the possibilities of using artificial intelligence technologies (in particular, ChatGPT) in teaching historical subjects. Topical topics were also outlined for the program of the next seminar, scheduled for January 2025.

It should be noted that during the meetings of the seminar there was a noticeable interest in the educational process in the field of "Historical Informatics", which has developed at the Faculty of History of Moscow University over the past two decades ^[1]. Below is a brief description of this experience, the components of which were discussed in the reports of teachers of the Department of Historical Informatics of Moscow State University, presented at the meeting of the first section of the seminar.

Historical Computer Science at Moscow State University:
educational profile in the context of digital transformation

The peculiarity of the cathedral educational programs of the bachelor's and master's degree is the close connection of the disciplines taught within the curriculum with the problems of scientific work of the teachers of the department.

The Department of Historical Informatics develops several relevant areas of scientific and educational activities. The priority is the application of mathematical methods and digital technologies in historical research. The second area of scientific work at the department is economic history (with an emphasis on studying - using new methods - financial history, the history of labor relations, income inequality, foreign trade of Russia, etc.). In addition, the department is actively developing the problems of studying and preserving historical and cultural heritage (using digital 3D modeling technologies, virtual reconstructions and GIS technologies).

These studies are developing in several directions:

· Exploring the possibilities of methods and technologies of Data Science and artificial intelligence, "big data" in historical research;

· IT developments in the field of virtual reconstruction of historical and cultural heritage objects using 3D modeling technologies and modern means of three-dimensional visualization, including photogrammetry, digital video, augmented reality (VR/AR) visual effects, artificial neural networks, etc.

· Comprehensive analysis of sources on the socio-economic history of Russia using mathematical and statistical methods, database technologies, geographic information systems, network analysis.

· Application of cliometrics methods to study the economic history of Russia;

· Application of new methods and technologies for computerized text analysis of historical sources (including programs for content analysis, network analysis, visualization of text structures, etc.);

· Creation of thematic historical-oriented digital resources with open access (based on the results of research projects conducted at the department).

The interdisciplinary nature of cathedral research in a number of areas is often realized in cooperation with a number of scientific departments of Moscow State University and other universities, institutes of the Russian Academy of Sciences and archives. Thus, projects for the virtual reconstruction of lost cultural heritage sites are being developed at the department in joint developments with the participation of colleagues working at the Faculty of Geography and the Moscow State University Faculty of Mechanics and Mathematics, as well as at the Institute of Archaeology of the Russian Academy of Sciences and the Central State Archive of the Moscow Region (TSGAMO). Projects on the study of the economic history of Russia (for example, on the evolution of inequality in Russia in the XIX – XX centuries) are conducted with the participation of colleagues from their Novosibirsk and Altai State Universities, as well as archivists of the GAAK. These projects have received the support of the Russian National Fund, RFBR and RGS in recent years.

* * *

The specialization of students at the department is carried out in the concept of a "disciplinary matrix" (according to T. Kuhn) and includes two levels. At the end of the 2nd year of the Bachelor's degree, students of the Faculty of History choose the department of their specialization. Usually about 10 students sign up for us. In the 3rd and 4th courses, they master the disciplines of the general faculty cycle and in parallel – our bachelor's degree profile – "Historical Informatics".

The Bachelor's degree curriculum includes the following disciplines:

•  Introduction to Historical Computer Science
•  A special seminar on the final qualification work in the profile
•  Source Study of the history of Russia in the Digital Age
•  Internet Heuristics for historians
•  Databases and information systems in historical research
•  Historiography of interdisciplinary historical research
•  Archival science and archival information technologies for historians
•  Computer methods for analyzing narrative sources
•  Historical geography and geoinformation systems
•  Methods of visualization and representation of data from diverse historical sources in R
•  Disciplines of the profile of the student's choice

In addition to the standard requirements for the bachelor's thesis, there is another one that reflects the specifics of the cathedral profile: the increment of new knowledge in the work of our student must be obtained using the approaches, methods and technologies that he learned during the cathedral specialization.

Most of the cathedral students, students, having defended their bachelor's degree, enroll in our master's program "Historical Informatics" and continue their studies within the framework of an integrated master's degree in the field of History. At this stage, they are joined, as a rule, by several more students who have not completed our bachelor's degree program in Historical Informatics; they are undergoing a modified program within the framework of the external master's degree in Historical Informatics.

The curriculum of our integrated Master's program includes the following disciplines:

•  A special seminar on the final qualification work in the profile
•  Computer methods for analyzing mass sources
•  Methods and technologies of social history
•  Special seminar on the scientific problems of historical informatics
•  Computer modeling of historical processes
•  Mathematical logic for historians
•  Computer reconstructions of historical and cultural heritage sites
•  Methods and technologies of cliometrics
•  Disciplines of the profile of the student's choice

The curriculum of our external Master's program includes the following disciplines:

• General Faculty courses "Information Technology" and "Interdisciplinary approaches in historical research"
•  Disciplines of the student's choice
•  Special seminar on final qualifying work
•  Archival heuristics
•  Methods and technologies of social history
•  Computer modeling of historical processes
•  3D modeling in the tasks of reconstruction of objects of historical and cultural heritage
•  Methods and technologies of cliometrics
•  Computer methods for analyzing mass sources
•  Special seminar on the scientific problems of historical informatics
•  Databases in historical research
•  Geoinformation systems in historical research
•  Statistical analysis of historical sources
•  Disciplines of the profile of the student's choice

What changes have occurred in the curriculum of the Cathedral Bachelor's and Master's degree programs over the past 3-4 years? Since 2019/20, the special discipline "Methods of visualization and representation of data from diverse historical sources: an introduction to R" has been introduced into the bachelor's curriculum (D.V. Anisimova, S.A. Salomatina). The new course reflects the growing demand for modern statistical analysis software and related infographics.

In the curriculum of the integrated master's degree of the faculty, from 2021/2022, a general faculty course "Data Science and Artificial Intelligence" appeared, which is implemented by the Department of Historical Informatics (lecturers – L.I. Borodkin and I.M. Garskova). The introduction of this course, which is mandatory for all faculty undergraduates of the 1st year of study, meets the increased interest in the possibilities of using machine learning, artificial neural networks and other artificial intelligence technologies in all fields of activity, including historical science and the preservation of historical and cultural heritage.

Over the past few years, the set of special courses offered to students specializing in the Department of Historical Informatics has been significantly updated. Some of them are problem-oriented, and some of them are method–oriented. Here is an updated list of these special courses (not all of them are listed here).

New special courses of the department

Bachelor course

•  Industrialization and modernization processes in the Russian Empire and the USSR: electronic resources, methods of analysis (L.I. Borodkin)
•  Banking Crises in History: research methods and approaches (S.A. Salomatina)
•  Stock market crises and “anomalies”: historical experience and research methods (A.V. Dmitrieva)
•  Labor, income, inequality in retrospect: problems, data and methods (A.Y. Volodin)
•  Russia's Foreign Trade in the XVIII–XX centuries: sources, electronic resources and methods of their analysis (T.Ya. Valetov)
•  Network analysis in historical research: research methods and approaches (S.A. Salomatina)
• · Development of historical Internet resources (T.Ya. Valetov)
•  Methods and technologies of 3D modeling in historical research (D.I. Zherebyatyev).
•  Technologies for digitizing three-dimensional spatial historical data: 3D modeling, photogrammetry, laser scanning, digital aerial photography (D.I. Zherebyatyev)
•  Virtual and augmented reality technologies in historical and cultural studies (D.I. Zherebyatyev, M.S. Mironenko).
•  Python programming language for historians: an introductory course (V.A. Ilyashenko)
•  Methods and technologies of the historian's work with audiovisual documents (V.A. Ilyashenko)
•  Video composition and creation of complex visual effects. Historical applications (V.A. Ilyashenko)

 Magistracy

•  The processes of industrialization and modernization in Late Imperial Russia and the USSR: concepts, digital resources, methods and technologies of analysis ((L.I. Borodkin)
•  Modern World Historiography of Financial Crises: concepts and methods (S.A. Salomatina)
•  The History of finance, banks and money from the Middle Ages to the XXI century in modern World historiography: concepts, methods, technologies, electronic resources (S.A. Salomatina)
•  Historical stock market crises and “anomalies”: methods of study (A.V. Dmitrieva)
•  Russian foreign trade statistics of the XIX–XX centuries: approaches and methods of study (T.Ya. Valetov)
•  Historical demography today: from Macroanalysis to Microhistory (T.Ya. Valetov)
•  The history of labor and the problems of inequality: methods and technologies of data analysis (A.Y. Volodin)
•  Content analysis in historical research (I.M. Garskova)
•  Network analysis in historical research: historiography, sources, methods (S.A. Salomatina)
•  Digital Humanities: the challenges of interdisciplinarity in the context of the digital turn (A.Yu.   Volodin)
•  The latest technologies of digitization and representation of 3D objects in historical and cultural studies (D.I. Zherebyatyev).
• Virtual reality technologies in historical research (D.I. Zherebyatyev, M.S. Mironenko).
• Digital processing of audiovisual documents and nonlinear video editing: historical applications (V.A. Ilyashenko)
• Python programming in historical source analysis tasks (V.A. Ilyashenko)                                                                                                                                                                                                                  It should be noted that all mandatory cathedral special disciplines and special courses are provided by the efforts of 10 teachers of the Department of Historical Informatics.

A little bit about graduates

A number of graduates of the department have been working for the last 10 years at institutes of the Russian Academy of Sciences (Institute of Russian History, Institute of Africa), universities (including Moscow State University, RSUH, HSE, RANEPA, etc.), the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Russian Federation, IT companies, expert analytical centers, etc. The topics of their graduation papers were related to the use of mathematical methods and digital technologies in research on the economic and social history of Russia, as well as modern 3D modeling technologies in the tasks of preserving historical and cultural heritage. In most of these cases, the department maintains contacts with graduates, inviting them to act as reviewers at the WRC defenses, to present reports at conferences organized by the department, to participate in cathedral meetings with students. Every year, some of our graduates enter graduate school. There are currently 9 graduate students and two applicants at the department. Over the past year, three graduate students of the department have defended their PhD theses.

This year, the department will prepare a textbook "Historical Informatics" for publication.