The Source Study Department called “The Source Study and Museology Department” was created on 27 June 1992.
The first Head of the Department was Doctor of Historical Sciences, Professor Vladimir Sidortsov. Under his direction the main problem of the lack of specialists was solved. After the reorganization of the Department in 2001 Associate Professor Sergei Khodin, Dean of the History Faculty, has been in charge of the Department.
Two Doctors of Sciences and fourteen Candidates of Sciences work at the Department. Besides, the Department employs specialists from other state organizations.
On 30 June 2001 several departments of the History Faculty were reorganized. The Source Study and Museology Department was called the Source Study Department and the specialties “History and Archives” (two specializations), “Document Science (in directions)” were offered to the students. Besides, the specializations “Source Study, Historiography and Methods of Historical Research” and “Historical Computer Science” were provided for the students.
Since the mid 1990-s the Department conducts research in such areas as theory and methods of history, historiography and source study, archives and document study, historical computer science and information technologies.
Professor Vladimir Sidortsov set up a research school on historical methodology, two representatives of which — Olga Shutova and Dmitrii Samokhvalov — defended their candidate’s dissertations. In his works Vladimir Sidortsov has proved that it will be highly effective of researchers to apply a complex of research methods including historical ones as well as of other sciences (mathematics, psychology, linguistics, social sciences). He regards the interdisciplinary approach as an ontological object of research. Associate Professor Olga Shutova has revealed the peculiarities of development of the European historical science.
Associate Professor Sergei Khodin has broadened the scope of his scientific interests. He has raised a number of theoretical issues concerning the status and terminology of source study. He has also tackled some problems with practical application of the field in question to the contemporary period in the history of Belarus. Sergei Khodin has achieved certain results in studying the history of agriculture and the history of the Belarusian culture. Active research in the field of source study is conducted by Sergei Kaun, Olga Lipnitskaya, Akexandr Beliavsky and Andrei Latushkin.
The fascist occupation regime in the territory of Belarus, the partizan movement and antifascist underground during the Great Patriotic War are the objects of Associate Professor Kuzma Kozak’s investigation.
Associate Professor Michael Shumeyko’s findings in the field of Belarusian archeography and archival studies are presented in a number of articles and monographs. Under his supervision a number of dissertations on such problems as archival restitution and personal archives were prepared.
Senior Lecturer Elena Balykina has published a lot of woks on educational aspects of the historical computer science. She has worked out the concept of applying information technology to teaching history and put it into practice.
Andrei Rybakov, Emma Davydova, Artem Nazarenko, Sergei Khodin, Olga Zhuk actively work in the field of record management.
The main Department’s scientific publications:
-“Theory and History of Historiography”, Sergei Khodin, Valentin Gritskevich, Sergei Kaun (with the signature stamp of the Ministry of Education, 2008)
- “Methods of historical research as a creativity tool for a historian”, a monograph by Vladimir Sidortsov (2000)
- “The History of the Belarusian Culture in 1920- 1930s”, a monograph by Sergei Hodin published in 2001
- “To integrate the disintegrated: restitution of Belarusian archives in the past and the present”, a monograph by Michael Shumeyko published in 1997
- “Dmitry Dovgialo, an archivist and archeographist”, a monograph by Michael Shumeyko published in 2002
- “Archeography”, a lecture course in Belarusian by Michael Shumeyko published in 2005
- “Educational and Methodological Complex in Historical Computer Science. The Basic Course” by Olga Lipnitskaya and Elena Popova published in 2002
- “Methods of History: a quantitative technique and new information technology”, a manual by Vladimir Sidortsov published in 2003
- Lots of articles and conference proceedings. The main achievements of the Department are as follows:
- A number of manuals (including electronic ones) have been created by Sergei Hodin, Olga Lipnitskaya, Sergei Kaun, Elene Popova;
- An electronic course for distance learning has been worked out by the group of lecturers with Vladimir Sidortsov at the head; - A student’s research laboratory “History and Computer” and a student’s research laboratory on history application problems have been set up;
- Training of postgraduates specializing in “Source Study, Historiography and Methods of Historical Research” has begun;
- Training of postgraduates specializing in “Document Science, Records and Information Management” has started;
- A number of manuals on World and Native History for secondary school were published by Vladimir Sidortsov and Sergei Hodin, etc.
The Department serves a basis for a number of sections of the Educational and Scientific Councils of Higher Educational Establishments of Belarus for the specialties of both first and second stages of higher education. Members of the Department prepared Educational Standards of Belarus for the specialties “History and Archives” (Michael Shumeyko, Alexandr Beliavsky, Olga Lipnitskaya, Kuzma Kozak), “Document Science (in directions)” (Sergei Khodin, Andrei Rybakov, Artem Nazarenko).
The Department has close ties with foreign universities and research centers: History Faculty of Moscow State University, Russian State University for the Humanities, Bryansk State University, The All-Russian Archival Science and Records Management Research Institute (Russia), Dnepropetrovsk State University (Ukraine), Centre of Napoleonic Studies (France), Long Island University and Chicago University (US), Reynward Academy (the Netherlands), Bergen University (Norway), Helsinki University (Finland), Friedrich Schiller University of Jena (Germany), Lodz, Wroclaw and Warsaw Universities (Poland).
Research visits to the leading research centers in Spain and Russia (Sergei Hodin), Germany (Associate Professor Kuzma Kozak), the Netherlands (Dmitrii Samokhvalov), Russia (Michael Shumeyko, Elena Balykina), Poland and Sweden (Artem Nazarenko), UK and Canada have been made.
