Social and humanitarian disciplines as a factor in the formation of tolerance among young people in a cross-border region

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to show how the socio-humanitarian disciplines taught in schools and universities of Russia determine the formation of tolerance among the modern Russian youth in the border region. This study is based on the analysis of teaching the course “Fundamentals of Religious Cultures and Secular Ethics” and the cycle of socio-humanitarian disciplines in a number of Altai universities. The use of the dialectical approach allowed us to identify a number of complex and contradictory processes occurring in the modern Russian society, following the path of globalization, especially in the cross-border regions. In these regions on the same territory, representatives of many ethnic groups live with their customs, stereotypes, and religion. A systematic method (aimed at reviewing social and humanities disciplines in a single system of ideological knowledge gained at the schools and universities) became the basis for determining the main points that make the teaching of these disciplines a factor in the formation of tolerance. The content of social and humanitarian disciplines, their dialogical nature (requiring specific teaching methods) form a very important basis for the formation of tolerance to the culture of other nations, other customs, and another faith. The article reveals a number of problems that impede the use of the full potential of these disciplines for the formation of tolerance. In particular, the existing system when a student selects only one of a few modules in the course “Fundamentals of Religious Cultures and Secular Ethics” is very problematic and controversial, because this approach reduces the loss of knowledge about the content of other modules. The next problem that requires a serious reflection is the problem of adequate methods aimed at incorporating electronic resources into the subjects taught and using the hidden curricula in the work of high school teachers. The article suggests a number of ways to solve these problems.