Theory and practice of V.K. Arseniev as a Traveller and Educator

Abstract

The article reports on the pedagogical activity of the researcher and writer Vladimir Klavdievich Arseniev (1872–1930). Having arrived in 1900 in Vladivostok for military service, he was studying the Russian Far East for 30 years in expeditions that contributed to the regional development. The researcher’s rich experience, extensive knowledge in various academic fields, and the storyteller talent made Arseniev a well-known educator who delivered popular lectures in various organizations. Educational institutions occupy a special place in this list. In some of them he only made reports, while in others he was on the staff and taught lecture courses that were part of the curriculum. He was a lecturer at the People’s University in Vladivostok, the Vladivostok Teachers’ Institute (then the Far Eastern State Pedagogical Institute named after K.D. Ushinsky), participated in the organization of the State Far Eastern University and lectured at its oriental department. Arseniev’s pedagogical activity was based on the one hand, on constant self-education and his own scientific work, and on the other hand, he always tried and improved teaching methodology and attracted students to research and practical work. Thus, Arseniev anticipated the requirements that today are imposed on higher education employees. His example is very demonstrative today, when the goal of higher education is to prepare students for future practical activities. The article is based on V.K. Arseniev’s publications and materials from his personal archives in the Amur Region Study Society (OIAK) in Vladivostok.