‘Online Classes Provide a More Comfortable Learning Environment’

© Daniil Prokofyev/ HSE University

Professor Almira Ousmanova of the European Humanities University, Vilnius, has run a course on ‘Visuality in Contemporary Culture’ and a research seminar for students of the HSE University  Faculty of Humanities. The events were held as part of the ‘Digital Professors’ project in the 2020/21 academic year. In her interview with the HSE News Service, Prof. Ousmanova explains what her students learned and how she was named one of HSE’s best teachers.

Almira Ousmanova

— Prof. Ousmanova, you are famous in the professional community for your publications in the fields of visual culture, gender studies of Soviet and post-Soviet culture, film theory and history, and semiotics. How do you cover such a wide range of research areas?

— Although I’ve got a degree in philosophy, I’m keen on interdisciplinary studies for a number of reasons.

First, the dissertation for my Candidate of Science degree was devoted to Umberto Eco’s semiotics. To analyze his ideas, you need to know a lot about linguistics and different semiotic traditions, the history and historiography of medieval culture, post-structuralist philosophy, media theory, the political history of Europe, literary theory and history in the second half of the 20^th century, avant-garde arts, etc.

Second, if you want to have interdisciplinary expertise, you should be academically mobile—you should work abroad and be able to communicate with different institutions and academic communities in a multicultural (and multilingual) environment. I have had the opportunity to live and work in the USA and various countries in Europe. I have done internships in high-profile research institutes and participated in international research projects. However, the European Humanities University is my main workplace. It has always been a meeting place for different cultures and academic traditions.

Third, areas of expertise such as visual and gender studies are inherently interdisciplinary, and once you are involved in those areas, you cannot remain in the ‘safe’ territory of only one discipline, be it philosophy, history, anthropology or sociology.

— You have been collaborating with HSE University for an academic year. What have your studies been devoted to?

— I was invited to teach on the Master’s Programme in Visual Culture. I have been dealing with contemporary visual culture for a long time, and HSE University has given me an opportunity to combine all my knowledge and interests into a single large course, which comprises four modules and lasts a whole year.

Over this time, my students have got acquainted with various theoretical approaches and analytical methods (semiotics, psychoanalysis, gender theory, postcolonial studies, post-Marxism, etc). We have discussed how to use these approaches in the study of various visual phenomena, global media culture, and the visual daily life of post-Soviet societies.

I want the texts we read to be helpful to my students in their own studies. I saw I had achieved this goal when we were discussing their course papers.

— This has been an online course. What do you think about this format? What are its advantages and disadvantages?

— It has not been difficult at all. On the contrary, this type of communication has a number of pluses. It is more interactive and democratic. You can exchange messages and useful links in the chat box, ask questions orally or in writing, and share your screen if necessary.

It usually takes teachers a lot of time to get acquainted with the students and memorize their names in an ordinary offline class format. Online platforms address this problem successfully. Online classes provide a more comfortable learning environment.

— What are your impression of HSE students? What do you think about their knowledge? Do you think they are ready to do their own research?

— I like my master’s students very much. They are open, friendly, have a variety of professional and academic expertise, and are very motivated to study and do research.

I had a chance to get to know their interests during our research seminar and when we were working together on their course papers. I was able to see their great potential and I hope that some of them will continue their studies in pursuit of PhDs.

— Your students voted for you as one of the best HSE teachers this academic year. How important is that to you? Do you think student feedback is needed to improve the learning process?

— Teachers do need student feedback. Critical comments make us think about what we should improve in the content and design of our courses, our work format, and ways of communicating to make the course even better and more interesting. Positive assessment from students is an indicator of effective interaction, good group dynamics, and, most importantly, usefulness of the knowledge received. I was very pleased to find that my students rated our collaborative work and my professional experience so highly.

Feedback is also useful for managing academic programmes, as it helps adjust the curriculum, improve the learning process, and reconsider the human resource policy if needed. Of course, it only makes sense if the majority of the students who attended the course take part in the poll. HSE University attaches great importance to the representativeness of student polls, as their results reflect reality.

Prof. Ilya Inishev, Academic Supervisor of the Master’s Programme in Visual Culture

Prof. Almira Ousmanova is one of the leading researchers in the field of visual culture, socio-critical theory, and gender sociology. She is the founder and leader of the first cultural and visual studies programme in Central and Eastern Europe. She is also an active participant in a number of research projects in the field of contemporary cultural studies. As a guest teacher, Prof. Ousmanova is a valuable staff member of our programme and she has introduced us to up-to-date research initiatives in the field of contemporary visual studies. We are currently developing a double-degree programme that we plan to launch in cooperation with the European Humanities University (Vilnius).

Tatiana Perepelkina, master’s student of the Visual Culture programme

Prof. Almira Ousmanova has great knowledge and a big heart. Although gastronomy and the food industry are not very popular areas of study in Russia, I wanted to write about them in my course paper. My paper is called ‘Gastronomic Theatre in the Multimedia Age,’ and I wrote it under Prof. Ousmanova’s supervision.  We discussed my questions and her comments online—it is quite a convenient and time-efficient working format. Prof. Ousmanova provided her comments and explanations, and she sent me relevant articles by email. Thanks to the research seminar she held, my course mates and I made a ‘quantum leap’ in terms of the quality of our course papers. I am now working on my graduation thesis and Prof. Ousmanova is helping me a lot.

Yana Adzhavi, master’s student of the Visual Culture programme

My course paper was devoted to flashbacks in the context of American animated movies. Prof. Almira Ousmanova was my academic supervisor. She is a brilliant teacher—very smart, enthusiastic, and approachable. Her classes are simply the best. I’m going to write my graduation paper under her supervision. Of course, your academic supervisor should be someone competent, enthusiastic, and experienced in your chosen field of study. However, your personal relationship with your supervisor and how effectively and comfortably you communicate with them also matter. I find it convenient to work on my course paper online: it is easy to send questions and draft texts, provide comments, and communicate by email.