The Department of Cultural Studies was established in 1995 within the structure of the Faculty of Arts at South-West University “Neofit Rilski” thanks to the efforts, experience, and leadership skills of Prof. Dr. Vlachko Kunchev, one of the distinguished Bulgarian scholars in the field of culture.
Together with Prof. Dr. Nadezhda Dragova and Prof. Dr. of Arts Valentin Angelov, he established the new university specialty “Cultural Studies”, which corresponds most closely to the spirit and cultural richness of the South-West region and provides students with numerous skills for professional realization in the socio-cultural sector. Prof. Dr. Nadezhda Dragova is one of the founders of the Department of Cultural Studies and is an internationally recognized scholar with significant contributions to Balkan studies, art history, Renaissance and contemporary literary studies, folklore studies, and medieval studies. Prof. Dr. Valentin Angelov is a prominent art historian and author of numerous scientific works in the fields of art history, aesthetics, fine arts, and folklore studies.
A particularly important role in strengthening the department within the university educational environment was played by its later heads:
Assoc. Prof. Svetlana Hristova, Assoc. Prof. Tatyana Stoichkova, PhD, Assoc. Prof. Maria Valkova, PhD, Prof. Angel Angelov, Dr. Sc. and Assoc. Prof. Tatyana Shopova, PhD who, with energy and enthusiasm, successfully overcame challenges and limitations. Through their organizational abilities and professional experience, they contributed to the achievements of the Department of Cultural Studies in teaching, educational, and research activities.
In 2009 and 2014, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Maria Valkova initiated two additional programs in the department Culture and Media and Culture and Cultural Tourism in order to expand educational opportunities and provide students with greater prospects for professional realization. Providing highly qualified specialists with quality knowledge and skills for critical thinking and a creative approach to solving problems is a primary task of the lecturers in the Department of Cultural Studies. Through providing essential research and practical tools, education in the three programs enables students to understand and analyze the increasing role of culture in the contemporary world and its importance for human development and spiritual growth. The three programs offered by the department largely correspond to the constantly changing conditions of the labour market in the South-West region of Bulgaria.
In 2016, the specialty “Cultural Studies” was renamed “Cultural Studies and Cultural Management”.
Each of the three programs has its own specific profile and provides students with the opportunity to acquire the necessary skills and competencies for work in cultural, media, and business environments, in both the public and private sectors.
The students in the Department of Cultural Studies are trained to conduct competent and in-depth analyses of cultural phenomena and the dynamics of culture in the context of overall socio-cultural development.
Opportunities are also provided for additional education and student mobility at foreign universities within the European Union, including the University for Foreigners in Perugi, the University of Florence, Turku University of Applied Sciences (Finland), Jagiellonian University in Kraków, the Institute for Cultural Management in Ludwigsburg (Germany). Students receive multidisciplinary professional training that helps them pursue careers in a wide range of professional fields, including culture, cultural tourism, management, entrepreneurship, media, and other related areas.
The department offers graduates of Bachelor’s programs the opportunity to continue their education in three Master’s programs:
- “Cultural Heritage and Cultural Tourism”
- “Internet, New Media and Culture”
- “Media, Production and Business”
The department maintains the following Facebook pages:
and Instagram channels:
where current events and students’ achievements are presented.
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