LITERARY EDUCATION: NEW HORIZONS IN THE UNIVERSITY’S COMPETITION FOR ELITISM AND ELITENESS

Abstract

The new tendencies of cognition and comprehension of the essence of the University are caused by one of the metaphors – ‘tectonic displacements’ − which is perhaps the best evidence of the process of qualitative transformation in the content and form of the university science and education. In today's dynamic world, too rapid and outwardly chaotic changes are taking place, new horizons are being defined in the understanding and perception of the University as a medium of storage and preservation of culture, outlook, self-identification, as a space for the development of intellectual and spiritual reflexions and the birth of new ideas and thoughts. It is known that the twentieth century has emerged in the history of scientific progress as an era of competition between elitist and elite education. At the same time, the search for harmony between the fundamental, constant and historically changing principles in the organization of educational system has led to the fact that the 21st century becomes dominated by the eliteness of the university context. The discourse of the University is expanding with thoughts and enriched with ideas at each new turn of the ‘polaroid lens’. Obviously, one should focus on the aspect of creating or affirming the ‘eliteness’ of education (higher education). It is important to determine what this strategy achieves. However, the first question to answer is as follows: is it a systemic strategy, or just a separate step to elaborate a post-globalized world with the kaleidoscopic impression(s) of knowledge against in-depth, fundamental knowledge as a concept of self-awareness and self-assertion of a personality? Hence, the problem of identity and self-identity is foregrounded, because it is necessary to determine what education (in particular, higher education) is in the modern world. Is it a cultural civilization phenomenon or a specialized pragmatic project? Since the founding of the University as an educational institution and until now, the philological component is one of the important segments of its activity. In today's context of growth of interpersonal connections and expansion and complexity of humanitarian knowledge, a word acquires a special role. The synergy of communication, driven by increasingly complex relationships between a man and technology, intensifies the need for communication, motivates the need to build cognitive chains in order to find the psychological, emotional, intellectual balance of the individual in the incredibly fast-paced everyday life. In this context, one should dwell on literature as one of the most ancient civilization phenomena. Fiction becomes a necessary spiritual and emotional context for the post-globalized society. Thanks to literature, the assessment and rethinking of the acquired knowledge is performed, new ideas are created and elaborated. The role of fiction is extremely important for the activation of psycho- physiological processes, for the formation and development of skills of imaginative, associative and perspective thinking, for the affirmation of meta-skills of personal self-realization. Therefore, the problems of literary education in the discourse of the University are of particular relevance.