Brief History
The School of Philosophy and Sociology, Jilin University was established in 1995, on the basis of the original department of philosophy. Looking back upon the history of the school, it has undergone basically three important periods of development:
1. The Foundation Period of the Department of Philosophy (1958 -1965)
The department of philosophy was founded in 1958 on the basis of the original Teaching and Research Section of Philosophy, and began to recruit its first group of five-year undergraduate students in 1959. During the foundation period of the department of philosophy, its founders, represented by Prof. Liu Danyan, established the direction and foundation for its development, making outstanding contributions to its expansion and growth.
2. The Growth Period of the Department of Philosophy (1976- 1995)
When the “Cultural Revolution” ended in Oct. 1976, the department had 45 members of faculty and staff. In 1977, the department set up 8 teaching and research sections, and restored national unified entrance system according to the state regulations.
In 1981, the department established Doctorate Program for Marxist Philosophy and Dialectics of Nature, which began to enroll first group of undergraduates in the same year; In 1982, the department established four Master programs (Marxist Philosophy, Chinese Philosophy, Western Philosophy and Philosophy of Science and Technology), and began to enroll graduate students; In 1984, the department established Doctorate program for Philosophy of Science and Technology, which was the first one in China; In 1985, the department began to enroll the state’s first doctorate students.
During this period, the first academic leader (as represented by Prof. Gao Qing Hai) broke the traditional dogmatic understanding of Marxist philosophy, turning philosophy towards the great practice of reform, producing the most influential theoretical fruits in the 1980s, creating important influences both within China and worldwide.
3. The Setting Up and Development Period of the School of Philosophy and Sociology (1995 until now)
In May, 1995, the university decided to set up school of philosophy and sociology. Right now, the school has 4 departments: philosophy (built in 1958), sociology (built in 1989), psychology (built in 1995), labor and social security study (built in 2005); 1 research center: Research Center for Fundamentals of Philosophy; 5 undergraduate programs: philosophy, sociology, social work, labor and social security, applied psychology; 11 graduate programs: Marxist philosophy, philosophy of science and technology, Chinese philosophy, foreign philosophy, ethics, religion, sociology, anthropology, social security, fundamental psychology, applied psychology; both philosophy and sociology programs have been authorized to confer doctorate degrees on first class disciplines; 1 center for post-doctoral studies: philosophy.
During this period, the second generation academic leaders, as represented by Prof. Sun Zhengyu, have made remarkable achievements in philosophical research, teaching and studying reform and talent cultivation.
Departments and Majors
Department of Philosophy
The department of philosophy was established in 1958, and is now one of China’s important philosophical research bases, occupying a decisive position in domestic philosophy discipline. Its unique theoretical researches of Marxist philosophy enjoy a very high academic reputation within China. Right now, the department has 6 Master programs: Marxist philosophy, philosophy of science and technology, Chinese philosophy, foreign philosophy, ethics, philosophy of religion; 5 doctorate programs: Marxist philosophy, philosophy of science and technology, Western philosophy, Chinese philosophy, ethics; 1 center for post-doctoral studies: philosophy.
Department of Sociology
The department of sociology was established in 1989 and joined into the school in 1994. It has 2 undergraduate programs: sociology, social work, and 2 graduate programs: sociology, social work, and was authorized in 2003 to confer doctorate degree. It now has two research centers: Research Center of Social Development, Northeast Research Center of Coordinated Development of Economy and Society. The department of sociology undertakes a large number of vertical and horizontal research projects, and has now become China’s “Theoretical Research Base for Social Development”, producing a large number of research fruits, cultivating many excellent talents in the field of sociology, and is therefore quite influential in domestic academic world.
Department of Labor and Social Security
The department of labor and social security was established in 2006. It has “labor and social security” undergraduate program and “social security study” Master program, recruits nationwide undergraduate, Master and Doctorate students. With the progress of time and the development of society, the enterprise of labor and social security gradually enters the central field of economic and social life, and talents in labor and social security are becoming indispensable talents in modern society, playing a more and more important role in the field of public administration, education and research, finance and insurance, as well as human resource administration.
Department of Social Psychology
The department of social psychology was developed in 1995 out of the original psychology teaching and research section, and now has 2 graduate programs: applied psychology, fundamental psychology. The discipline of psychology, as represented by Prof. Che Wen Bo, has produced remarkable fruits in theoretical psychology and the history of psychology.
Teaching and Research
The School of Philosophy and Sociology has world-renowned academic leaders and a large number of teaching and research mainstays. There are 87 faculty members in the school in which 47 people are working on philosophy. Prof. Sun Zhengyu’s “Introduction to Philosophy” and Prof. Sun Litian’s “The Principles of Marxist Philosophy” have been awarded “National Quality Courses” and many of their courses have been awarded “Provincial Quality Courses”.
The School now has 573 undergraduate students, 344 Master students, 247 Doctorate students. Most of the graduates enter state organs, institutes of higher educations, research organizations and other enterprises and public institutions, and have kept a high reputation both domestic and overseas.
