past in its anthropological interpretation. The subject
of research is the comprehension of the subjective
mental worlds of representatives of certain social
groups and the elucidation of the system of ideas and
concepts underlying any human action (Repina,
2006). The anthropological approach expands the
use of information retrieval methods at the expense
of those used by anthropology – methods of the
history of life and activities of an individual or social
group, analysis of an episode, events, and others that
focus on the humanistic side of history.
Thus, the use of the anthropological approach,
along with others, in the study of history in transport
education is determined, first of all, by the fact that
this approach focuses on the reconstruction of the
deep program of all types of human activity,
embedded in the cultural tradition of the social
universe, including activities in the field of railway
transport.
3 BODY: PLACE AND ROLE OF
THE HUMANITARIAN BLOCK
IN TRANSPORT EDUCATION
The inclusion of humanitarian disciplines in the
training program for engineering and technical
personnel was laid down from the very beginning of
the birth and development of engineering education
in Russia – the creation in 1896 of the Imperial
Moscow Engineering School of the Department of
Railways, which in 1913 was called the Moscow
Institute of Railway Engineers. The need to form the
general cultural competencies of future engineers is
due to the fact that his professional activity is
connected with the management of both technical
objects and social groups and individuals.
Modern processes of development of scientific
and technical, technical and technological and socio-
cultural phenomena, due to changes in the
geopolitical situation, increasing social tension,
significantly increase the importance of the
humanitarian component in the technical education
of a modern specialist. A modern engineer needs to
understand technology as an objective activity in the
context of the implementation of its results in
economic and social structures, which means
understanding technology as a social engineering,
closely related to posing the problem of social
technology of consent, identifying consequences and
influencing society.
The period of study at the university is of
fundamental importance in the process of becoming
a student's personality. Its content is a kind of
transition of a young person (a team of students),
who has mainly the qualities of an object of
influence, into a new quality - the subject of activity.
This is largely facilitated by the fact that along with
the development of their future profession, students
are involved in various types of social activities that
require competencies of interpersonal interaction.
The content of the disciplines of the humanitarian
block is largely focused on their formation.
Assimilation by students of the basics of the
humanities contributes to the formation of a broad
approach to understanding the essence of socio-
economic relations, the development of personal
goals and values. We share the opinion of A.N.
Popov and O.Yu. Malakhova that the study of the
disciplines of the social and humanitarian cycle
allows students to realize the «humanistic
dimension» of their future profession, to overcome
the technocratic orientation of thinking, which often
accompanies the professional training of an engineer
(Popov, 2020).
In this regard, the importance of forming, along
with technical, also general cultural competencies of
the future railway engineer, increases. The
disciplines of the humanitarian block - philosophy,
history, sociology, political science, cultural studies,
ecology and a number of others - are oriented
towards achieving this task. Their role in the system
of general training of the future specialist is, first of
all, in the formation of the ability to logically
correctly, reasonably and clearly express their
thoughts, defend their point of view without
destroying relationships; treat historical heritage and
cultural traditions with respect and care, be able to
analyze and evaluate historical events and processes;
to promote the development of theoretical, logical
thinking, a creative approach to solving social and
professional problems and tasks, the desire for
constant self-education and self-improvement, the
ability to realize the social significance of one's
future profession, to have a high motivation to
perform professional activities (Egorova, 2019).
Insufficient attention to the social and
humanitarian block of disciplines can seriously
affect the formation of professional and universal
competencies of future specialists, in the
performance of their duties. Researchers state the
existence of this problem - graduates of railway
universities, building their work, often do not take
into account the «human dimension» of their field of
activity, and also often have a very narrow technical
thinking, act «according to a clear algorithm»
(Ezhova, 2019).