31/07/2024
Cipher – name of the specialty:
8D02201 – History
Completion of accreditation (last year, past period):
In June 2025, based on the inspection findings of the External Expert Commission, the non-profit organization 'Independent Agency for Accreditation and Rating' successfully passed specialized accreditation for 5 years.
Training period:
The scientific and pedagogical direction is – 3 years
Profile – 3 years
Awarded degree:
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), specialty 8D02201 – History
Doctor of Arts in specialty 8D02201 – History
Sphere of professional activity:
- educational (pedagogical) activity in the system of higher education,
- research work,
- Management activities in the foreign economic and foreign policy areas,
- project: design, research institutes and organizations as senior and junior research associates, consultants.
Subject of professional activity:
- Historical sources, library collections, special scientific research in the field of world and national history;
- knowledge of the methodology and practical skills of historical and interdisciplinary scientific research and the ability to implement them in analytical, research and teaching activities.
Objects of professional activity:
Higher educational institutions; scientific research institutes, departmental scientific research organizations, control and analytical services of the bodies of internal policy of state administration, museums and archives.
Types of professional activity:
- pedagogical activity;
- research activities;
- cultural and educational activities;
- organizational and management activities;
- Expert and analytical activities.
Practical bases:
- Aktobe Regional Museum of History and Local Lore
- Aktobe Regional State Archives
Exam questions for applicants to the PhD program 8D02201 – "History"
Level 1
1. Analyze the historical development of Islamic spirituality in traditional Kazakh society and its role in public life from a historiographical and source study perspective.
2. Describe modern historiographic approaches to assessing the impact of Soviet agrarian reforms on agricultural development.
3. Analyze the theoretical and methodological issues in studying Kazakh-Russian and Kazakh-Chinese relations in the XVIIIth–XIXth centuries.
4. Evaluate the main stages of the Kazakh people's national liberation movement and its historical significance.
5. Evaluate the contribution of Kazakhstanis to the Victory in the Great Patriotic War and their historical role.
6. Reveal the content and features of theoretical and methodological approaches to the study of the colonial land policy of the Russian Empire in Soviet historiography.
7. Conduct a historiographical analysis of foreign studies on the history of Kazakhstan in the modern period.
8. Describe the formation and main stages of development of Soviet historical science in Kazakhstan.
9. Analyze the main issues in the history of the Kazakh Khanate of the XVIth–XVIIth centuries in the historiography of independent Kazakhstan.
10. Describe the characteristics of the reflection of Kazakhstan's history in Western historiography of the 17th–18th centuries.
11. Analyze the history and historiography of the cultural revolution in Kazakhstan in the 1920s–1930s.
12. Evaluate the significance of oral folklore examples from the XVIIIth–XIXth centuries as a historical source.
13. Conduct a comparative analysis of the developmental characteristics of classical and ancient Eastern civilizations.
14. Describe the characteristics of economic development in Europe in the 1XVIth–XVIIth centuries.
15. Analyze the development of socio-political thought and culture during the Age of Enlightenment.
16. Compare the evolutionary and revolutionary models of social development.
17. Assess the nature and results of national liberation movements in Latin American countries in the first half of the XIXth century.
18. Conduct a comparative analysis of the civilizational development of Eastern and Western countries in the modern era.
19. Disclose the main tenets and features of E. Toffler's theory of post-industrial society.
20. Analyze new scholarly assessments of the national liberation uprisings of the late XIXth and early XXth centuries in the historiography of independent Kazakhstan.
21. Describe the formation and development of historical and demographic research during the period of Kazakhstan's independence.
22. Using specific examples, explain the significance of documents on political repression during the Soviet period as a source for studying the history of national liberation movements.
23. Assess the significance of legislative acts as a source for studying the history of independent Kazakhstan.
24. Analyze the content and consequences of legislative acts of the Russian Empire adopted in relation to the Kazakh steppe.
25. Describe the formation of scientific institutions in Kazakhstan and the activities of the Society for the Study of Kazakhstan in the 1920s and 1930s.
26. Analyze the coverage of the history of early state associations and tribal unions in the works of A.Sh. Kadyrbaev, B.E. Kumekov, S.M. Syzdykov, and S.K. Igibaev.
27. Describe the problems of studying the history and culture of the ancient Turkic state in the works of Yu.A. Zuev, S.K. Igibaev, T.Z. Kairken, S. Karzhaubay, and T.S. Zhumagambetov.
28. Analyze the coverage of the history of the Turkic Khaganate in the works of N. Ya. Bichurin, V. V. Bartold, N. A. Aristov, N. M. Bernshtam and L. N. Gumilyov.
29. Analyze the main areas of study in the problem of anthropogenesis in modern Western historiography.
30. Describe the contribution of medieval Arab culture to the development of world civilization.
31. Evaluate the formation, development, and contemporary significance of the French Annales school.
32. Analyze the development of European absolutism in the early modern period.
33. Describe the causes, stages, and historical consequences of the Reformation in Europe.
34. Analyze the preconditions for colonial expansion and the formation of the largest colonial empires.
35. Conduct a source study analysis of the preconditions and results of the European revolutions of the modern era.
36. Analyze the features of the system of international relations’ formation in the New Age and reveal the content of the concept of “great powers”.
37. Analyze the causes of the collapse of the Soviet Union and assess its geopolitical consequences.
38. Analyze the essence of the methodological limitations of Soviet historical scholarship and their consequences.
39. Determine the place of shezhire in the system of sources on the history of Kazakhstan and evaluate its significance as a historical source.
40. Analyze the theoretical and methodological foundations of historiography as a scientific discipline.
Level 2
41. Analyze the theoretical and methodological challenges of developing national historical scholarship in the context of independent Kazakhstan.
42. Explain the key concepts and categories of source studies and characterize their significance for historical research.
43. Analyze the socio-political and educational activities of the magazine "Aikap" and the newspaper "Kazakh" in the context of the formation of national identity.
44. Conduct a comparative analysis of the coverage of Kazakh-Dzungar and Kazakh-Kalmyk relations in the works of Soviet historians.
45. Describe the main approaches to the study of the policy of "war communism," the famine of 1921-1922, and regional anti-Soviet uprisings in domestic and foreign historiography.
46. Analyze the interpretation of the participation of Kazakhs in the Peasant War led by E. Pugachev in the works of N.E. Bekmakhanov.
47. Analyze the problem of the development of socio-political consciousness in Kazakh society in the studies of D. Kabdiev and K.A. Zhirenchin.
48. Reveal the main features of the social structure of ancient society and assess their influence on the historical development of ancient states.
49. Analyze the historiography of the French Revolution and assess its historical significance in the development of world civilization.
50. Assess the impact of the Industrial Revolution on the socioeconomic and political development of Western countries.
51. Describe the formation of the global colonial system and assess its influence on the development of colonial societies.
52. Analyze the demographic, political, and economic consequences of World War I in a global context.
53. Analyze the main directions in the development of ancient philosophical thought and ancient historiography.
54. Analyze the role of the “Alash” movement in the process of revival of Kazakh statehood and its interpretation in modern historiography.
55. Evaluate the concept of state building reflected in the programmatic documents of the Alash Party.
56. Analyze the results and contradictions of Soviet modernization in Kazakhstan in the 1920s and 1930s.
57. Evaluate the impact of Soviet modernization on the transformation of the social structure of Kazakh society.
58. Analyze the main directions of national identity’s formation in the context of independent Kazakhstan.
59. Explore the formation and development of historical memory policy in modern Kazakhstan.
60. Describe modern theoretical and methodological approaches to the study of the history of Kazakhstan.
61. Assess the potential of microhistory and historical anthropology in the study of the history of Kazakhstan.
62. Analyze the reflection of ideas about the state and power in the oral historical tradition of Kazakh society.
63. Explore the manifestation of ideas of statehood in the Kazakh historical epic and shezhire.
64. Evaluate the role of the Golden Horde in the formation of Kazakh statehood and political culture.
65. Analyze the significance of the Golden Horde’s legacy in the modern historical policy of the Republic of Kazakhstan.
66. Describe the historiography of the problem of historical continuity between the “Kazakh Khanate” and the “Ulus of Jochi”.
67. Assess the influence of the political institutions of the “Ulus of Jochi” on the formation and development of Kazakh statehood.
68. Analyze modern methodological approaches and scientific research on the history of the “Ulus of Jochi”.
69. Conduct a comparative analysis of written and archaeological sources on the history of the “Ulus of Jochi”.
70. Describe the main results and prospects of archaeological research on the cities of the Golden Horde.
71. Analyze the characteristics of urbanization processes during the Golden Horde era and their historical significance.
72. Conduct a comparative analysis of the main historiographical concepts explaining the causes of the collapse of the Golden Horde.
73. Reveal the scientific foundations, content, and research potential of the "Ulug Ulus" concept.
74. Assess the scientific and socio-political significance of the concept of "Ulug Ulus" in modern Kazakhstan.
75. Analyze the main directions of formation, development, and current state of decolonial discourse in Kazakhstan.
Level 3
76. Analyze the main directions and methodological features of rethinking the history of Kazakhstan within the framework of a decolonial approach.
77. Assess the potential and limitations of postcolonial theory in studying the history of Kazakhstan.
78. Conduct a comparative analysis of the academic and social aspects of the decolonization process in Kazakhstan.
79. Analyze the similarities and differences between the concepts of decolonization and postcolonialism.
80. Explain the concepts of "colonial discourse" and "imperial discourse" and their significance for historical research.
81. Assess the influence of the “Muslim Renaissance” on the political, cultural and intellectual development of the Turkic peoples.
82. Analyze the historical and political significance of A. Baitursynov's article "Revolution and the Kyrgyzs".
83. Describe the main tenets of Indo-Aryan theory and contemporary scholarly debates surrounding it.
84. Analyze the formation and development of pan-Islamic and pan-Turkic ideas in Kazakhstan.
85. Assess the role of the “Ulus of Jochi” in the processes of ethnopolitical formation and state-political development of Kazakh society.
86. Describe the role of digital technologies in the study and teaching of the history of Kazakhstan.
87. Analyze the potential and limitations of using artificial intelligence in historical science.
88. Disclose the characteristics of narrative sources and explain their significance in the study of the history of Kazakhstan.
89. Conduct a comparative analysis of the historical consequences of the Red Terror and the Great Terror.
90. Analyze the evolution of the concepts of "colonization" and "voluntary annexation" in Kazakhstani historiography.
91. Describe the historical foundations and current trends of integration processes in the Turkic world.
92. Assess the role of historical memory policy in the formation of national identity in Kazakhstan.
93. Analyze the influence of the Russian education system on the formation of the Kazakh national intelligentsia.
94. Describe the main directions in the development of the concept of nomadic civilization in the Eurasian space.
95. Analyze modern scientific concepts in the study of the history of Kazakh statehood.
96. Assess the theoretical and methodological foundations of historical biographical studies in research on the history of Kazakhstan.
97. Reveal the significance of new archival sources in studying the history of political repression in Kazakhstan.
98. Describe the potential of the Digital Humanities field in contemporary historical scholarship.
99. Assess the significance of the “Archive–2025” program and similar scientific and archival initiatives in the formation of modern approaches to the study of national history.
100. Analyze the evolution of the idea of national statehood in modern Kazakhstani historiography.
Essay Topics for Applicants to the PhD Program 8D02201 – "History"
1. Historical background, current development trends, and geopolitical prospects for the integration of the Turkic world.
2. The concepts of "upper anger" and "lower anger" in Soviet historiography: their significance and scholarly limitations in interpreting colonial policy.
3. Methodological pluralism in modern historical scholarship and its potential for studying the history of Kazakhstan.
4. Interrelation of processes of national identity formation and decolonization: the experience of Kazakhstan.
5. The relationship between colonial, national, and postcolonial paradigms in the study and writing of the history of Kazakhstan.
6. Toponymic decolonization in Kazakhstan as a tool for renewing historical memory and rethinking national space.
7. Administrative reforms of the Russian Empire and their role in the transformation of Kazakh society.
8. The problem of the colonization of Kazakh lands in modern domestic and foreign historiography.
9. The role of the Soviet education system in the formation of historical consciousness and its influence on modern society.
10. Digital transformation of historical science: the impact of new technologies and artificial intelligence on research culture.
