Academic Affair Office of Marxism & Leninism (School of Social Development)

Academic Affair Office of Marxism & Leninism (School of Social Development), Yunnan Normal University is both an institute directly under the leadership of the University and responsible of delivering ideological politic lessons and researching on Marxism theory. It also hosts the research base for discipline of Marxism. Its responsibilities included administration of faculty staff of ideological politics subject, teaching, research, social service and administration affairs related to curriculum, build-up of the subject, talent and research team pertaining to Marxism theory.

Ideological Politics is the major channel to give ideological political education to university students through which modern university students are equipped with Marxism, Leninism, Maoism, Deng Xiaoping’s Theory, Three Representative Theory and Scientific Development Outlook. It is also the embodiment of the education guiding principles cherished by the Party and an inherent characteristic of a socialist university. The Central Committee of CPC has attached great importance and placed high requirement and heavy task on ideological politics education making it an important monitoring spot for improving the Party’s work style and building clean government and reviewing the performance of ideological political works.

Academic Affair Office of Marxism & Leninism was established in 1953 and renamed as Department of Political Theory in 1965. In 1973 it was renamed as Department of Political Education. In 1984 an independent Academic Affair Office of Marxism and Leninism was resumed. In 1990 the office was renamed as Department of Marxism and Leninism. In March 1997 with the approval of the University, a Section of Management Science was established under the Department. In March 1999 part of the faculty of Social Sciences from School of Education and of Academic Affair Office of Ideological Cultivation merged with the Department. In November 2001 following the approval of the University, School of Social Development was established which has assumed the task of education and research related to Marxism and Leninism and shared one faculty with Department of Marxism and Leninism since then.

In 2000 the University was listed as Outstanding School of the Province in the assessment of buildup and reform of Marxism Course and Ideological Cultivation Course and.

The School establishes Academic Affair office of Cultivation of Ethic Thoughts and Fundamental of Law, Academic Affair office of Introduction of Basic Theory of Marxism, Academic Affair Office of Modern Chinese History Guidelines, Academic Office of Maoism and Systematic Theory of Building Socialism with Chinese Characteristics, Academic Office of Situation and Policy, Academic Affair office of Public Ideological Political Theory for Graduate Students and Academic Affair Office of Continuous Study, formulating an education and administration system for the ideological political theory education of the University. The School has also established Marxism Theory Research Center, Cultural Industry and Social Development Research Institute and Social Development Research Office.

The School holds two Master degree programs of Scientific Socialism and International Communism Movement and Scientific Philosophy and jointly engages in Master degree programs with relevant schools in Theory of Marxism, Philosophy of Marxism, Political Economy, Modern History of China, Public Administration, Journalism, Ideological Political Education and Socialism and is striving to build Marxism as level-one discipline.

Department of Marxism and Leninism now has a faculty of 47 including 43 academic personnel and 4 administrators among whom 25 are master supervisors, 17 assistant professors, 9 lecturers and 3 assistant lecturers. Among them 5 hold PhD degree and 27 master degree. Some of the faculty also serves as consultant of Yunnan Provincial Government, expert of Marxism Theory Research and Buildup Project assigned by Central Committee of CPC, standing member of Social Science Union of Yunnan, academic leader of tertiary institute education of Yunnan, leading expert and major member in the team of Marxism Theory Introduction Project of Yunnan, leading expert and major member in the team of Cultivation of Ethic Thoughts and Fundamental of Law Project of Yunnan, major member of Chinese Modern History Guidelines Project, 2 members of Education Steering Committee of Ideological Political Theory of Tertiary Institutes of Yunnan, 3 researchers appointed to Research Center of Socialism with Chinese Characteristics of Yunnan, 2 top 10 teachers of ideological and political theory course of Yunnan and 1 renowed teacher of the first session education award of Yunnan Normal University.

The School has also taken up the task of delivering such public political courses as Scientific Socialist Theory and Practice, Intensive Reading of Marxism Classics and Natural Dialectics.

From 1999 to 2009 the School has been awarded Outstanding Unit of Ethic Education Work by Department of Education of Yunnan, National Excellent Course Buildup Project, 2 First Class Excellent Course Buildup Projects of the Province, runner-up of Provincial Teaching Achievement, 8 first prices, 15 runner-ups and 21 third places of Teaching Achievement by Department of Education of Yunnan, 3 Excellent Course buildup of the University, 3 Teaching Team Buildup projects and 2 first price, 3 second price and 2 third price of University-level Teaching Achievement Award.

Academic research activities are comprised of 5 state-level research projects, 19 at provincial level, 46 department level with 34 books, 83 textbooks and paper collection published along with over 760 published papers.