Faculty of Philosophy
Although it was formally established in 1994, the Faculty of Philosophy proudly inherited the decades long tradition of its predecessors. It can be said that one of them was the Teacher-training School in Banja Luka. The Teacher-training School was relocated from Derventa in 1925 on the initiative of the Serbian Cultural Society “Prosvjeta” to open a school in Banja Luka. The relocation was decided on 9 June 1923, at an assembly of representatives of all cultural associations and the town administration. The Initiative Committee for establishing the Banja Luka Teacher-training School was immediately elected, and was chaired by Mayor Muhamed Bajagilović. Some days later, an application was addressed to the Ministry of Education, signed by the members of the Committee, representatives of cultural associations and the religious elderlies of the town. The application was taken to Belgrade and submitted to the Minister of Education, and the Mayor personally visited Prime Minister Nikola Pašić to inform him of the planned programme. After lengthy correspondence and requests for an expedited procedure, on 10 February 1925 the Order arrived to open a Teacher-training School in Banja Luka, for the first form only. The School was soon opened, and started operating on 4 March 1925. At first, it was located in the building of the former Higher State Girls’ School – whose sports hall was up until recently used as a screening room for the “Kozara” cinema.
As early as the summer of 1925, the Town Council submitted a request to the Ministry of Education for the allocation of 4 000 000 dinars to erect a new building for the Teacher-training School. However, due to a lack of funds and lengthy negotiations, the building wasn’t completed until the summer of 1931. Its location was near an abandoned stretch of railway, beside the “King’s Road” station. The building was quite modern for its day, with broad hallways, central heating, a spacious yard, a school garden and orchard for practical classes. During the Second World War, the School operated on the premises of the Academic Secondary School, having produced over 1500 teachers up to then. After 1945, the School adapted to the needs of the time. After the 1969 earthquake, it was slightly reconstructed. It was still preserved and operational. However, under the new Law on the Teacher-training Academy, the School was closed in 1972. The building was later used by several institutions, until it was assigned to the Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics in 1996. After WWII, another school for educating teachers was opened in Banja Luka. It was the Teacher-training College, established on 28 October 1950, with two dual study programmes (Serbo-Croatian Language with History or German Language and Mathematics with Physics), with 38 students in the first generation. Its premises were initially the top floor of what used to be the “Kozara” restaurant, behind today’s City Administration building, and in 1964 it was moved to the building of the House of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Banja Luka, the construction of which began in 1940 following the project of Stojan Borovnica. The Teacher-training College operated until 1968-69, with over 2400 graduates. With the termination of this College, the Teacher-training Academy was established, and operated in the same building. The Academy offered the following study programmes: Serbo-Croatian (Croato-Serbian) Language and the Literature of the Yugoslav Peoples, History– Geography, Mathematics–Physics, Preschool Education and Primary School Education, with over 400 students a year.
The school ceased operating on 30 September 1994, pursuant to the Law on Universities, which was adopted on 12 July 1993 by the National Assembly of the Republic of Srpska.
When the Faculty of Philosophy was established, it comprised ten departments: Biology, History, English Language and Literature, Geography, Mathematics and Informatics, Pedagogy, Psychology, Serbian Language and Literature, Philosophy and Sociology, and Physics. In 1996, four departments were separated (Biology, Geography and Ethnology, Mathematics and Informatics, and Physics), and formed the Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, and in 2001 the Department of Physical Education grew into the Faculty of Physical Education and Sport. In February 2005, under the Department of Primary School Education, the Primary School Education Centre was initiated in Derventa, where students trained to be teachers up until October 2015. Nine study programmes further seceded in 2009, forming the Faculty of Philology and the Faculty of Political Science, also under the auspices of the University of Banja Luka.
Now the Faculty of Philosophy is a place of study for social sciences and the humanities, in six study programmes: Philosophy, History, Pedagogy, Psychology, Preschool Education and Primary School Education. All study programmes offer two cycles, while Pedagogy and Primary School Education also offer the third study cycle (doctoral studies). Further, the Faculty also comprises the Institute of Social Sciences and Humanities, as well as the Experimental Psychology Laboratory.
The Faculty has been organizing the annual scientific conference “Banja Luka Encounters” since 2000, and is recognisable for prolific publishing activity, producing around fifteen books a year and the Radovi and Noema magazines. What should also be mentioned are the Faculty’s numerous extracurricular activities, which are significant for additional training of both the academic staff and students, book promotions, round tables, cultural and art events, humanitarian aid, various student sections etc. An important part of the work of the Faculty of Philosophy is its library, holding over 70 000 titles.
The academic staff of the Faculty have taken part in numerous conferences, symposia and conventions, both in the Republic of Srpska and abroad, which is important for their academic development, published papers in renowned indexed journals or national and international significance, and participated in numerous research projects. Within the Erasmus+ programme, the Faculty of Philosophy has implemented projects and carried out exchange of students and academic staff.
The vision of the Faculty of Philosophy is for this institution to provide a pleasant and encouraging studying environment, with stable study programmes characterized by innovative curricula, professional and student-oriented academic staff, appealing extracurricular content and a positive image in the community. Key points of its mission are: To develop critical thinking and student achievements through an innovative teaching process, productive scientific research and additional extracurricular activities, to promote applicable current knowledge, academic and pedagogical skills, which yield work of high quality in practice and a better understanding of the social reality. The basic strategic development directions include: improvement of the teaching process; development of scientific research and productivity, as well as publishing activities; encouragement and development of extracurricular activities and student sections at the Faculty of Philosophy; development of promotions and programmes in the community; improvement of the material and technical working conditions; advocating the improvement of social policies on the employability of graduates of the Faculty of Philosophy; encouragement of the internationalization of the Faculty, student and staff mobility; improvement of the operations of the library; strengthening the capacities of the student association.
| Phone | +387 51 322 780 |
|---|---|
| Fax | +387 51 325 811 |
| Website | www.ff.unibl.org |
| info@ff.unibl.org | |
| Address |
University City, 1A Vojvode Petra Bojovića Blvd. Banja Luka, 78 000 Luka |
| Dean | Dr. Srđan Dušanić, Full Professor |
| Vice-dean for Teaching | Dr.Dragan Partalo, Assistant professor |
| Vice-Dean for Science, Research and International Cooperation |
Dr. Svetlana Borojević, Associate Professor |
