The Coimbra Jesuit Course in 18th-19th century Russia: traces of cross-cultural connections

Abstract

This article is aimed at examining the impact of Jesuit philosophical education, particularly the Coimbra Jesuit Course, on the intellectual culture existing during the 18th and 19th centuries in the Slavic territories now part of Belarus, Russia, and Ukraine. We have sought to trace the movement of Coimbra Aristotelianism to the East and discern the most promising directions for further research. Although any direct references to the Coimbra Jesuit Course made by Russian‑speaking intellectuals of the period are hard to find, we propose an examination of the circulation and provenance of the volumes themselves as a means of establishing the link between Slavic thought and Coimbra Jesuit Aristotelianism.