UG ADMISSIONS 2021-2022 - Flipbook - Page 46
civilizations; political centralization and dispersal; the bases and relations of economic life; social
formations and hierarchies of caste, class and gender, among others; domination, marginalization
and resistance; identity and community formation; diversity and syncretism; high and popular
religion and culture; tradition and modernity; continuity and change; war and peace;
environmental regimes and crises; ideas and ideology; international relations and global currents;
science and technology.
There is considerable focus on the nature and craft of the discipline. Students become familiar
with the intertwined issues of the origins and career of History as a knowledge practice; the idea
of popular and disciplinary history; and inter-disciplinarity. A great deal of time is devoted to
exploring questions such as the role of ideology and the politics of history writing; the notion of
fact, protocol of evidence and elements of objectivity/subjectivity in the historical enterprise; the
nature and dynamics of sources – archaeological, literary, oral; analyses, reading and
interpretation of texts; and fashioning of historical text/narrative. We give central place in our
studies to historiography and critical theory; and are always updated with the latest trends in the
discipline and its practice. Through well-prepared lectures, enthusiastic classroom interactions,
rigorous tutorial discussions, and all-round and sensitive mentoring, the Department endeavours
to prepare its students with historical knowledge and skills, openness to different cultures and
perspective, civic sense and social responsibility, and a commitment to liberty, equality and
justice.
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