Post Graduate Department for Interdisciplinary Study and Research in Cultural Studies

Post-Graduation and Diploma Course in Cultural Study

The programme of Post Graduate Department for Interdisciplinary Study and Research in Cultural Studies addresses three central concerns and goals:

a) the not-too-happy status of education and research in social sciences in India,
b) the gap between social science and natural science teaching and the resultant negligence of social sciences and
c) Lack of resources (both logistical and intellectual resources) of international standard in rural areas.

The MA and Diploma courses that we plan to start in a rural place (Kuvempu University, Karnataka) will not only be sensitive about this context but also take the first strides in addressing these issues, in its own humble way.

The Post Graduation Department tries to address and solve some of the major problems afflicting the social sciences in India today:

a) It aims at promotion of social scientific research culture in the rural Universities.
b) It tries to overcome the detachment of the dominant social science theories from local society which renders social science teaching and research uninteresting and irrelevant for the local students and researchers.
c) It aims at imparting updated research training for the students from rural background, who have problems with English.
d) It aims at providing access and exposure to relevant literature on social science theories in the rural Universities.
e) It aims at innovative interdisciplinary approach to the teaching and research in the field of cultural studies and formulating new theories in comparative science of cultures in the changing global scenario.

Practical usefulness of the courses:

• These courses will prepare a competent researcher who can distinguish himself as a potential candidate in any advanced social science research institute/department.
• There is an increasing demand for cultural studies graduates in the emerging industrial sectors.
• The present courses are designed to train teachers for social science courses to the engineering colleges. Karnataka Government has initiated the process for introducing such a course in this state through Academy for Social Sciences and Humanities, which is initiated by the present Centre.

The Centre for the Study of Local Cultures is well equipped to start these courses:

• The Centre for the Study of Local Cultures has entered into MOU (Memorandum of Understanding) and collaborations with other similar Centres and Departments in India and abroad. It has initiated National and International level forums like Academy for Social Sciences and Humanities (ASHA) and India Platform.
• The Centre has undertaken research projects funded by different National and International bodies.
• The Indian and foreign scholars from different disciplines, trained in the best research practices and engaged in research on the problems of local society, have joined hands in setting up the Centre for the Study of Local Cultures in order to meet with these challenges by building a strong group of researchers.
• Centre for the Study of Local Cultures has already initiated various academic debates on important socio-cultural issues through conferences, seminars and workshops.
• The Centre has provided intensive research training to a group of research scholars, college teachers, and students for last three years.
• It has a rich collection of books on social science and cultural studies in its library.
  

Thus, at present, the Centre has both the intellectual and infrastructural resource to initiate a full fledged Post-Graduate Department which can offer M.A. and Diploma and other research courses.

Details of the Courses: