Under the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD), Global Initiative on Academic Network (GIAN), the Department of Political Science, School of Social Sciences, University of Hyderabad (UoH) has organized one week course on “Values, Ideas and Party Systems” from November 20th to 25th, 2017.
Prof. Pradeep Chhibber (Research Professor at the University of California, Berkeley) who is one of the eminent scholars of India Studies and Comparative Studies as the course instructor. He currently holds the Indo-American Community Chair in India Studies, Institute of International Studies, University of California, Berkeley. Prof. Chhibber has published extensively on political parties and party systems, social divisions and party politics, party organization as well as on contemporary electoral politics in India.
Using quantitative data, the course tried to explain the role of ideology in changing the nature of Indian party system from 1952 to the present. It was a new approach in understanding the dynamics from the earlier literature which was confined to studying ideology in a qualitative method. Unlike the customary way of teaching, the course was more of interactive with emphasis on critical and analytical approach, in which the participants involved themselves actively in the classroom discussions.
The course had 26 participants from diverse fields like Political Science, Journalism, Developmental Studies, International Relations etc. It was a combination of master’s students, research scholars and young faculty members from various institutions across the country.
The research scholar learnt the importance of choosing right research design, and putting our research into the existing literature which forms the foundation of a good research. The interactions with Prof. Chhibber was of great help for young researchers and faculty members to sharpen their own research questions and methodology. Since this was the first GIAN Workshop in the School of Social Sciences, scholars wish that in future more such courses would be organized by other Departments in the School, so that more students and research scholars will be exposed to new and emerging approaches in the academia.
-by Latha K.V
Ph.D Research Scholar
Department of Political Science