“The Department of Sociology, University of Hyderabad, organised “Disseminating Sociology,” a Students’ roundtable on 12th October 2024. It featured Jeff Manza’s essay “Sociology for Beginners,” where panellists from IMA Sociology, MA Sociology, and a PhD scholar from the department shared their reflections on the article as well as their experiences of learning sociology at the University. Prof. Sasheej Hegde was the discussant, and Sujay Mungekar, a PhD scholar from the Department, chaired the session. The roundtable saw the enthusiastic participation of over 70 people, including faculty members of the department – Prof. Nagaraju Gundemeda (HoD), Prof. Aparna Rayaprol, Dr. Anurekha Chari Wagh, Dr. Annavaram, students and research scholars.
Panellists shared concerns ranging from teaching sociology in the IMA Program, navigating through ostensible ambiguities of the discipline, ethical questions to be asked centring the discipline, reforming pedagogies of Sociology in apex institutes of India, etc. Both IMA students, Jaya and Sanjeevini, were articulate in sharing their views on the important role of course instructors and institutional cooperation between students and faculties, respectively. While Tikku from MA Sociology reflected on the interdisciplinary nature of the social sciences along with its challenges and possibilities, Neeraj focused on the image of Sociology as a discipline for outsiders and its practitioners. Prasanna from the PhD programme discussed the subject matter of the discipline, emphasising the breadth and intensity of its concepts. Professor Sasheej Hegde took up the concerns raised by the panellists and carried forward the discussion about pedagogies, methods and sensibilities surrounding Sociology as a disciple. The roundtable was imagined to yield compelling scholarly insights into the scholarship on teaching and learning of sociology, thoughts on disciplinary boundaries, the changing landscape of academic institutions which includes public and private universities, etc.
The Roundtable was organized by PhD Research Scholars – Afsal Hussain, Aman Kumar, Krithika Narayswamy, and Sujay Mungekar, along with office staff Geetha Patil, M Chandra Kumar, and Syed Adil from the Sociology department.”