Evaluative Report of the Department of History
1. Name of the Department History
Its year of establishment Established in 1960-61.
2. Names of Programmes / Courses offered (UG, PG, M.Phil., Ph.D., Integrated Masters; Integrated Ph.D., etc.) –
Programme Level of study 3 year Honours U.G. 2 year General U.G.
3. Interdisciplinary courses and departments involved- None
4. Annual/ semester/choice based credit system
Till 2009 the annual examination system under the Three Year UG scheme of Calcutta University was operational After the grant of Autonomy status from the academic session 2010-2011 onwards the Semester system has been adopted.
5. Participation of the department in the courses offered by other departments
Nil
6. Number of teaching posts sanctioned and filled (Professors/Associate Professors/Asst. Professors)
Sanctioned Filled
Professor
Associate Professors - 1
Asst. Professors 4 2*
*One Part-time Teacher (PTT) [Govt.] is also serving in the Department.
7. Faculty profile with name, qualification, designation, specialisation (D.Sc./D.Litt./ Ph.D./M.Phil., etc.) Name Qualification Designation Specialization No. of No. of years of Phd
1 experience students guided Dr. Soumyajyoti MA, Phd Associate Economic 30 No Chakraborty Professor History of India Prithwiraj Biswas M.A. Assistant Medieval 14 No Professor Indian History Santanu Dey MA, Mphil. Assistant Modern 10 No Professor Indian History Gautam MA Part time Economic 10 No Mukhopadhyay teacher History of [Govt.] India Saptarshi MA Visiting Ancient 5 No Chakraborty Faculty Indian History Rajesh Biswas MA, MPhil Visiting Modern 5 No Faculty Indian History Arnab Adhikari MA Visiting Regional 1 No Faculty History Abhirup Sinha MA Visiting Modern 1 No Faculty Indian History
8. Percentage of classes taken by temporary faculty – programme-wise information
25 classes out of a total of 68 classes 36.76% approx.
9. Programme-wise Student Teacher Ratio
3.75 students: 1 teacher (approx.)
10. Number of academic support staff (technical) and administrative staff: sanctioned and filled
Nil
11. Number of faculty with ongoing projects from a) national b) international funding agencies and c) Total grants received. Mention names of funding agencies and grants received project-wise.
Nil
12. Departmental projects funded by DST-FIST; DBT, ICSSR, etc.; total grants received
Nil
2 13. Research facility / centre with None
state recognition
national recognition
international recognition
14. Publications:
number of papers published in peer reviewed journals (national / international)
Pl see the list below
Monographs
Chapter(s) in Books
Editing Books
Books with ISBN numbers with details of publishers
number listed in International Database (For e.g. Web of Science, Scopus, Humanities International Complete, Dare Database - International Social Sciences Directory, EBSCO host, etc.)
Citation Index – range / average
SNIP
SJR
Impact factor – range / average
h-index
List of Publications of the faculty members
Santanu Dey
1) Edited the book Indigenous Traditions and Historical Forces: Impact of Bhakti Movement on Indian Nationalism, Manav Prakashan, Kolkata, 2012. [ISBN no. 978-93-80332-33-8]. He also contributed an article in Bengali entitled ‘Oupanibeshik Banglay Baishnab Sanskar Aandolan o Jatiya Sanskritir Gathan’, pp. 55-64.
2) Article entitled ‘Autobiographic and Hagiographic Constructions of Kedarnath Datta as a Gaudiya Vaishnava Reformer in Colonial Bengal’, in History, published by the Department of History, Burdwan University, Vol. XI, 2012, pp.64-75. [ISSN. No. 81-87259-62-0]
3 3) Article entitled ‘Kedarnath Datta and the Process of Reasserting Gaudiya Vaishnava Identity in Bengal at the Cusp of the Twentieth Century’ in Ratna Ghosh ed., The Study of Social History-Recent Trends, [forthcoming].
4) Contributed entries on historical places [High Court and Dakshineshwar] in a project on the compilation of the Dictionary of Historic Places and Personalities conducted under the editorship of Prof. Ranjan Chakrabarti and the Department of History, Jadavpur University and approved by the State Level Committee on the occasion of the celebration of the 150th Anniversary of the First War of Independence.
Saptarshi Chakraborty
1. Published a paper titled “Gangaridai a historical approach” in the annual volume (no.21) of Pashimbanga Itihas Sansad in 2007.
2. Published a paper titled “Ancient Indian environmental conscious reflected in Barahamihir’s Brihat Samhita” in the Annual volume (no.22) of Pashimbanga Itihas Sansad in 2008.
3. Published a paper titled “In comparison with the other civilization a study of Ancient Indian water conservation (pre-historic age to 600 AD)” in the annual volume (no.23) of Pashimbanga Itihas Sansad in 2009.
4. Published an article titled “Asokan policy of Wild-Life conservation reflected in his Inscription’s” in the History Departmental Journal of Khalishani Mahavidyalaya in 2009.
5. Published a paper titled “Globalization & Indian Migrant Labour : a saga of Human rights violation" in the journal of UGC sponsored state level seminar titled “Human Development & Human Rights in India” organized by Tarakeswar Degree College on 25th April’2009.
6. Published a paper titled “Graeco- Roman Travelogue: a Literary journey through the Ancient Indian Past” in the UGC sponsored National level seminar volume “History in Literature & literature as History” organized by Kulti College in 2012.
7. Published a paper titled “Elephant and the Polity: an Ancient Indian Perspective “in the 27th annual volume of Pashimbanga Itihas Sansad in 2012.
8. Published a paper titled “Changing Social Psychology of Terrorism: Through the eyes of Bollywood” in the UGC sponsored National level seminar volume “Changing Society, Culture and its impact on People” organized by Sambhu Nath College in 2012.
4 15. Details of patents and income generated
NIL
16. Areas of consultancy and income generated
None
17. Faculty recharging strategies
apart from attending conferences, symposia, workshops and seminars the teachers of the Department attend Refresher and Orientation courses as per UGC stipulations
Prithwiraj Biswas
(i) Completed mandatory course work as part of Ph.D programme at the Centre for Studies in Social Sciences Calcutta.(2011-2012) (ii) Persuing doctoral studies at the Centre for Studies in Social Sciences since 2010 under the supervision of Prof.Tapati Guha Thakurta (iii) Participated in UGC –sponsored Refresher Course at Calcutta University under the aegis of Academic Staff College. (28th January to 18th February 2009) .Awarded Grade A. (iv) Participated in UGC –sponsored Refresher Course at Calcutta University under the aegis of Academic Staff College. (14h March to 4h April 2008) .Awarded Grade A. (v) Participated in UGC-sponsored National Level Seminar entitled “Religion and Culture in India across the ages :Historical Reflections “ at the Ramakrishna Mission Vidyamandira,Belur Math .(24-25 February ,2012) (vi) Participated in UGC-sponsored Seminar entitled “Chemistry in our Lives “ at the Ramakrishna Mission Vidyamandira,Belur Math .(25th March,2011) (vii) Participated in UGC-sponsored National Level Seminar entitled “Development of Logic: Indian and Western “ at the Ramakrishna Mission Vidyamandira,Belur Math .(1-2 February ,2011) (viii) Participated in UGC-sponsored National Level Seminar entitled “Alternative Politics: Another World, Other Voices “ at the Ramakrishna Mission Vidyamandira,Belur Math .(19-20 February ,2010) (ix) Participated in UGC-sponsored State Level Seminar entitled “Manick Bandopadhayayer Kothasahitya :Akaler Mulyayanbhittik ekti Punoorpat“ at the Ramakrishna Mission Vidyamandira,Belur Math .(5th May ,2009) (x) Participated in UGC-sponsored State Level Seminar entitled “Soft Computing Techniques and their Applications“ at the Ramakrishna Mission Vidyamandira,Belur Math .(7th March ,2009) (xi) Participated in UGC-sponsored State Level Seminar entitled “Teaching Early Indian History“ at the Department of Ancient Indian History and Culture, University of Calcutta .(25th February ,2009)
5 (xii) Participated in the International Seminar on “Re-Visiting Early India Through Epigraphy and Other Texts“ at the Department of Ancient Indian History and Culture, University of Calcutta .(7 -8 December ,2007) (xiii) Participated Seminar entitled “Engrej Amole Banglar Gramanchal“ at the Ramakrishna Mission Vidyamandira,Belur Math .(15th March ,2007)
Santanu Dey
1. Participated in Refresher course in History organized by Jadavpur University in November 2007. 2. Participated in a seminar to commemorate the 250 Years of the Battle of Palashi, organized by Mahishadal Raj College, on 29th April 2008. 3. Participated in the UGC sponsored National seminar organized by Kidderpore College and Netaji Institute for Asian Studies, Kolkata on ‘19th Century Bengal Renaissance: Commemorating H.L.V. Derozio’ on 15th December 2008. 4. Participated in the UGC sponsored state level seminar on ‘Manik Bandyopadhyay’er Kathasahitya: Ekaler Mulyayanbhittik ekti Punarpath’ organized by the Department of Bengali RKM Vidyamandira and Paschim Bangla Akademi on 5th May 2009. 5. Participated in the National Seminar on ‘Rethinking the Guru: New Vistas of 21st Century Teaching’ organized by St. Xavier’s College, Kolkata on 9th and 10th July 2009. 6. Participated in the UGC-sponsored national level seminar on ‘Alternative Politics; Another World, Other Voices’ organized jointly by the department of Political Scienc, RKM Vidyamandira and Centre for Studies in Social Sciences, Calcutta on 19th and 20th February 2010. 7. Participated in the seminar to commemorate the sesquicentennial Birth Anniversary of Acharya Prafulla Chandra Ray organized by the Asiatic Society, Kolkata on 2nd and 3rd December 2010. 8. Participated in the UGC sponsored National Seminar on ‘Visibility/Invisibility: An Enquiry into the Conditions of Women in India’ organized by Maulana Azad College and Rabindra Bharati University on 21st and 22nd February, 2011. 9. Participated and acted as the Master of Ceremonies in the International Seminar entitled ‘Sri Ramakrishna’s Ideas and Our Times’ organized by RKM Vidyamandira in collaboration with the Ramakrishna Mission Institute of Culture, Golpark between 19th and 21st January 2012. 10. Participated in an International Seminar on ‘Professor ABM Habibullah Centenary Celebration: Reading Indian Medieval History’ organized by the Department of Islamic History and Culture, University of Calcutta on 6th and 7th March 2012. 11. Participated in a National Seminar on ‘India’s Past and R.S. Sharma: Looking at his Contributions’ organized by the Department of Ancient Indian History and Culture, University of Calcutta on 12th March 2012. 12. Attended the Seminar on ‘Life and Times of Rishi Rajnarayan Basu’ jointly organized by the Institute of Social and Cultural Studies, Sri
6 Aurobindo Samiti and The Institute of Historical Studies on 8th September, 2012. 13. Participated in the Indian Art History Congress 21st Session National Seminar on ‘Indian Art and Religion: An Interactive Approach’ between 23rd and 25th November, 2012.
o Paper Presentations
1. Presented a paper entitled ‘Sufism and Conversion: Early and Present’ in the session on ‘Legacy of Sufism: Socio-Cultural Appraisal’ at the Annual Conference of the Indian National Academy of Civilizational Studies on 27th November 2009
2. Presented a paper entitled ‘Bengali Vaishnavism and Nationalism in the late 19th century’ at a UGC sponsored National Level Seminar organized by Baruipur College on 18th January 2012.
Gautam Mukhopadhyay
(i) Attended the workshop on “Teaching Early Indian History” organized by the Department of Ancient Indian History and Culture, University of Calcutta on 25th February, 2009.
(ii) Attended the International Seminar on “Sri Ramakrishna’s Ideas and Our Times” organized by Ramakrishna Mission Vidyamandira in collaboration with Ramakrishna Mission Institute of Culture, Golpark, Kolkata, during 19-21 January, 2012.
(iii) Attended the UGC-sponsored National Seminar on “Religion and Culture in India across the Ages: Historical Reflections” organized by the Department of History, Ramakrishna Mission Vidyamandira in collaboration with Department of History, Serampore College, during 24-25 February, 2012.
(iv) Attended the National Seminar on “India’s Ancient Past and R.S. Sharma: Looking at his Contributions” organized by the Department of Ancient Indian History and Culture, University of Calcutta on 12th March, 2012.
o Paper Presentation
1. Attended the UGC-sponsored National Seminar on “Religion and Culture in India across the Ages: Historical Reflections” organized by the Department of History, Ramakrishna Mission Vidyamandira in collaboration with Department of History, Serampore College, during 24-25 February, 2012 and presented a paper titled “Uttar Bharatiya Sastriya Kanthasangiter Sekaal O E-kaal – Kichhu Bhabna”.
7 2. Invited as a resource person in a Seminar organized at Domjur, Howrah on 18th March, 2012 and delivered a speech on “Annadamangal of Raygunakar Bharatchandra: Socio-Economic and Cultural Reflections of the 18th Century”
Saptarshi Chakraborty
1. Attended the International Seminar on “Re-visiting Early India Through Epigraphy & Other Texts” organized by the Department of Ancient Indian History and Culture, University of Calcutta on 7th-8th Dec’07. 2. Attended the International Seminar on “Issues in Public Policy & Sustainable Development” organized by Indira Gandhi National Open University on 26th-28th Mar’08. 3. Attended the 7th Annual Conference (International) on Labour History organized by Association of Indian Labour Historians on 29th-30th Mar’08. 4. Attended the UGC sponsored National Seminar on “Challenges of the Indigenous Cultures in the Face of Globalization” organized by Netaji Mahavidyalaya, Arambagh on 8th-9th Apr’08. 5. Attended the National level Workshop on “Teaching Early Indian History” organized by Dept. of A.I.H.C, University of Calcutta on 25th Feb’09. 6. Attended the National Seminar on “Integration Through Theatre” organized by Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports (Govt. of India) & Nandikar on 23rd-29th Mar’09. 7. Attended the National Seminar on “Integration Through Theatre” organized by Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports (Govt. of India) & Nandikar on 21st-27th Jul’10. 8. Attended the UGC sponsored National Seminar on “Recent reforms in Education in India: Trends & Challenges” organized by WEBCUTA on 1st-2nd Oct’10. 9. Attended the National Seminar on “Religion and Society in India” organized by Dept. of A.I.H.C, University of Calcutta on 18th Jan’11. 10. Attended the International Seminar on “Many Rabindranath across the space & time” organized by Jadavpur University on 28th-30th Mar’11. 11. Attended the UGC sponsored National Seminar on “Religion and Culture in India across the ages: Historical Reflections” organized by Ramakrishna Mission Vidyamandira on 24th-25th Feb’12. 12. Attended the UGC sponsored National Seminar on “Resource utilization in India : Environmental Impacts and Sustainable Developments” organized by Tarakeswar Degree College on 19th-20th Mar’12. 13. Attended the UGC sponsored National Seminar on “Issues on Rural Livelihood in India” organized by Gour Mahavidyalaya on 8th-9th Sept’12.
o Paper Presentation:
Attended 23rd Annual conference of Paschimbanga Itihas Sansad (International Level) , organized by Paschimbanga Itihas Sansad on 27th-29th Jan’07 and presented a paper titled “Paribesh sachetanatar dristite Brihat-Sanhita”.
Attended 24th Annual conference of Paschimbanga Itihas Sansad (International Level) , organized by Paschimbanga Itihas Sansad on 24th-25th Jan’08 and presented a paper titled “Samosamoyik savyatagulir nirikhe Prachin Bharater Jal-sanrakhan”.
8 Attended 25th Annual conference of Paschimbanga Itihas Sansad (International Level) , organized by Paschimbanga Itihas Sansad on 24th-26th Jan’09 and presented a paper titled “Badyajantrer Aloke Prachin Kalinga Vaskarjya”.
Attended UGC sponsored state level Seminar on “Human Rights & Human development in India” organized by Tarakeswar Degree College on 25th April’09 and presented paper on “Globalization & Indian Migrant Labour : a saga of Human rights violation".
Attended 27th Annual conference of Paschimbanga Itihas Sansad (International Level) , organized by Paschimbanga Itihas Sansad on 24th-26th Jan’11 and presented a paper titled “Bhumadhya sagariya o paschim asio anchaler jiba boichitro:ekti mudra tatwick parjabekhan”.
Attended UGC sponsored national level Seminar on “History in Literature- Literature as History” organized by Kulti College on 11th-12th Jan’12 and presented paper on “Graeco- Roman Travelogue: a Literary journey through the Ancient Indian Past”.
Attended 28th Annual conference of Paschimbanga Itihas Sansad (International Level) , organized by Paschimbanga Itihas Sansad on 24th-26th Jan’12 and presented a paper titled “Rajnaitik o Samarik kotritwer pratik hisebe Hati : Ekti Prachin Bharatiya Prekhit”.
Attended UGC sponsored national level Seminar on “Changing Society, Culture and its impact on People” organized by Sambhu Nath College on 14th-15th Feb’12 and presented paper on “Changing Social Psychology of Terrorism : Through the eyes of Bollywood “.
Attended UGC sponsored national level Seminar on “Environmental History of India: Recent Trends” organized by Tarakeswar College on 26th-27th Mar’12 and presented paper on “Approach of CSR to go green concept".
Attended UGC sponsored national level Seminar on “Human Dimension of Environmental Change ” organized by Kazi Nazrul Islam Mahavidyalaya, Churulia, Burdwan on 8th-9th Feb’13 and presented paper on “West Asian Biodiversity:a numismatic observation”.
Rajesh Biswas:
(i) Attended a UGC sponsored State Level Seminar on “Rural Development and Women Empowerment” organized by The Department of Political Science, Kandi Raj College and Raja Birendra Chandra College, Kandi, Murshidabad on 13th and 14th January 2012. (ii) Attended an International Seminar on “Environment, Science, Technology and Culture: Trajectories of History” organized by The Department of History DRS Programme, Jadavpur University, on 22nd to 24th Feb’12 at the K.P. Basu Memorial Hall.
9 (iii) Attended an International Seminar on “Social Systems, Science and Environment: Experience of Different Countries” organized by The Department of History under UGC-DRS Programme, Jadavpur University, on 28-29 January, 2013.
18. Student projects percentage of students who have done in-house projects including inter- departmental percentage of students doing projects in collaboration with industries / institutes
Some students do projects on various syllabus-related topics on a regular basis every semester as part of the internal continuous evaluation.
19. Awards / recognitions received at the national and international level by
Faculty None
Doctoral / post-doctoral fellows None
Students None
20. Seminars/ Conferences/Workshops organized and the source of funding (national / international) with details of outstanding participants, if any.
An UGC-sponsored National seminar on ‘Religion and Culture in India across the Age: Historical Reflections’ was organized on 24 & 25 February 2012 in association with Serampore College. Among the distinguished scholars who attended the event were Ganapathy Subbaiah [Visva Bharati University], Ranabir Chakravarti and Kunal Chakrabarti [CHS Jawaharlal Nehru University], Madhuparna Roychowdhury, Swati Biswas, Bhaskar Chakraborty, Suchandra Ghosh [Calcutta University], Shahnoorur Rahman [ North Eastern Hill University, Shillong], Tapati Guha Thakurta [Centre for the Study of Social Sciences, Kolkata] and Moinak Biswas [Jadavpur University].
21. Student profile course-wise:
Name of the Course Applications Selected Pass percentage received (refer question no. 2) Male Female Male Female
UG History 2008 46 10 NA 100 NA
UG History 2009 46 10 NA 100 NA
UG History 2010 53 10 NA 100 NA
UG History 2011 69 9 NA 100 NA
UG History 2012 58 11 NA 100 NA
10
22. Diversity of students
Name of the % of % of students % of students % of Course students from the State from other students from the States from (refer question College other no. 2) countries
UG Honours 100% and General
23. How many students have cleared Civil Services, Defense Services, NET, SLET, GATE and any other competitive examinations?
Since ours is a UG department so we do not have the complete data of the successful candidates in these examinations. However, we have been able to collect the information of some students and this is as follows-
SET/NET- 4
SSC exams- 3
24. Student progression
Student progression Percentage against enrolled
UG to PG 95%
PG to M.Phil. NA
PG to Ph.D. NA
Ph.D. to Post-Doctoral NA
Employed NA
Campus selection
Other than campus recruitment
Entrepreneurs NA
25. Diversity of staff
11 Percentage of faculty who are graduates
of the same parent university 87.5%
from other universities within the State 12.5%
from other universities from other States -
26. Number of faculty who were awarded Ph.D., D.Sc. and D.Litt. during the assessment period.
Nil
27. Present details about infrastructural facilities
a) Library –
Books in Central Library - 4346
Books in Departmental Library- 231
Journals in Central Library- 5
Maps in Departmental Library- 30 (Approximately)
Dvds/Cds in Departmental Library- 8.
b) Internet facilities for staff and students – Departmental teachers can access the Internet in the Departmental cubicle through a land connection. Internet facilities for the students of the Department are made freely available through computers located at the Library Reading Room.
c) Total number of class rooms – No dedicated classrooms are available for the department but we avail it on a shared basis with other departments. d) Class rooms with ICT facility- 9 rooms are available with ICT facility and the Department can avail it as and when required.
e) Students’ laboratories – Nil f) Research laboratories - Nil
28. Number of students of the department getting financial assistance from College.
12 Year No. of students receiving scholarships
3rd Year 2nd Year 1st Year
2011-12 4 7 5
2010-11 5 4 7
2009-2010
2008-2009
2007-2008
29. Was any need assessment exercise undertaken before the development of new program(s)? If so, give the methodology.
i. Comparative syllabi of different Universities were taken into consideration while deciding the syllabus to be adopted for the History Department in the session 2010-11 when the college was conferred Autonomy.
ii. Moreover the type and methodology of marking and examination were also suitably adjusted according to the pattern of Competitive examinations like NET, SET, SSC, etc.
30. Does the department obtain feedback from a. Faculty on curriculum as well as teaching-learning-evaluation? If yes, how does the department utilize it?
i. The department regularly obtains feedback from the faculty on the curriculum as well as teaching-learning-evaluation.
ii. The department holds regular meetings to discuss the performance of the students in the continuous evaluation pattern. b. Students on staff, curriculum as well as teaching-learning-evaluation and what is the response of the department to the same?
i. There is also a system of regular feedbacks from the students on the staff of the department.
ii. Their views on the syllabi, curriculum and examination are also given weightage by the department. c. Alumni and employers on the programmes and what is the response of the department to the same?
13 i. When the Board of Studies Meetings are organised the Department obtains specialised inputs from the alumni members, who is a part of the BOS, for designing the departmental curriculum, methodology, etc.
31. List the distinguished alumni of the department (maximum 10)
1. Dr. Shekhar Bhaumik, Asssociate Professor of Mahishadal Raj College, East Midnapore. [9433237591] 2. Partha pratim Mukherjee, Domjur College, Howrah 3. Saptarshi Chakrabarti- Assistant Professor, [9830755783] 4. Prasenjit Ghosh-teacher 5. Soumen Mandal, Assistant Professor, Tarakeshwar College [9883371473] 6. Prithis Biswas, Assistant Professor, Itachuna College 7. Parthasarathi Sarkar-Transport department, WB 8. Mrinmoy Sarkar-school teacher and classical music 9. Gautam Ray- Narasingha Datta college 10. Gautam Banerjee- School teacher
32. Give details of student enrichment programmes (special lectures / workshops / seminar) with external experts.
The department organises regular extension lectures by faculty from other universities and colleges for catering to the needs of the students. i. Professor Subhas Ranjan Chakrabarty [retired Professor of Presidency College] gave a series of lectures on ‘English Civil war’, ‘Transition Debate from Feudalism to Capitalism’, ‘Role of Women in the French Revolution’ and ‘The French Revolution-Reign of Terror’. ii. Prof. Prabir Bhattacharya [retired professor of the Department of History, RKM vidyamandira] gave a series of lectures on ‘The French Revolution’; iii. Prof. Sharmistha Nath [Associate Professor, Dept. of History, Raja Peary Mohan College, Uttarpara] lectured on ‘Some aspects of the History of China’. iv. Prof. Siddhartha Guha Ray [Professor of History, Vivekananda College, Behala] gave a series of lectures on ‘The Background to the establishment of the People’s Republic of China’.
33. List the teaching methods adopted by the faculty for different programmes.
a) Teachers of the Department use all the mentioned methods as and when they think appropriate.
b) Lecture method
c) ICT-enabled teaching method and interactive method are commonly practiced in classrooms.
14 d) Project-based teaching methods, although not integrated in the main syllabi of the department, are frequently adopted for continuous evaluation of the students.
34. How does the department ensure that programme objectives are constantly met and learning outcomes monitored?
a) After every semester exam results are announced the Department organizes departmental meetings among the teachers to review the performance of the students.
b) Open house with the students, management representatives and teachers are also organized as a means of monitoring learning outcomes.
35. Highlight the participation of students and faculty in extension activities.
a) Students participate in NCC and NSS programmes of the college. They also attend different training camps organized in this connection within and outside the state.
b) Students participate in Blood donation Camps organized by the college.
36. Give details of “beyond syllabus scholarly activities” of the department.
a) The department organized academic excursions for the students
To Puri, Konark and Bhubaneshwar in 2007-2008. In each of these visits we visited the local Archaeological Survey of India office through prior intimation and were given guided tours of ASI Museums. At Bhubaneshwar the local staff of the ASI gave our students a fascinating Audio-Visual presentation on ‘Orissan Architectural style’ apart from distributing reading material on the same.
To Murshidabad in 2009-10 To Varanasi, Chunar and Sarnath in 2011. At Sarnath the Departmental students visited the entire spot under the academic guidance of the scholars of ASI Sarnath Chapter. b) The department brings out an annual Wall Magazine on the eve of Independence Day celebrations titled ‘Purabritta’ on specific themes connected with Indian History. c) Students of the department also completed an audio-visual project entitled ‘Varanasi’r Parivritte’ [The Precincts of Varanasi] on the basis of the departmental academic excursion to Varanasi in November 2011. The Department organized a special presentation seminar on the said topic.
15 37. State whether the programme/ department is accredited/ graded by other agencies. Give details.
NA
38. Detail any five Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Challenges (SWOC) of the department
STRENGTHS :
i. The most important strength of the Department after the grant of academic autonomy in 2010 is the ability to design its own course, syllabi and examination system. This has enabled all stakeholders - students, parents and teachers- to achieve the optimum academic potential of the department.
ii. The Department not only had an impeccable tradition of 100% academic success in the University Examination system till 2010 the grant of autonomy has seen a further qualitative improvement in the results of the Department.
iii. The department has the benefit of a dedicated faculty who systematically upgrade/update themselves on their respective assignments through the use of different e-educational tools like power point presentations, historical movies, web resources, and e-books & Journals apart from a collection of history maps and slides.
iv. The highly favourable teacher-student ratio lends credence to personal guidance to students particularly those who are academically weaker.
v. The department gives importance to students’ feedbacks and ‘open house sessions’ wherein the faculty invites suggestions and comments from the students on academic matters and have threadbare discussions on various aspects of academic life. This helps to improve internal academic quality of the department.
WEAKNESS:
i. Students' background being mainly rural, they suffer from very limited exposure; further, many of them are first generation learners.
ii. Inadequate language skills: as a direct fallout of the above, the power of expression and writing skills, of the students are sometimes poor, even in their own mother tongue, Bengali, not to speak of English. iii. Limited academic mobility in choosing subjects of preference in General
16 courses. iv. Limited space for the Department. OPPORTUNITIES:
i. The Department is in a position to discharge its socio-academic responsibility by organizing workshops and refresher courses for school teachers. ii. We can explore possibilities of generating further financial resources from government and non-government organizations like ICHR for undertaking projects. iii. Can counsel and guide students for competitive examinations like School Service Commission, NET, SET, etc. iv. UG students can be given more opportunity for pursuing projects on Regional History. CHALLENGES:
Market economy has led to the following points of crisis in social sciences and the Department is no exception to this challenge:
i. Uncertainty regarding filling up of future vacancies of teaching posts, not to speak of further expansion of faculty. ii. Apprehensions regarding curtailment of financial resources in the future . iii. It is also a further challenge to develop language and vocabulary skills for the students.
39. Future plans of the department.
i. Academic collaborations with specialized faculty of academic institutes like CSSS, CU, etc especially for organizing annual orientation programmes for the newly admitted UG 1st year students is being contemplated.
ii. Procurement of reprints of primary books relating to Ancient, Medieval, Modern Indian and European History so that departmental students can undertake research projects with the help of primary texts in a more fruitful manner. iii. Organizing specialized Summer courses for students at other academic institutes in disciplines allied with history like archival training, museology, etc is being contemplated.
17