c m y b

c m y b

St. Stephen's CollegeNew Delhi www.ststephens.edu

Seats: English(Honours) 60;Economics(Honours) 100

Cut off: Over 97.75 per cent

USP: Besides English andEconomics, the college also offershonours courses in History,Philosophy, Sanskrit, Mathematics,Chemistry and Physics.

Lady Shri Ram College for WomenNew Delhi www.lsr.edu.in

Seats: 625

Cut off: 96 per cent

USP: A wide range of courses likeB.A. Honours in Economics,English, Hindi, History, Philosophy,Political Science, Psychology,Sanskrit and Sociology, B.Sc.Honours in Mathematics andStatistics., B.Com. Honours inCommerce and ProfessionalCourses in Elementary Education,Journalism & Mass Communicationand a One Year Diploma course inConflict Transformation andPeacebuilding.

MCM DAV College for Women, Chandigarhwww.mcmdavcw-chd.edu

Seats: BA (800 )

Cut off: Over 65 per cent

USP: State-of-the-art infrastructureamply supported by high academicstandards, job placements, remedialcourses, bridge courses, counselingservices etc.

Government College for GirlsChandigarhwww.gcg.org

Cut-off: BA (gen) 62 per cent

USP: In recognition of itsoutstanding all-round performance,the college has been accredited withA Grade bythe National Assessment andAccreditation Council (NAAC).

DAV College, Sector 10Chandigarhwww.davchd.com

Seats: BA (General) - 700

Cut-off: Over 55 per centUSP: The college has been holdingcomputer literacy classes for seniorcitizens free of cost.

St Bede’s College, Shimlahttp://stbedescollege.in

Seats: 60 in each subject of the arts stream

USP: Still carries the British aura,known for English honours courseand famous alumni

Government College of Art, Chandigarhwww.artcollegechandigarh

Courses offered: Diploma,Bachelor and Master Degree courses

USP: Approved by All India Councilof Technical Education, thisInstitution is a platform where themethod of practice of Art can belearnt by the up coming artists tobring out their creative talents. It isthe only nucleus institution of itskind in Punjab, Haryana, HimachalPradesh, Jammu & Kashmir

Government College for Girls, Ludhianaprincipal@gcgludhiana.org

Seats:550

Cut off: 60 per cent

USP: Maximum university positionsin different undergraduate coursesand national championships inSports.

Dayanand Anglo Vedic Post Graduate College Dehradun, Website www.davpgcollege.com

Courses offered: BA, BSc, BCom, Law

Claim to fame: It is the biggestcollege of Uttarakhand. A total of18,000 students are enrolled in thecollege. The college has formerMauritius Primer Minister Shiv SagarRam Ghulam, Late Union Minister HNBahuguna and Late Army Chief Gen BCJoshi among its alumini.

Jat College, Rohtakwww.jatcollegerohtak.org

Cut-off: Between 45 to 60 per cent,depending upon the course andavailability of seats.

Claim to fame: Described as "Mecca ofSports" in North India by the NAAC PeerTeam in its report for accreditation.

(Based on selected lists from India Today, Outlook and other national surveys)

Humanities colleges

TOP

B. L. Chakoo

ALTHOUGH humanities as a concepthas not been theorised to everyone’sagreement, it is a fact that humani-ties is an English word with a knownetymology, with cognates in most

European and Asian languages, and with awell documented semantic history. Howev-er, humanities should not be regarded as aclass at all, but as an aggregate — an aggre-gate of a highly complex and relative cul-tural knowledge, acquired through experi-ence of modes of discourse that humanitiesis supposed to include. In fact, since classi-cal times, it has been believed that human-ities, which is written material such as liter-ature, philosophy, sociology, etc., especiallyworks of imagination characterised byexcellence of style and expression and bythemes relating to the beliefs and values ofsociety, is a form of discourse which has aspecial and significant relationship withthe world. In fact, the knowledge it pro-duces makes it a major instrument of ideol-ogy and social force in human society.

Humanities is not now thought to beconveying abstract, universal truths, butis supposed to promote changes in soci-eties and readers, purging or integratingtheir emotions.

Literature, which is often regarded asone of most important and temptingcourses in humanities, has, for example,the useful function of instructing thereader. Wellek and Warren express it thus:“literary language wants to influence theattitudes of the reader, persuade him, andultimately inspire him to discard the veilof average life perception and see theworld in a new light. The epigram forbelievers in the moral and civilising qual-ities of humanities was provided byArnold in 1880: “More and more mankindwill discover that we have to turn to (liter-ature, poetry in particular) to interpretlife for us, to console us, to sustain us.Without poetry, our science will appearincomplete; and most of what passes withus for religion and philosophy will bereplaced by poetry.”

In brief, literature has the dual goal to

“delight” and “instruct” the reader. The keyterm for the first half of the conjunction ispleasure, defined in various ways: it couldbe a feeling of the sublime, the relief ofcathartic purging of violent negative feel-ings, “a harmonisation of impulses”—thestudying of which is the business of philos-ophy. Thus the subjects of literature andphilosophy should go hand in hand.

However, a corpus such as humanitieshas objective and describable social, cul-tural, economic and “institutional posi-tioning and links.” For example, literature(English literature in particular) has deter-minate relationships with publishingindustry, with other media, with businesssectors, with education. To say somethingmore on the latter point, people areemployed in schools, colleges and univer-sities to teach English as a language and aliterature, and what is being taught has animportant national and spiritual role forthe population outside the institution’s

walls. Job opportunities could also beavailable in bank, communication andtranslation businesses.

In the present context of humanities cours-es in our country, both literature and philoso-phy or, for that matter, sociology and history,fit within the humanities model for the pur-suit of knowledge within the existing institu-tional framework. But what we see today isthe decline in credibility of such great sub-jects, a decline that is in direct proportion tothe preeminence given to technology fromthe beginning of industrialisation to the pres-ent revolution in information technologies.

No doubt, we need to grow and be effec-tive in science and technology to be trulyindependent, but we also need to restoreand strengthen students’ interest in litera-ture, philosophy, history, social sciencesand the world cultures — their distinctiveand distinguished past. Without activeinvolvement in humanities courses, noexcellent science will emerge: it will rather

be too selfish and sterile to generate itsown technology, too limited in scope to pro-duce “joy in the heart and a song on thelips.” In other words, both teachers andparents have to relearn to put the same“searchlight” on humanities as on contem-porary science and technology.

Perhaps it is because of this negligencethat our best educational institutes have sofar failed to reach the standard of the bestWestern institutes, where students areencouraged to opt for courses in literature,philosophy, history, ethics, women studies,Oriental studies, cultural traditions, cre-ative arts and music. Western people areaware of the fact that humanities shaperesearches and perceptions even amongscientists about the proper scope and roleof the sciences, as well as the sciences’ rela-tions to ancient literatures, ancient philoso-phies, myths, legends and rituals.

The writer is Professor Emeritus, Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar

Blending of classical subjects and a modern ethos has made the arts stream a heady cocktail thatpromises to equip students with a skill-set that makes them fit for every sector

Seerat Toor Grewal

THE varied set of subjects and new inter-disciplinary fields enhance the abilitiesof students of humanities stream to

appreciate and relate to every aspect ofhuman-empowerment. A degree in humani-ties is way different from the professionalstreams that lead to default careers. It willinstead put you on a firm footing when youpick up any career. A simple scan through thetop-most professionals around the worldreflects that humanities students haveproven their expertise in all areas of humanendeavor. There are umpteen examples ofsuccessful politicians, professors, bureau-crats, diplomats, top-brass in army, famouswriters, actors, directors, singers, corporates,social activists, etc. who started their careerswith degrees in various streams of humani-ties. Some of the subjects that can set newbenchmarks for your career goals are:

PsychologyThis traditional science of human mind isamong the most vibrant and versatilehumanities courses at present. Psychologistsare in demand in every sector and in a vari-ety of roles — as counselors, mentors, HR-experts, motivation-drivers etc. in hospitals,hotels, defence forces, sports, prisons, court-rooms, corporate-offices, social welfareorganisations, research establishments, reha-bilitation centers, manufacturing hubs etc.The only thing that defines your monetaryintake is your work-experience and yourexposure. These criteria which gave freshers’sleepless nights can be tackled early-on inlife. One should try and pick up summer jobs,internships, volunteering opportunities etc.during school or college. The course is provid-ed by most arts colleges that offer specificdegrees in various streams viz. sports psy-chology, child psychology, organisational psy-chology, social psychology, media psychology,life-span developmental psychology, behav-ioral economics, parapsychology, experimen-tal and cognitive psychology, environmentpsychology, adolescent psychology, forensicpsychology etc. The scope is endless andthus the intake levels are catching up withthe competition.

PhilosophyYet another traditional discipline that hascarved a niche for itself in the modern spaceand is back with a bang is Philosophy. A study

of philosophy enhances analytical, communi-cation and arbitration-skills. It is a uniqueskill-set which is currently in demand in anextraordinary number of professions world-wide viz. the diplomats, news analysts, socialand aid workers, disaster management, con-flict zones, B2B communications, marketeersetc. As the subject sharpens your logic andcritical ability, many combine it with econom-ics and turn investment bankers, consumeranalysis with many financial data firms,share-market to predict the buying and sell-ing behaviour, lawyers, doctors, etc. As com-panies and nations become more characterconscious, the demand for employingphilosophers will keep rising.

The field is also picking pace on an interna-tional platform. There are international con-cerns like automobiles, engineering, FMCGsegments etc. who are evaluating their ethi-cal quotient while breaking global deals andexpansions. Thus, philosophy has come along way from armchair philosophy whichdealt with examining classical texts. Stu-

dents enter into combinations of subjectswith majors in hard sciences with philosophyto master the art of logic and communication.Such combos are giving effective results onjob-fronts as it is accepted that this classicaldiscipline has time-tested knowledge to inter-pret and deal with contemporary issues fac-ing every concern and the world at large.

Conflict Transformation and Peace-building (CTPB)The new geostrategic equations and divisionshave pushed many parts of our world intoextended conflicts and civil wars. The newquestions of climate change, water diploma-cy, oil and minerals are bound to breed moreand more unrest in times to come. Thiscourse thus finds its significance in dealingwith discord at every level in a peaceful wayand suggests non-violent solutions. It coversareas as conflict analysis and transformation,building skills in dialogue, mediation, facili-tation, negotiation, human rights, gendersensitivities, justice and reconciliation etc. It

offers a 360? student enhancement andequips one for prestigious and noble profes-sions as in peace-keeping, human rights cells,NGOs, conflict management, media special-ists, etc. Lady Shri Ram College for Womenhas a Diploma programme in this.

Public PolicyThe sinking morals and the perils in develop-ment send clear signals to reinvent and reju-venate the policy environment in the govern-ing bodies. This not only demandsexperience but also technical skills which canbe acquired through this subject. This fieldaims to endow future policy-designers to getcloser to real-time situations and be more realin dealing with them. Students pick up skillsto assimilate, and compare relevant interna-tional perspectives in determining and fram-ing requisite policies to ease out the uneven-ness caused by the distrust and shortage ofresources. Course is multi-disciplinary, cover-ing subjects like sociology, politics, econom-ics, law, history, philosophy and ethics, thenatural sciences and medicine. The logic is tofind more innovative solutions to difficultpolicy challenges. Thus, it prepares youth totake up challenging situations more wiselyand respond to intricacies and address thelacunae in public governance.

Social WorkA much respected subject choice whichbestows the ability to help the poor and des-titute. It is designed to let the students gath-er momentum and the appropriate skill-setto meet the demands of various organisa-tions involved in social work at regional,national and international levels. Thisdegree has found a place in most of the top-ranking arts colleges in the country. It isoffered at both the undergraduate and mas-ter’s level. The curriculum clearly segre-gates the students’ area of interest thushelping them take up jobs in relevant fieldslike youth development, urban communitydevelopment, Family Social Work/MentalHealth and Social Work/Rural and TribalCommunity Development, etc.

Thus, humanities has come a long way fromtimes when it was opted for by students witha blurred vision of their future. It helps one tomaster the dwarfs better than Snowhite as itbrings about overall enhancement in ethos,outlook and approach towards life — a con-temporary skill-set which finds place in everywork-place and concern

With a wide array of subjects and universally relevant courses that lead tounderstanding of human life and holistic personality development, humanities is thebest bet for bright young minds

The Art of Arts

CLEAR PATH: HUMANITIES IS NO LONGER AN OPTION PREFERRED BY STUDENTS WITH A BLURRED VISION OF FUTURE

FRIDAY | APRIL 18 | 2014THE TRIBUNE GUIDE TO BEST COLLEGES Humanities04

In Fine FettleThe field of creative arts like applied art, painting, sculpturing and graphic design is theideal path for those with a creative bent of mind and some inborn talent and skill inthese areas. The Bachelor of Fine Arts and applied arts is an all encompassing coursefor the artistically inclined. The course curriculum and instructional route is entirelydifferent from other disciplines as the focus is on honing the inborn talent of a student.The four-year BFA course that students can opt for after Class XII in any stream providesthe first step to a career in the world of art. An integrated course is offered in the firstyear, and the remaining three years are allocated for specialisation in applied art. Thespecialised branches in the second year will be offered on basis of the students’aptitude. Some of illustrious institutes in the region are Delhi College of Art, New Delhi;Apeejay College of Fine Art, Jalandhar;Government College of Art, Chandigarh.

The Choices Multiply

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