The major in Philosophy, History and Languages (PHL) brings together a vibrant community of students and faculty who share a concern with questions that are cross-disciplinary. Acquainting students with major intellectual trends in the Humanities, the major in Philosophy, History and Languages is problem-based or theme-based and draws upon diverse theoretical approaches. The major emphasises precision of scholarship and encourages students to chart new critical approaches to areas of study that span Philosophy, History and Languages. Depending on the theme chosen, students have the option to enroll in a range of courses, such as ethics, intellectual history, postcolonial studies, literary studies, humanistic study of ecology, ethnomusicology and political philosophy.
A central component of the major is the study of languages relevant to a student’s chosen theme or problem. We hope that over time Philosophy, History and Languages will encompass the study of both classical and contemporary South Asian and European languages. These languages include Gujarati, Hindi, Urdu, Persian, Sanskrit, Dutch, French, Japanese, and German. Students in Philosophy, History and Languages tailor their language study according to their intellectual interests and acquire advanced competency in their language of study. The Philosophy, History and Languages programme will be developing high-quality study and research of these languages in the School of Arts and Sciences. This will be accomplished by linking these languages to faculty research and teaching so that students are able to study languages from beginning to advanced levels and in a variety of genres.
The major in Philosophy, History and Languages is a customised programme in the Humanities and allows students to explore themes across disciplines. It has two major goals: (1) to open up a space for students who want to study the Humanities but are undecided between Philosophy, History and Languages/literatures; and (2) to create a space for students to work on a theme that lies at the interface of two or more disciplines in the Humanities, and therefore cannot be accommodated squarely within any of the traditional Humanities disciplines. Given its goals, Philosophy, History and Languages is a unique attempt to reorient and restructure the domain of the Humanities in the context of higher education in India.
Students of the Philosophy, History and Languages Major will acquire the skills required to succeed in professions such as law, media, politics, the development sector, government service, the civil services, publicity and marketing, journalism, translation, research, and further studies in higher education. The skills they will develop include:
Offered by | School of Arts and Sciences |
Programme | Bachelor of Arts (Honours) |
Degree | Bachelor of Arts (Honours) |
Minimum Programme Credits | 120 |
Minimum Major Credits | 60 |
All students entering the undergraduate programme complete our common core, The Foundation Programme, in the first year. The Foundation Programme is designed around four Studios, each of three credits. They are:
Democracy and Justice
Environment and Climate Change
Neighbourhoods
Water
The studios deliver interdisciplinary learning around six domains:
Data Science, Communication, Behaviour, Constitution & Civilisation, Materials, and Biology & Life.
Humanities and Languages GER |
Social Sciences GER |
Biological and Life Sciences GER |
Mathematical and Physical Sciences GER |
Performance and Visual Arts GER |
GER Elective 1: Communication I |
GER Elective 2: Communication II |
GER Elective 3: Any course at the university outside the major |
GER Elective 4: Any course at the university outside the major |
GER Elective 5: Any course at the university outside the major |
Major Requirements | Credits |
---|---|
Major Core | 24 |
Introduction to Humanistic Inquiry | |
Interpreting Texts | |
Foundation Seminar | |
PHL Colloquium | |
Language Courses (four courses)* | |
Major Electives | 27 |
Introduction to Ethical Theory: Virtues, Vices and Value | |
Foundation Seminar | |
Text and Interpretation | |
Why Be Good? Plato’s Republic | |
Introduction to Humanistic Inquiry | |
Think About It! A First Course in Philosophy | |
The Cartesian Self: Key Debates | |
Contemporary Ethical Theory | |
Philosophy of Science | |
Philosophy of Psychology | |
Is Philosophy Dead? Great Ideas Across Space and Time | |
Advanced Introduction to Indian Philosophy | |
Philosophy as a Way of Life | |
History of Modern Philosophy: Metaphysics and Epistemology | |
Political Philosophy | |
Philosophy of Culture | |
Learning Sanskrit through Sanskrit Literature: Elementary | |
Learning Sanskrit through Sanskrit Literature: Intermediate | |
Ideas of India: Gandhi, Savarkar and Ambedkar | |
Reading Sanskrit Scholastic Texts: Elementary | |
Reading Sanskrit Scholastic Texts: Intermediate | |
Introduction to Persian I | |
Introduction to Persian II | |
Intermediate Persian I | |
Intermediate Persian II | |
Conversational German I | |
Conversational German II | |
The Philosophy of Well-Being | |
Western Aesthetics | |
Public Culture in Modern India | |
Caste, Print and Nation in Modern India: 1857-1947 | |
Science, Technology and the Making of the Modern World | |
Undergraduate Thesis/Capstone Project | 9 |
Free Electives provide flexibility to students to customise their education at the University.
All students will complete 30 hours of engagement with society to develop a sense of engagement, concern, build problem solving skills, and understand the role of an engaged member of a society. This will be done through a mandatory course, Engagement with Society, that would be a graduation requirement. This course can be taken anytime during the stay at the University but it is advised that the student engage with the courses during the first two years at the University. The 30 hours of volunteer work may be completed during one semester or during the Winter or Summer Break.
*Students study a minimum of two years of the same language. PHL intends to offer, at full strength, Gujarati, Hindi, Urdu, Persian, Sanskrit, Dutch, French, Japanese and German. These languages will be offered at three levels: elementary, intermediate and advanced.