Liberal Arts education initiates multi-disciplinary ways of thinking, says Professor and author Saikat Majumdar
Saikat Majumdar talks to TOI at the significance of a Liberal Arts education and the state of Indian upper education
Q: What to your opinion is a Liberal Arts education as it is perceived within the West vis-a-vis in India?
There is in point of fact no such factor as a Liberal Arts subject. Any subject may also be taught as one, so long as it isn't getting used as professional coaching for a particular roughly occupation. So, Economics is a Liberal Art whilst Accountancy is not; Biology is a Liberal Art whilst Medicine is not; English is a Liberal Art whilst Journalism is not. A Liberal Arts education, however, is a very unique factor: it is an engagement with one (or more) of these elementary disciplines together with a large exposure to multiple disciplinary tactics of considering. If single-subject primarily based education produces the I-shaped scholar, a Liberal Arts education produces the T-shaped scholar. The 'I' stands for intensity in a single subject, whilst the 'T' combines intensity with vary.
The western fashion of Liberal Arts education has not been a significant presence within the fashionable Indian university, which is largely a advent of British colonial rule within the 19th century, essentially to certify group of workers for government jobs. Hence the focal point on rote-learning and exam that we nonetheless have. This is education of the I-shaped fashion, cultivating expertise in one field, as opposed to the wider 'T' of the Liberal Arts device, which has found probably the most successful implementation in the US. The large mode of Liberal Arts education ia price exploring in India as of late.
Q: In an international the place interdisciplinary research or even contra-disciplinary research are catching on in a large method, the place lies the variation and in what method can they receive advantages scholars?
Interdisciplinary education is not an extraordinary factor. In truth, to grasp most disciplines, you need the fortify of neighbouring disciplines - Mathematics for Physics, History for Literature, Biology for Psychology, and so on. A contra-disciplinary education is way rarer. It is curricular pairing of disciplines reducing throughout traditional divides. Classic circumstances of contra-disciplinary education come with finding out Physics along Philosophy, Music with Mathematics. The more divergent the disciplines, the broader the student's final ability set. Innovative entrepreneurial cultures equivalent to that of Silicon Valley are created not by way of disciplinary however by way of inter-and contra-disciplinary considering. As Steve Jobs appreciated to mention, without the calligraphy magnificence he took in school, the Macintosh would have never happened.
Q: What insights have you ever received educating English and Creative writing to scholars at Ashoka University?
This is a technology of students that are interactive in school room educating and learning; much less hierarchical about the teacher-student relationship - similar to American scholars - however on the identical time, with a appreciate for learning that could be a classical function of Indian society. They are brilliant readers and but they know a lot much less of the canon of books that we knew - partially as a result of there are lots of different distractions as of late, mostly virtual ones. But when introduced to excellent books they learn them completely.
Q: Your contemporary guide 'College Pathways of Possibility' is a mirrored image of the college education in India. What drew you to the topic?
Higher education, particularly in a comparative context between India and the West, has at all times been a tale that I've sought after to tell. The landscape of Indian upper education, in a nutshell, has superb people - both scholars and teachers - there is no dearth of ability; the device, at the whole, is uninspiring and mechanical. The nice people, the intense scholars and teachers who're here, are here despite the device, not because of it. What we need is a strong private non-profit/philanthropic culture in institution-building, somewhat than the for-profit private fashion that has collected people's suspicion over the years. Research and educating wish to be brought together anyplace imaginable. There is a number of ability, however a lot systemic roadblock - together they invent a landscape that is both difficult and thrilling.
(Saikat Majumdar is professor of English and Creative Writing at Ashoka University. He is author of 'College Pathways of Possibility' among different works and taught at Stanford for several years before returning to India.)
Q: What to your opinion is a Liberal Arts education as it is perceived within the West vis-a-vis in India?
There is in point of fact no such factor as a Liberal Arts subject. Any subject may also be taught as one, so long as it isn't getting used as professional coaching for a particular roughly occupation. So, Economics is a Liberal Art whilst Accountancy is not; Biology is a Liberal Art whilst Medicine is not; English is a Liberal Art whilst Journalism is not. A Liberal Arts education, however, is a very unique factor: it is an engagement with one (or more) of these elementary disciplines together with a large exposure to multiple disciplinary tactics of considering. If single-subject primarily based education produces the I-shaped scholar, a Liberal Arts education produces the T-shaped scholar. The 'I' stands for intensity in a single subject, whilst the 'T' combines intensity with vary.
The western fashion of Liberal Arts education has not been a significant presence within the fashionable Indian university, which is largely a advent of British colonial rule within the 19th century, essentially to certify group of workers for government jobs. Hence the focal point on rote-learning and exam that we nonetheless have. This is education of the I-shaped fashion, cultivating expertise in one field, as opposed to the wider 'T' of the Liberal Arts device, which has found probably the most successful implementation in the US. The large mode of Liberal Arts education ia price exploring in India as of late.
Q: In an international the place interdisciplinary research or even contra-disciplinary research are catching on in a large method, the place lies the variation and in what method can they receive advantages scholars?
Interdisciplinary education is not an extraordinary factor. In truth, to grasp most disciplines, you need the fortify of neighbouring disciplines - Mathematics for Physics, History for Literature, Biology for Psychology, and so on. A contra-disciplinary education is way rarer. It is curricular pairing of disciplines reducing throughout traditional divides. Classic circumstances of contra-disciplinary education come with finding out Physics along Philosophy, Music with Mathematics. The more divergent the disciplines, the broader the student's final ability set. Innovative entrepreneurial cultures equivalent to that of Silicon Valley are created not by way of disciplinary however by way of inter-and contra-disciplinary considering. As Steve Jobs appreciated to mention, without the calligraphy magnificence he took in school, the Macintosh would have never happened.
Q: What insights have you ever received educating English and Creative writing to scholars at Ashoka University?
This is a technology of students that are interactive in school room educating and learning; much less hierarchical about the teacher-student relationship - similar to American scholars - however on the identical time, with a appreciate for learning that could be a classical function of Indian society. They are brilliant readers and but they know a lot much less of the canon of books that we knew - partially as a result of there are lots of different distractions as of late, mostly virtual ones. But when introduced to excellent books they learn them completely.
Q: Your contemporary guide 'College Pathways of Possibility' is a mirrored image of the college education in India. What drew you to the topic?
Higher education, particularly in a comparative context between India and the West, has at all times been a tale that I've sought after to tell. The landscape of Indian upper education, in a nutshell, has superb people - both scholars and teachers - there is no dearth of ability; the device, at the whole, is uninspiring and mechanical. The nice people, the intense scholars and teachers who're here, are here despite the device, not because of it. What we need is a strong private non-profit/philanthropic culture in institution-building, somewhat than the for-profit private fashion that has collected people's suspicion over the years. Research and educating wish to be brought together anyplace imaginable. There is a number of ability, however a lot systemic roadblock - together they invent a landscape that is both difficult and thrilling.
(Saikat Majumdar is professor of English and Creative Writing at Ashoka University. He is author of 'College Pathways of Possibility' among different works and taught at Stanford for several years before returning to India.)
Liberal Arts education initiates multi-disciplinary ways of thinking, says Professor and author Saikat Majumdar
![Liberal Arts education initiates multi-disciplinary ways of thinking, says Professor and author Saikat Majumdar]()
Reviewed by Kailash
on
January 02, 2019
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