1
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
years of
No. of
Phd
2
experience students
guided
Dr. Soumyajyoti
Chakraborty
MA, Phd Associate
Professor
Economic
History of
India
30 No
Prithwiraj Biswas M.A. Assistant
Professor
Medieval
Indian
History
14 No
Santanu Dey MA, Mphil. Assistant
Professor
Modern
Indian
History
10 No
Gautam
Mukhopadhyay
MA Part time
teacher
[Govt.]
Economic
History of
India
10 No
Saptarshi
Chakraborty
MA Visiting
Faculty
Ancient
Indian
History
5 No
Rajesh Biswas MA, MPhil Visiting
Faculty
Modern
Indian
History
5 No
Arnab Adhikari MA Visiting
Faculty
Regional
History
1 No
Abhirup Sinha MA Visiting
Faculty
Modern
Indian
History
1 No
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
3
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]
4
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.
5
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 4
h
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)
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(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 22
nd 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
7
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”.
8
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-27
th Jul’10.
8. Attended the UGC sponsored National Seminar on “Recent reforms in Education in
India: Trends & Challenges” organized by WEBCUTA on 1st-2
nd 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”.
9
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.
10
(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
(refer question no. 2)
Applications
received
Selected
Male Female
Pass percentage
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
11
22. Diversity of students
Name of the
Course
(refer question
no. 2)
% of
students
from the
College
% of students
from the State
% of students
from other
States
% of
students
from
other
countries
UG Honours
and General
100%
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
Campus selection
Other than campus recruitment
NA
Entrepreneurs NA
25. Diversity of staff
12
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.
13
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?
14
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.
15
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.
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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
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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.