Source: The Times of India
KOLKATA: The Presidency University, Kolkata is planning to introduce a three-year undergraduate honours programme on Indian comparative literature. The new programme is likely to begin from the 2019-20 academic session, if it is proposed by the faculty council and approved by the university’s governing board.
The university is, however, unlikely to introduce a comparative literature course which the senior authorities believed will be only an extension of the curriculum offered by Jadavpur University.
“We are planning to start an undergraduate course on Indian comparative literature because the Hindi department has shown interest in diversification. There aren’t many takers for classical Hindi literature only. This has prompted them to moot a plan,” said vice-chancellor of the university, Anuradha Lohia.
She added that the university is interested in offering a comparative literature course related to Indian literature. “If we introduce the subject, there will be better career opportunities. We have also received similar feedback from students. If they can learn different languages, the students can get placements in jobs related to translation and journalism as well,” the VC added.
The university has two options – either rename the department of Hindi to Indian comparative literature or launch a separate department. “The Hindi and Philosophy departments are witnessing a dearth of takers over the last few years. However, the university is yet to decide if seats will be reduced in Hindi to introduce the new course,” said a source.
Lohia pointed out that the idea is at a nascent stage. “We will discuss elaborately whether we would want to begin a Indian comparative literature subject or general comparative literature. After convocation on September 11 and before next year admissions, we will take a decision. The proposal will have to be mooted by the faculty council and then placed before the governing board,” she said.Presidency University professors said that the plan, if implemented, will increase job opportunities. “We now want to introduce more and more integrated courses as it gives broader learning and also offers better academic facilities to students,” said a senior university official.
