Wednesday 10 August 2016

It is a truth universally acknowledged, that teaching – learning is incomplete in the 21^st century without integration of Information and Communication Technology. No education institute can afford to neglect integration of technology. Yes, you have read it correctly. It is ‘integration’ and not merely ‘use’ of technology. The below given figure (1) makes the difference between the two quite clear. This brief report is all about integration of technology. All of the twelve points mentioned under ‘Technology Integration’ is fulfilled in the practice reported here.

Objectives

Higher Goals of Education

It’s a university’s job to produce citizens who learn to think for themselves, not just humans who can be programmed to follow someone else’s code.

Holly Clark

It is imperative that in 2015, students be able to curate, archive and expand on the work they are producing in class.
Today’s education must help students authentically learn important digital citizenship lessons.
Education must help students to internalize the core subject as well as vital digital literacy skills such as creating their own digital web presence and learning to effectively and purposefully share their learning with the world.

Classify and Reclassify Information

"The new education must teach the individual how to classify and reclassify information, how to evaluate its veracity, how to change categories when necessary, how to move from the concrete to the abstract and back, how to look at problems from a new direction — how to teach himself." (Herbert Gerjuoy)

· UNESCO:

Figure 2: UNESCO - Stages of ICT Integration

Institution

This report is about the integration of technology at Post Graduate Department of English, Maharaja Krishnakumarsinhji Bhavnagar University, Bhavnagar, Gujarat. This is State University established in 1969.

www.mkbhavuni.edu.in

www.facebook.com/eng.dept.bu

Class

The students of post graduate programme of English literature are involved in this project.

Purpose of Using Technology

· To fulfill the objectives mentioned in ‘Objectives’.

· Using technology like blog, Google group, slideshare.net, Google sites, digital portfolio, flipped learning is part and parcel of learning at Dept. of English, M K Bhavnagar University

· All students have to publish their assignments on blog and presentations on slideshare.net Why? So that peer learning happens on its own. Slow learners learn from assignments and presentations of fast learners.

· Students prepare Digital Portfolio: Why? The Students are strongly encouraged to build digital portfolio to document the four habits of mind:

· 1. Integrative thinking: The ability and habit to recognize relationships among ideas and experiences that are not routinely thought of as related.

· 2. Reflective thinking: The ability and habit of looking back at previous learning and setting those experiences in a new context created by subsequent learning.

· 3. Thinking in Community: The ability and habit of seeking connections between your learning and the learning of others in the class / community.

· 4. Thinking in context: The ability and habit of seeking connections between what you learned in college and relating those connections to subjects, debate and discussion in the wider world. (Lorenzo and Ittelson)

Evidence of the use of Technology

Digital Portfolio

· Google site is used as web platform for Digital Portfolio. Click on this link to visit Digital Portfolios of the students of various batches. We are working on this since 2010. Or click here: http://dilipbarad.blogspot.in/2012/04/project-blended-learning-2012.html

· Also visit this post for online evaluation rubric of Digital Portfolio which is done as self-evaluation, peer-evaluation and teacher evaluation. http://dilipbarad.blogspot.in/2016/02/digital-portfolio.html

Blogs for Teacher Worksheet on Film Screening

· The use of audio-visual materials in literature classroom is very helpful. An appropriate use must be though-out, otherwise it would fail to fulfill desired objectives. Pedagogically speaking, screening of the films should be followed by student-activities on teacher-worksheet. We used blogs for this purpose. Click here to view some of the teacher worksheet on film screening and read students’ responses / engagement / reactions in the comment section below the post:

o http://dilipbarad.blogspot.in/2013/08/worksheet-hamlet-movie-screening.html

o http://dilipbarad.blogspot.in/2013/09/worksheet-film-screening-harold-pinters.html

o http://dilipbarad.blogspot.in/2014/09/worksheet-screening-movie-waiting-for.html

o http://dilipbarad.blogspot.in/2014/01/worksheet-screening-movie-da-vinci-code.html

o http://dilipbarad.blogspot.in/2015/08/worksheet-dr-faustus-play-by.html

Blog Worksheet for Teaching Literature and Critical Theories

· To engage learners with learning, the teacher used blog worksheet to teach literary texts and critical theories. The students were asked to respond on the blog rather than in pen-paper mode. This helps in building an environment of trust among all learners. This also helps in peer learning as works produced by classmates is visible to all. It also leads to conceptual clarity of literary theories:

o http://dilipbarad.blogspot.in/2014/09/worksheet-virginia-woolfs-to-lighthouse.html

o http://dilipbarad.blogspot.in/2015/03/deconstruction-and-derrida.html

o http://dilipbarad.blogspot.in/2015/09/drydens-essay-on-dramatic-poesy-short.html

o http://dilipbarad.blogspot.in/2014/12/t-s-eliot-tradition-and-individual.html

o http://dilipbarad.blogspot.in/2014/09/short-learning-video-on-wordsworths.html

o http://dilipbarad.blogspot.in/2014/02/the-sense-of-ending-julian-barnes.html

o http://dilipbarad.blogspot.in/2015/01/quiz-on-aravind-adigas-white-tiger.html

Blogs for Assignments and Critical Thinking

· Here are some of the sample blogs of students reflection on their learning

o http://nimeshdave22.blogspot.in/2016/03/how-literature-shaped-me.html

o http://pritibagohil10.blogspot.in/2016/03/how-literature-shaped-me.html

· Here are some of the sample blogs on students assignments on their learning

o http://bhumijoshi2014-16.blogspot.in/2015/11/post-colonialism-with-reference-of-ania.html

o http://janiriddhi1315.blogspot.in/2014/03/deconstruction-on-novel-samudrantike.html

o http://khumanbhagirath081112.blogspot.in/

Teacher’s Content Sharing Website

· We have used Google Site to share additional resources, question banks, core content with students

· Please have a look at the website: http://dilipbarad.blogspot.in/2013/01/ma-english-study-material-reading.html

Hotpotatoes for Interactive Quiz / Test

· Quite often Hotpotatoes suit is used to develop interactive quiz.

· The sample can be viewed here: https://sites.google.com/site/dilipbaraddilipbarad/

Audacity: Sound Editing Software for Listening and Speaking

· We experimented with this software and used it effectively for Listening and Speaking skills.

· Here is a presentation on it: http://dilipbarad.blogspot.in/2009/01/audacity-and-elt-enhancing-listening-n.html

· Here is article on it: http://eltweekly.com/2009/07/eltweekly-issue27-research-paper-pedagogical-issues-related-to-speaking-and-listening-skills-sound-editing-software-audacity/

Wikieducator as collaborative and content sharing platform

· We used to use wikieducator for collaboration and content sharing

· http://wikieducator.org/Dilipbarad: This is user page of Dilip Barad

· http://wikieducator.org/Aristotle's_Poetics: Here is content sharing page.

Flubaroo: Auto Grading Script plus Google Form

· For unit end online quiz, we use Google Form. To auto-generate result, we run Flubaroo script. It also helps in sending emails to students with their grades and correct/incorrect itemized analyses.

Presentations by Students (Students’ involvement)

· Here are some of the sample presentations by students:

o http://www.slideshare.net/maitrimunjpara/cyberspace-textuality

o http://nimeshdave22.blogspot.in/2016/03/semester-4-presentations.html

Flipped Learning

· We have successfully experimented with Flipped Learning also. Check this link: https://sites.google.com/site/flippedlearninggtu/think

· https://sites.google.com/site/flippedlearninggtu/think-and-discuss-sem-2

· https://sites.google.com/site/flippedlearninggtu/home

Ted-Ed Lessons

· We have also started using http://ed.ted.com/ platform for online learning. Have a look at one of the lessons uploaded by us: http://ed.ted.com/on/HILJky5n

· More lessons are in pipe line. We have prepared several such small learning videos. Have a look at playlist on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL5C6B835309FB9771

· All these short videos are going to be on ed.ted.com

Unit End Online Tests

· It is usual practice that teaching is followed by Online Tests to check the progress of the learners.

· Google Form, Hotpotatoes and Flubaroo script are used for the test and autograding.

· Here are some of the links of such online tests:

o https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1wlPfOs2juO_nJiDyf-dNmte1VIPofGI5beE7WcHrsU4/viewform

o https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1JijJVwhevW8hnyK-cS1KBWcYiE1nZtoQq1-1DBreQgY/viewform

o https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1nd76XXYJ97qpkAuZjhvnXpMGaXBcqYf4_mMtQmzzhPQ/viewform

Online Rubrics for Self and Peer-Evaluation

· Online Rubric for the evaluation of Oral Presentaiton:

o https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1bZwVuTVTsGIihhngx58CvmnSwB-m6R9CsXVjzJE_MAI/viewform?c=0&w=1

· Online Rubric for the evaluation of Written Assignments:

o https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1NL-lQsPZiM3gzqfFxNSOTqf1v-37bV5fAkD20Xk8wzE/viewform?c=0&w=1

· Online Rubric for the Review of Language Lab software (Language Lab is one module in the course of ELT and Technology)

o http://dilipbarad.blogspot.in/2015/02/language-lab-review.html

· Online Rubric for the evaluation of Digital Portfolio

o http://dilipbarad.blogspot.in/2016/02/digital-portfolio.html

Students’ Reaction and Involvement

· The real mark of integration of technology in education system is not measured on the grounds of what and how of technology used by ‘teacher’. Rather, it is ‘what students do with technology’ that matters more. The involvement of students in the use of technology in their learning process is very vital. Here, we can see what and how students of last five batches (from 2010 to 2016) have used technology: http://dilipbarad.blogspot.in/2012/04/project-blended-learning-2012.html

· Many of the above given links also stand in support of involvement of student in the integration of technology. As it is well said that – Until and unless, students do not respond through technology, it is not integration of technology in learning process. It may be ‘use’ of technology by teacher, but cannot be considered as ‘integration’ of technology.’ All the above given links stand in support of how technology is integral part of learning process at Department of English, M.K. Bhavnagar University.

One of the best way to evaluate reaction of students is to compare their performance in ‘real-life’ examinations conducted by University. I mean, rather than going for traditional ‘pre-test, post-test’ analyses of target groups, if we compare their performance in real examinations conducted by University as independent body, we can get real picture of students performance. Well, the students never or rarely used technology at Under Graduate (B.A.) level. They extensively integrated technology at Post Graduate (M.A.) level. These charts displays that almost all students improved their performance in terms of percentage in University exam.

Figure 3: Batch 2010-12 Comparative Chart

Figure 4: Batch 2012-14: Comparative Chart

· Click here to see more such charts of other batches: http://dilipbarad.blogspot.in/2012/04/project-blended-learning-2012.html

· By and large, students have responded positively.

o Students’ response to Blended Learning: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/11EwOQUpgvm5Ca-R8efz97HGeeXgudaMIgZTVteOC3QA/viewanalytics

o Students’ response to use of Audio-Visual materials with traditional teaching: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1Kq3Sz7C99Y2LjwAg5i7n-IlwWtC68sdHYqlBcaeyaWw/viewanalytics

References

Abeysekera, L., & Dawson, P. (2015). Motivation and cognitive load in the flipped classroom:definition, rationale and a call for research. Higher Education Research & Development, 1-14.

Bharati, Prasanna. Retrieved from http://edtechreview.in/trends-insights/insights/1537-how-do-digital-portfolios-help-students

Chikering, A. W., & Gamson, Z. F. (1987). Seven Principles for Good Practice in Undergraduate Education. AAHE Bulletin, pp. 3-7.

Clark, Holly. Retrieved from http://edtechteacher.org/the-beginners-guide-to-creating-digital-portfolios-from-holly-clark-on-edudemic/

Educause. (2012, Feb). 7 Things You Should Know About Flipped Classrooms. Retrieved Jan 23, 2016, from Educause.edu: https://net.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/ELI7081.pdf

Electronic portfolio. (2016, January 14). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 16:37, February 4, 2016, fromhttps://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Electronic_portfolio&oldid=699858980

Flipped Learning Network (FLN). (n.d.). The Four Pillars of F-L-I-P™. Retrieved January 23, 2016, from Flipped Learning Network: www.flippedlearning.org/definition.

Lane, C. (2007). "The Power of ‘e’: Using e- Portfolios to Build Online Presentation Skills". Innovate 3 (3): 5.

Leamson, R. (2000). Learning as Biological Brain Change. Change, 34-40.

Lorenzo, George and John Ittelson. "Demonstrating and Assessing Student Learning with E-Portfolio." Oct 2005. Educause Learning Initiative. Ed. Diana Oblinger. Educause. Web. 22 March 2016. https://net.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/ELI3003.pdf

Lorenzo, George; Ittelson, John (2005). "An Overview of E-Portfolios" (PDF). Educause. Retrieved 7 June 2014. http://www.edutopia.org

M. van Wesel & A. Prop (2008). "The influence of Portfolio media on student perceptions and learning outcomes" (PDF). Maastricht University

Moon, Jenny. "Guide for Busy Academics No. 4: Learning through reflection". The Higher Education Academy. Retrieved 7 June 2014.

Saulnier, B. (2008). From “Sage on the Stage” to “Guide on the Side” Revisited: (Un)Covering the Content in the Learner-Centered Information Systems Course. EDSIG Proc ISECON, 1-9.

Strivens, Janet (February 2007). "A survey of e-pdp and e-portfolio practice in UK Higher Education" (PDF). Higher Education Academy. Retrieved 7 June2014.

Tagg, J. (2003). The Learning Paradigm College. Bolton: MA: Anker Publishing.

Zimmerman, Eilene (30 June 2012). "Career couch: Showcasing Your Work, in an Online Portfolio". New York Times. Retrieved 7 June 2014.

Friday 29 July 2016

Edward Said On Orientalism

On 'Orientalism': Edward Said

Executive Producer & Director: Sut Jhally

Producer & Editor: Sanjay Talreja

Assistant Editor: Jeremy Smith

Featuring an interview with Edward Said Professor, Columbia University and author of

Orientalism

Introduced by Sut Jhally University of Massachusetts-Amherst

Source: http://www.mediaed.org/

Video recording of the Interview of Edward Said on 'Orientalism

Transcript of the Interview of Edward Said on Orientalism

(Click here to read transcript)

Additional video resources:

In this interveiw, Edward Said, time and again, refers to Palestine issue. For better understanding of Israel-Palestine issue, watch these videos:

Sunday 24 July 2016

Madaari - Hindi Film - Review

Spoiler.

If you have not watched and want to watch Hindi film #Madaari, avoid reading this post.
Madaari is a metaphor. There is no real madaari. The metaphor is used for a #Damaru player who makes #Jamoora dance at its beats. The metaphor can also be read as snake charmer as the protagonist somehow charms to bring out the real poisonous nexus between construction company, engineers and politicians who collect funds for political parties through corrupt means.

(Metaphor reminds of one dialogue in film : "Accountability and Responsibility? Hey Man, it is metaphor. Do not take it literally. Problem is because people take metaphors literally" 😂😂😂)
At the same time, the protagonist is service provider / repairer for WiFi networks. This job these days is no less than that of Madaari 😀😀.
Statutory warning: Stop reading if you want to watch the film.
Well, now it is your choice to spoil the game. I am no longer spoiler.

The film has two endings.

One is more realistic and hence throat chocking. Such throat chocking endings in literature leads towards restlessness, anxiety and angst, rather than giving outlet to repressed desires. Such literatures are not for masses. As only Lord Shiv can drink poison to be Nilkanth, only rational and mentally strong in society can sustain mental stability after reading / watching such realistic literature.
The other ending is romantic happy-endings walla. No throat chocking but a relief that poetic justice is done. All is well that ends well. Such literature makes masses relieved from repression and thus gives feel-good effect. Haash! The social filth (corruption) is cleansed! But we know that it is mere illusion that problem is solved. As the mind do not differentiate between the real and imaginary, the imaginary gives us an impression of reality. No throat chocking moment. No anxiety. No restlessness. No angst. No revolution. No #Change. Is this the secret that most of our literature ended with make-believe poetic justice? The mass / sheoples shall be opiumated in the feeling of trance. If they are woken up, they may be problematic to power structures. Has literature played the role of ideological state apparatus to subjugate the subjects?

Shh . . . Desh so raha hai!

One more spoiler:

True to its genre of suspense thriller, the film do not have thrilling moments of #Kahani or dramatic appeal of #GabbarIsBack or common man feeling of #AWednesday.

Friday 22 July 2016

Literature, Theory and Criticism

To appear in the pre-test, click here

1. What is Literature?

What is Literature? from Dilip Barad

2. Criticism Vs Creativity

Criticism Vs Creativity from Dilip Barad

3. Difference between Theory and Criticism

Difference between Literary Theory and Criticism from Dilip Barad

Friday 8 July 2016

Mind Mapping - New Admission in PG Programme (English Literature)

Mind Mapping - New Admission in PG Programme

(English Literature)

All students taking admission in M.A. English, Maharaja Krishnakumarsinhji Bhavnagar University (Bhavnagar - Gujarat - India) shall appear in this online Mind Mapping Test.

Instructions for Semester 1 (Batch 2023-25) students:

1. Join this Google Classroom (If Google Classroom app is not installed in your mobile phone, download it from Play store)

Scan or tap this QR Code to Open G Class

Click this link

https://classroom.google.com/c/NjE1Nzg4NTUyNjg3?cjc=er5dmx4

2. The class code is er5dmx4

After joining the class, explore the assignments. You will find two assignments.

4. Assignment 1: Online Test: You shall open the link of Online Test and appear in the test. There are 42 questions. You can take help of internet to reply the answers. On submission, you will get auto-generated reply in your mail with the score. Type this score in private comment in this assignment in G-Class. Type correct email id to receive auto-generated email. Click here to open the test page.

5. Assignment 2: In the second task, you have to hand-write a few paragraphs on

a. What is literature?

b. The literary text I liked the most . . .

c. Three reasons for my liking of this literary text . . .

6. Make PDF of this hand-written answer and upload it in the Google Classroom as assignment submission.

7. Your admission process will not get completed until you have not submitted both assignments in Google Classroom.

Friday 1 July 2016

Google Form for Auto Graded Quiz - without Flubaroo

Google Form has several interesting features. It is one of the best online tool to gather information and take survey. Many teachers are also using it for testing purpose. The features like 'Multiple Choice', 'Check Boxes' and 'Drop Down' can be used for online quiz / test also.

Multiple Choice, Check Boxes and Drop Down

But Google Form did not have feature to auto-grade these quizzes / tests. So, most of the teachers were using a script known as Flubaroo over the spread sheet of the answers to generate auto-grade and then email those grades to students. Though it was not very difficult, yet, students had to wait for the grades and correct/incorrect answers till teacher grades it and sends email.
Now, Google Form has added this very important and much awaited feature. In the 'Settings', an added option of 'Quizzes' resolves the problem. Now, as soon as student submits answers, he can view 'Scores' and correct / incorrect answer.

The option of 'Quizzes in Settings

The following sample quiz / test is prepared using this feature of Google Form. Appear in the quiz to have first hand experience of this feature of Google Form. Do not forget to see your 'Scores' after submitting the quiz.

Saturday 25 June 2016

Modernist Poems : Activity - Identify modernist metaphors in these short poems

10 Very Short Modernist Poems Everyone Should Read

Activity for sem 3 students: Read these small poems and identify "Modernist" symbols, imagery and metaphors. Post your observations on your blog and share the blog link as a comment under this blog.

Modernist poetry is often associated with long poems such as T. S. Eliot’s The Waste Land and Ezra Pound’s The Cantos, but modernism was also when poetry went small, thanks in no small part to Imagism, spearheaded by Pound himself. Here are 10 works of modernist poetry which couldn’t be accused of outstaying their welcome – none is longer than twelve lines.

T. E. Hulme, ‘The Embankment‘ (7 lines). T. E. Hulme (1883-1917) was an influential poet and thinker in the first few years of the twentieth century. He left behind only a handful of short poems – our pick of which can be read here – but he revolutionised the way English poetry approached issues of rhyme, metre, and imagery. ‘The

Embankment’ is probably his best-known poem, a miniature modernist masterpiece spoken by a man fallen on hard times. The poem seems to invert Oscar Wilde’s famous line: we can all look at the stars, but some of us are in the gutter.

Joseph Campbell, ‘Darkness‘ (4 lines). Campbell was an Irish poet writing a similar kind of poetry to Hulme at around the same time, though they were working independently of each other. In a previous post we’ve offered four short poems by Joseph Campbell, including ‘Darkness’ – a very short piece of early modernist poetry. Poetry doesn’t come much more understated than this.

Edward Storer, ‘Image’ (3 lines). Storer was writing at around the same time as several other early modernist poets on this list, notably T. E. Hulme (whom he knew) and Joseph Campbell, though he started off writing independently of them. He was clearly influenced by Japanese forms such as the haiku, as the following poem demonstrates (we’ve included it here as it’s not readily available online):

Forsaken lovers,
Burning to a chaste white moon,
Upon strange pyres of loneliness and drought.

Ezra Pound, ‘In a Station of the Metro‘ (2 lines). Along with T. S. Eliot, Ezra Pound is probably the most famous modernist poetworking in Britain during the first half of the twentieth century. Pound arrived at this two-line poem after writing a much longer draft which he then cut down, line by line. The poem describes the sight of the crowd of commuters at the Paris Metro station, using a vivid and original image.

H. D. (Hilda Doolittle), ‘The Pool‘ (5 lines). Hilda Doolittle and Pound both hailed from the US, and it was Pound who gave Doolittle the rebrand ‘H. D.’. They were even an item at one point. Along with Richard Aldington and Pound himself, H. D. was one of the main practitioners of Imagism, the short-lived poetic movement which Pound founded (and named) in 1912. ‘The Pool’ is one of H. D.’s finest short poems, about coming face-to-face with her reflection in the waters of a rock-pool.

Richard Aldington, ‘Insouciance‘ (5 lines).Aldington and H. D. were husband and wife in the 1910s and 1920s, and Aldington made up the trio of leading Imagists along with his wife and the movement’s founder, Pound. ‘Insouciance’ is about writing poems in the trenches – Aldington, like many men of his generation, saw action at the Western Front during WWI.

T. S. Eliot, ‘Morning at the Window‘ (9 lines). T. S. Eliot got his big break on the London literary scene thanks to Ezra Pound, who befriended his fellow expatriate American shortly after Eliot’s arrival in London in 1914. This

poem was written in London in the same year, shortly after the outbreak of WWI – a context that may lurk behind the poem’s dark, oppressive images of everyday life. It’s an unrhymed poem, but look at the shared syntax of the line endings: ‘in basement kitchens’, ‘of the street’, and so on.

William Carlos Williams, ‘The Red Wheelbarrow‘ (8 lines). Perhaps one of the most divisive poems ever written, ‘The Red Wheelbarrow’ has variously been viewed as the epitome of Imagist practice and as barely ‘poetry’ at all. It first appeared in Williams’s 1923 volume Spring and All, a book which combined free verse with pieces written in prose. Some scholarly analyses of ‘The Red Wheelbarrow’ can be found here.

Wallace Stevens, ‘Anecdote of the Jar‘ (12 lines).First published in 1919, this is one of Stevens’s best-known short poems. It appeared in his first volume of poems and has been baffling critics and readers ever since…

E. E. Cummings, ‘l(a‘ (9 lines). This poem appeared in 1958 in Cummings’ collection 95 Poems, so it’s really a late modernist work. Although it’s nine lines long, it only contains four words – cleverly arranged so that ‘a leaf falls’ appears parenthetically within the word ‘loneliness’. Richard S. Kennedy, Cummings’ biographer, called it ‘the most delicately beautiful literary construct that Cummings ever created’. We agree.

Some of the best short modernist poems (including several featured here) can be found in the excellent anthology Imagist Poetry (Penguin Modern Classics), which we’d heartily recommend. You can continue to explore the world of the short poem with these short Victorian poems.
Source: This is shared from https://interestingliterature.com/2016/03/03/10-very-short-modernist-poems-everyone-should-read/.

Thursday 14 April 2016

Ambedkar: Reformation and Cartoons

Dr. Baba Saheb Bhimrao Ambedkar, Reformation in Hindu Code Bill and Cartoons

Political cartoons deliver a punch. They take jabs at powerful politicians, reveal official hypocrisies and incompetence and can even help to change the course of history. But political cartoons are not just the stuff of the past. Cartoonists are commenting on the world’s current events all the time, and in the process, making people laugh and think. At their best, they challenge our perceptions and attitudes.

Analyzing political cartoons is a core skill in many social studies courses. After all, political cartoons often serve as important primary sources, showing different perspectives on an issue.

(Gonchar, Michael. Drawing for Change: Analyzing and Making Political Cartoons)

An interesting analyses of these cartoon can be read here

Saturday 9 April 2016

Short Films: #IndiaTomorrow

#IndiaTomorrow: Short Films

On the occasion of India Today's 40 years, celebrated bollywood directors Imtiaz Ali, Pradeep Sarkar, Rohan Sippy, Hansal Mehta and Meghna Gulzar have created their expression of India Tomorrow through short three minute films for the mobile generation on the future of our nation.

The different directors bring their unique storytelling styles in these short mobile format films that will touch a million hearts across mobile, digital and the television medium.

Speaking on the films, Kalli Purie, Group Editorial Director (Broadcast & New Media), India Today Group said, “The films reflect the spirit of India Today that is constantly creating a better and more promising India Tomorrow. I would like to thank the directors for sharing their vision through these films.”

- See more at: http://www.exchange4media.com/industrybriefing/india-today-premieres-india-tomorrow_63814.html#sthash.wDZL0OkC.dpuf

Five short films with a vision of changing #India for better #tomorrow - dealing with themes like:

1) Others - Transgender (Pradeep Sarkar)

2) Prostitute - the sense of stock market (Imtiaz Ali)

3) Rohith Vemula's Suicide note (Hansal Mehta)

4) Prime Time - a satire on news making by news channels (Rohan Sippy)

5) India. . . India - the miscellany of road side hawker (Meghna Gulzaar)

I found Hansal Mehta's film quite tragic and poignant; Rohan Sippy's humorous; Saarkar and Ali's having strong assertion of other genders; Meghna's is fun to watch

1. Others - Transgender (Pradeep Sarkar)

2. Prostitute - the sense of stock market (Imtiaz Ali)

3. India. . . India - the miscellany of road side hawker (Meghna Gulzaar)

4. Prime Time - a satire on news making by news channels (Rohan Sippy)

5. Rohith Vemula's Suicide note (Hansal Mehta)

Books on Education System

Books on Changing Face of Education

Not For Profit: Why Democracy Needs the Humanities

~ Martha C. Nussbaum

In this short and powerful book, celebrated philosopher Martha Nussbaum makes a passionate case for the importance of the liberal arts at all levels of education.
Historically, the humanities have been central to education because they have rightly been seen as essential for creating competent democratic citizens. But recently, Nussbaum argues, thinking about the aims of education has gone disturbingly awry both in the United States and abroad. Anxiously focused on national economic growth, we increasingly treat education as though its primary goal were to teach students to be economically productive rather than to think critically and become knowledgeable and empathetic citizens. This shortsighted focus on profitable skills has eroded our ability to criticize authority, reduced our sympathy with the marginalized and different, and damaged our competence to deal with complex global problems. And the loss of these basic capacities jeopardizes the health of democracies and the hope of a decent world.

In response to this dire situation, Nussbaum argues that we must resist efforts to reduce education to a tool of the gross national product. Rather, we must work to reconnect education to the humanities in order to give students the capacity to be true democratic citizens of their countries and the world.

Drawing on the stories of troubling--and hopeful--educational developments from around the world, Nussbaum offers a manifesto that should be a rallying cry for anyone who cares about the deepest purposes of education.

Read Chapter 1

Read review of this book

2. The Fall of the Faculty:The Rise of the All-Administrative University and Why It Matters ~ Benjamin Ginsberg

Powerful and stinging critique of one of the most powerful trends in academia: the shift in power to non-academic administrators
Exceptionally well written polemic that will stir controversy at universities across the country
The author is well known throughout academia, and has coauthored one of the bestselling textbooks on American government in recent history
Dissatisfaction with the academy runs deep in America. Despite-or perhaps because of-the fact that a far greater percentage of Americans have attended college than at any time in the past, distrust of the higher education system seems higher than ever. The most common complaints concern rapidly escalating tuition prices, affirmative action policies, and-not least-the allegedly left-wing professoriate that runs American universities. Indeed, much of the criticism of academia focuses on professors: they are too liberal, they care little about teaching, and they are too hyperspecialized. Benjamin Ginsberg argues that this common critique puts the cart before the horse and ignores a much bigger issue. In fact, faculty are not the primary problem with contemporary academia. Rather, the problem lies in the explosive growth in administration in US universities and the concomitant decline in faculty power in influence. Put simply, <"deanlets>"-administrators without doctorates or serious academic training-rule the roost, and professors do not have nearly as much institutional power as theyused to. Their decline dovetails with another trend: the growing regimentation and corporatization of the university. The fallout, Ginsberg contends, is negative: a de-emphasis on intellectual rigor and the traditional liberal arts. A stinging critique of how universities are run today, this book charts how this happened and explains how we can revamp the system so that actual educators have more say in curriculum policy.
3. The University in Ruins~ Bill Readings

It is no longer clear what role the University plays in society. The structure of the contemporary University is changing rapidly, and we have yet to understand what precisely these changes will mean. Is a new age dawning for the University, the renaissance of higher education under way? Or is the University in the twilight of its social function, the demise of higher education fast approaching?

We can answer such questions only if we look carefully at the different roles the University has played historically and then imagine how it might be possible to live, and to think, amid the ruins of the University. Tracing the roots of the modern American University in German philosophy and in the work of British thinkers such as Newman and Arnold, Bill Readings argues that historically the integrity of the modern University has been linked to the nation-state, which it has served by promoting and protecting the idea of a national culture. But now the nation-state is in decline, and national culture no longer needs to be either promoted or protected. Increasingly, universities are turning into transnational corporations, and the idea of culture is being replaced by the discourse of “excellence.” On the surface, this does not seem particularly pernicious.

The author cautions, however, that we should not embrace this techno-bureaucratic appeal too quickly. The new University of Excellence is a corporation driven by market forces, and, as such, is more interested in profit margins than in thought. Readings urges us to imagine how to think, without concession to corporate excellence or recourse to romantic nostalgia within an institution in ruins. The result is a passionate appeal for a new community of thinkers.

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4. SLOW PROFESSOR: CHALLENGING THE CULTURE OF SPEED IN THE ACADEMY

Maggie Berg and Barbara Seeber

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We can answer such questions only if we look carefully at the different roles the University has played historically and then imagine how it might be possible to live, and to think, amid the ruins of the University. Tracing the roots of the modern American University in German philosophy and in the work of British thinkers such as Newman and Arnold, Bill Readings argues that historically the integrity of the modern University has been linked to the nation-state, which it has served by promoting and protecting the idea of a national culture. But now the nation-state is in decline, and national culture no longer needs to be either promoted or protected. Increasingly, universities are turning into transnational corporations, and the idea of culture is being replaced by the discourse of “excellence.” On the surface, this does not seem particularly pernicious.

If there is one sector of society that should be cultivating deep thought in itself and others, it is academia. Yet the corporatisation of the contemporary university has sped up the clock, demanding increased speed and efficiency from faculty regardless of the consequences for education and scholarship.

In The Slow Professor, Maggie Berg and Barbara K. Seeber discuss how adopting the principles of the Slow movement in academic life can counter this erosion of humanistic education. Focusing on the individual faculty member and his or her own professional practice, Berg and Seeber present both an analysis of the culture of speed in the academy and ways of alleviating stress while improving teaching, research, and collegiality. The Slow Professor will be a must-read for anyone in academia concerned about the frantic pace of contemporary university life.

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