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to teach and place and space of HSS discipline The current article examines the structural maps of universities and techno institutions and the explores the political economy which differentially values the contribution of various forms of disciplinary knowledge Subjects such as English literature, economics, sociology, philosophy, psychology etc. taught along with engineering and other sciences What purpose or felt need such soft discipline are expected to serve or fulfill? Rational for the general education programme Purdue University
Such courses integral part of engineering curricula It enables the engineering students to appreciate the world in which they live and work
Provides a framework for rational inquiry, critical evaluation, judgment and decisions when
emphasise four general areas of education and each area to be organised as separate school with its own dean
MIT Known both for its engineers and social scientists MIT tried to humanise the scientist, Harvard tried to scienticise the Humanist Undergrad curriculum in US students have almost free choice of electives spanning arts
and sciences Need to question the doctrine of ethical neutrality in sciernce and technology led to creating space for HSS in technical institutions Example: the rationality/irrationality of Vietnam war led to, for instance, creation of programme of Values, Technology and Science at Stanford University HSS disciplines provide context for societal understanding, cultural training understanding of moral issues and ambiguity Exm: failure of big technology like large dams, ethical questions in genetic engineering led to questioning the assumed value neutrality of science and technology IITs based themselves on MIT model Sarkar committee (1946): existing engg colleges fail to integrate science, engg and humanities IITs to overcome this lacunae and strong departments of science and humanities to be established with status camparable to engg deptt. Not see HSS as service model as was the approach of traditional engineering departments
perceived linkage between good English language skills and professional success, English as language teaching takes on an important role So, courses in communication skill (technical communication) and its techno counterpart, language lab, accepted unquestionable in technology institutes Language lab expected to provide finishing school effect to the immature gawky engineering students Psychology lab also has similar appeal Of social sciences economics seen as more useful, acquainting students with world of commerce and industry Economics, due to its mathematical and statistical tools, finds easier acceptance and considered to be harder while other disciplines are considered to be soft Economists enjoy higher prestige than even engineers! Nigam and Indiresan: last 2-3 decades no engineer has been a member of Planning Commission though engineers are responsible for 80 percent of the planned expenditure. In industry, climb to the top through sales, marketing and finance, not engineering ladders.
is reluctantly given respect in otherwise marginal HSS departments In NITs even economics is reduced to commerce with token course in accounting Understanding of core economics is unavailable to students Accounting is seen as useful part of economics The discipline is bifurcated into useful and non-useful aspects Useful aspect is perceived to contribute directly to skill development Management studies, seen as key to managing human resources, has been on the rise across the globe Deadly combination of B. Tech and Management degrees propel young engineers to lucrative management positions Following the logic of market, most engineering institutes have introduced management courses If there is no independent department, then management courses are floated through disciplines such as economics, psychology, sociology and philosophy In such scenario, HSS department has been reduced to specialized cells dealing with technical communication, organizational behaviour, managerial economics, industrial sociology, professional ethics
convinced that it has something to deliver Wall Street is also showing preferences for PhD in pure sciences Service model of HSS has a hard time accommodating its core disciplines on their own merits Where such disciplines survive they tend to get internally split into their useful and non-useful components Thus destroying such split takes away the essence that makes them the source of critical questioning and thoughts
Core Model
IITs from their inception have followed a non-service model of HSS
classical sense
society and human condition Teach students to develop a framework of rational enquiry, critical evaluation, judgments and decisions when dealing with a range of issues HSS disciplines allow the students to hold a mirror to society and to oneself Have full-fledged PhD programmes on par with engineering and science departments High faculty competence and IIT HSS faculty producing research of international standards In structuring of departments IITs have followed two models: one with combination of core courses and electives and other with only electives The faculty members have freedom to design and float new courses with system of internal evaluation allows faculty to innovate and upgrade what they teach The interdisciplinary nature of these departments further source of strength and fecundity
department in these elite institutions? It is shortsighted to think that knowledge is divisible into useful/useless Yet, there is a hierarchical ranking between the knowledge provided by engineering and science disciplines and HSS Structurally in engineering institutes HSS departments occupy marginal and not poor position
o Faculty size is small (irrespective of faculty strength, students have to be taught) o No direct concern with many affairs of the institutes (entrance examination,
science and engineering R&D activity) o Students are there to acquire degree in engineering, not in HSS o Inappropriate time slotting
Many HSS faculty imbibe this marginality As a result they tend to be academically less demanding in terms of grades,
attendance etc.
and easy Pick electives which yields good grades and a professor who is not fussy about attendance At the same time there are students who feel HSS courses are the only courses which they enjoy with good teachers and interesting subject matters The possibility of classes being interactive and discussion based and subjects perceived as being useful and helping in their overall development of the students attract many engineering students to HSS courses RECs, converted to NITs, have also adopted the core model of HSS disciplines
discussion and debate, technology institutes are more regimented, insulated, apolitical, hierarchical and authoritarian (fear of bad grades hinders any questioning of authority)
(which allows scope for exploration and critical questioning) Institutes has to remodel itself as university where space is created for freedom to read, think, research and teach in respective disciplines Although institute and faculty imagine themselves as free of ideology, they tend to be conservative in their outlook In general, they try to remain isolated from the outside world Still several IITians have broken out of the mould and taken to activism of various kinds Even some have opted out of conventional engineering careers by taking up development related issues While appreciating the role of engineers in society and making science useful to society, C. P. Snow asked whether engineer was merely an ignorant specialist The mutual ignorance of scientist/engineer and literary/social science person would be disastrous
debate, etc. Joint courses would serve to sensitize the students to social, technical and environmental dimensions of the issue Faculty members of HSS departments need to highlight the social context and framework of technology Engineers need to understand that science is a human enterprise; hence, can not be ideology free Technology has power to do both good and harm Hence, becomes doubly necessary keep the dialogue going among natural scientists, social scientists and engineers and technologists