hss-seminar-09

Department of Humanities and Social Sciences

Indian Institute of Technology Ropar

HSS Seminar

Science and Humanities: Exploring the Intersection

by

 Bitasta Das

Centre for Contemporary Studies, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore

February 09, 2015 at 3.30 PM

Venue : Conference Room 2

Abstract

The present paper emerges from the teaching and co-ordination experiences of the Humanities course at arguably India’s most prestigious research institute - the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore. Here we have attempted not to forward one specific theory but to explicate ways in which the two seemingly separate paradigm of knowledge production can converge and newer forms of knowledge production can emerge. Higher Education has long suffered from an inherited separation of the study of ‘natural worlds’—material and biotic and the ‘world of humans’. As a result, Natural Sciences (focused on the study of natural worlds) and Humanities and Social Sciences (focused on the study of human worlds) have developed as two insulated spaces, each with their exclusive and narrow focus. However, in the new perspective of Integrated Science Education (ISE) this chasm is sought to be bridged. ISE represents an effective pedagogical substitute for facilitating issue based and interactive learning among science and non-science learners through disciplinary convergence.

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