Perception of Research Among Science Teachers

Following are outcome of the survey conducted by the II year MA English students among science faculty from different departments and one commerce teacher on campus on their perception of research. The first part is compiled by Jijo K. and the second by Rungring Buphate.

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Q. What is research

· Solving a new problem

· Discovering a new cause

· Finding something new.

· Building knowledge.

· Applied research has definite answers

Q. Difference between Science and Social sciences

• Discovering or acquiring a new kdg which is converted into a technique. Sicenc helps mankind directly. Human science gives only studies about mankind. Do not make a contribution to the betterment of mankind.
• Improve the human standards of living
• Science needs laboratory (controlled environment)
• We get definite answers in science but only interpretations in social science
• The distinction is between natural sciences and social sciences.

Q. Procedure of science

Observation, Experiment, Testing in Laboratary, Hypothesis, Falsification, Law statement, Theory

Know the problem, review the literature, take an expert’s help.

Q. Interdisciplinarity in research

• The same phenomenon is looked at from different perspectives to understand the deeper dynamics of the phenomenon.
• e.g. cognitive science, neurology
• Removing the isolation between disciplines. It is no more than a trend.

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Namita and rung group

1) What is research?

- Find out more information

- Establish or renovate new knowledge

2) What is the difference between science research and social science research?

- Science research based on algorithm . Social science and other researches based on history .

- Science research based on experiments and compiles all knowledges together . It is more quantitative . Social science research is more qualitative . It differs from culture to culture

3) What is the processes of science research ?

- Find out problems , analyses data , find out solution and conclusion

- Find out problem , collect data , do experiments , get results and make conclusion

4) What is interdisciplinary ?

- Using different subjects in that particular topics . Sometimes we have to go through mathematics in computer science research

- Require help from other subject analyses and apply data to your research

Saima group

1) Giving a new dimension to the old area .

2) Science research is objective and quantitative .

- Humanity research looks for individual uniqueness .

3) Constant engagement observation and experimentation in a specific area (narrowing down the topic )

4) Interdisciplinary is there is the most of the area . It is necessary to compare and contrast with other related discipline to have clear picture and understanding of that specific area

Fancy group

1) Systematic of collecting and analyzing information . Research is the way you educate yourself . Research is investigation . Research is the study which is already existed . Research invents new things .

2) Conduct field survey , interview , collect data where the data is already available . Humanistic interpretation is different in science there is define answer .

3) First literatise survey based on literature , obtains infrastructure for the topic area from books , journals etc , conduct experiments , compile data , get results and interpret results

4) All subjects are related , In science new knowledge is related to different field

Saju group

1) Discovering something which is already there or inventing something new . It includes experimentation , observation in which hypothesis is created and theory built .

2) Science requires specimens .

3) Identify field problem , get problem , and find out targeting problem . Build up synopsis ,

Methodology can be both quantitative and qualitative .

4) Interdisciplinary between botany and zoology , statistics and math , and physics and chemistry .

Priya group

1) Finding new dimensions , building on something which is already present . Coming out of one own mind .

2) Purpose and objectives are same but methodology are different .

3) Identify the field , consult the field , contract founding theory through experiment and hypothesis .

4) Interdisciplinary is possible to give various perspectives to a research is required . Sometimes we have to depend on other disciplines and subjects in order to get complete discipline.

Sayori group

1) Research is something to explore new thing , work out core elements of a phenomenon / experience , indepth analysis .

2) Science research uses instrument and observation . Methodology in science research is scientific . It has rationality and objectivity . Social science research is more specific and localized political and cultural elements .

3) Psychology is different from social science because it is more concrete . Psychology has methodology which follows natural science .

4) In approach disciplinary . set of compare mentalization . Connecting to different disciplinaries , sociopolitical context . Psychology variable from different perspectives combining different disciplinaries to approach core of psychology .

Looking for a Student-collaborator for Documentation

I intend to document various newspaper reports and articles on higher education on daily basis. For this I am looking for a student who is either my student or one who is interested in collaborating in documentation.

The tasks would be to locate the newspaper/magazine reports/articles on higher education on daily basis and upload their URL. I would be contacting the person over the mobile every evening to inform about the reports and their reference. The person needs to be self-motivated, regular in doing the tasks, has a easy access to internet, and should be ready to keep aside at least 15 min to half an hour everyday for this.

As this is a philanthropic work being done with purpose of helping researchers, policymakers and those concerned about higher education, and has no funding, the collaboration is non-remunerative. However, if need be I can give a letter stating the collaboration, and an occasional dinner.

Those who are interested may email me on ajpinto42 at gmail dot com or meet me on campus whenever or wherever you spot me.

There may be other areas I might gradually start documentation on for which I would need help of other volunteers.

Frugal innovation: What GE does in Bangalore

From now on I would be posting some of the articles that I like for the benefit of the like-minded student community or others. Here is the first one on GE.

Frugal innovation: What GE does in Bangalore

Here is another on 10 most commonly misspelt words in the UK

MA Literary Criticism, MA Research and Writing Heuristics, BA Literary Theory and Criticism Course plans

1. III Sem MA English Course Plan 'Research and Writing Heuristics', 2009
2. I Sem MA English Course plan 'Literary Theory', 2009
3. I MA Literary Criticism reading list
4. BA Optional English, Literary theory and Criticism Course Plan

Emergence of English literature in Higher Education

Lecture notes of Ashif Ali of PSEng on 11 June 2009.

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In the discourse of social sciences Literature is one of the youngest disciplines. Contrary to the ubiquitous presence of Literature now a days, there was serene bemusement when English literature was first introduced in universities like Oxford and Cambridge. In 1830s Harvard was the first institution offering English literature as a subject which was then followed by India. The emergence of English studies is largely indebted to:

i) Imperilism

ii) War/military purpose

iii) Nationalism

After 1857 sepoy mutiny, the central power of controlling India shifted from East India Company to the Crown in London. The emergence of English studies in India was in a way a by-product of Imperialism. “Colonialism entered India from the three coastlines of the country” where in English literature was first introduced in ‘Bombay’ ‘Madras’ and ‘Calcutta’. English studies in cartographic sense served as an “ambassador of colonialism” acting as a tool to “colonize the uncolonized mind.” The construction of superior image of the English and their cultured way of life was pedantic through the study of English Literature. The education structure was such that writings critiquing the English social structure (Shakespeare’s Comedies) were never introduced. Censorship was brought into the picture in order to envelope the image of the colonizers. Madras was the first place in India where censorship was spawned. Thus it was through imperilism that emergence of English studies can be traced.

Reference
Pinto, Anil.Class Lecture. 'Emergence of Literature as a Discipline'. Christ University,Bangalore,India. 11 Jun 2009

IV International Conference of OSLE-India on Ecology: Texts and Contexts

National College, Trichirapalli

hosts

IV International Conference

of

Organisation for Studies in Literature and Environment-India (OSLE-India)

on

Ecology: Texts and Contexts

at

National College, Trichirapalli

on

25 & 26 September, 2009

National College, Trichirapalli

The National College founded in 1919 is a glorious example for meaningful correlation between dynamism of society and dynamism of education. If the motto of the College, “That which liberates is education”, implied the role of education in liberating India from Colonial rulers, today liberating the suppressed sections of the society from the evil clutches of communalism, casteism and ignorance has become the focal point.

The motto of this premier institution is ‘Saa Vidyaa Yaa Vimuktaye’ – that which liberates is education. The institution was founded to impart and to promote among the youth the highest and loftiest ideals, which constitute the essence of Indian culture and nationalism.

It is no coincidence that the Father of the Nation, Mahatma Gandhi addressed the freedom fighters of Tiruchirapalli in the years back on the campus of National College high school. The first among the many freedom fighters and nationalists produced by this great institution is the former President, illustrious his Excellency R. Venkataraman.

OSLE- India

OSLE-India is a forum for promoting ecocriticism, especially in India and also in other Asian countries.

Today 'ecocriticism' has come to mean not only 'the application of ecology and ecological principles to the

study of literature,' but also the theoretical approach to the interrelational web of natural, cultural and

supernatural phenomena.

Conference Theme - Ecology : Texts and Contexts

Ecology is under tremendous pressure owing to human interventions in the form of industrial development, resource exploitation, and even cultural advancement. As a result many of the natural givens like clean air, pure water and pristine land are being denatured and polluted causing irreparable structural and systemic damages. For a long time, literature remained inure to these changes, often, valorizing nature and romanticizing the environment. But the steady accumulation of waste, a by product of an industrial society, the depletion of natural resources, the despoilment of air, water and land and the seemingly irredeemable situation of the planet Earth have led to a new kind of writing which is ecocritical, a writing that problematizes ecological issues and offers a critique of the many cultural practices.

The IV International Conference of OSLE India, to be held at National College (affiliated to Bharathidasan University , Tiruchirapalli) Tamilnadu, India on September 25 & 26, 2009 is again an attempt to review not only ecocritical writings but also to reexamine ecological issues. The conference further seeks to expand the disciplinary boundaries and achieve ‘interdisciplinarity’ by bringing together two dissimilar body of knowledge, namely sciences and humanities. The academy stands to gain as it will provide critical insights and pedagogical concepts from this forthcoming confluence of minds.

The following sub-themes are also identified for critical exploration and loud thinking.

Literary Ecology

Social Ecology

Land Ethic / Health

Localization / Globalization / Glocalization (related to Ecology)

Bioregionalism

Ecological Cosmopolitanism

Ecofeminism

Ecotheology

Ecosophy / Ecophilosophy

Postmodern Geography / Geophilia

Toxic Consciousness / Discourse

Waste – Industrial, Medical & Nuclear / Management / Consciousness

Films, Plays and Playlets (related to Ecology)

Ethnographic writing / Folklore / Folkways / Folk Music

Curricular Design (involving Ecology & Literature)

Ecolinguistics,
Ecopsychology, Oikopoetics, Nativism, Ecological
Economics,
Green Politics,
Ecotechnology and Ecoscience

Call for Papers:

Abstracts not exceeding 300 words have to be submitted before the 30^th of June for acceptance. The contributors will be informed of the acceptance by the 15^th of July. Full papers, not exceeding eight pages and typed out in double space in A4 following MLA style sheet, have to be submitted by the 31^st of August.

Delegate Fee:

For Members
Indian Students INR 500
Indian Non -Students INR 1050
Foreign Students INR 1800
Foreign Non-Students INR 2800

For Non-Members
Indian Students INR 650
Indian Non-Students INR 1350
Foreign Students INR 2000
Foreign Non -Students INR 3100

Local Students INR 300

Delegate Fee include 2 breakfasts, 2 lunches, 1 dinner coffee & snacks twice a day for 2 days.

For ordinary but decent accommodation add INR 500 for two days.

Fee will be accepted only in the form of demand drafts drawn in favour of The Principal, National College, Tiruchirapalli.

Tiruchirapalli is the fourth largest city in the state of Tamilnadu. It is well connected by rail, road and air. The college itself is located just 1 km from the railway station and the bus stand and 8 kms from the International Airport. The day temperature for the month of September is between 32 degrees Celsius and 34 degrees Celsius. For those who seek accommodation in star rated hotels information will be given on request.

Postal Address

D.E.Benet

IV OSLE-India International Conference Coordinator

Department of English

National College, Tiruchirapalli – 620001

Tamilnadu, India

Mobile No : 91-94432- 48012

E- Mail premeben@yahoo.com

You may contact the coordinator, D.E.Benet of National College (Mobile Phone. 9443248012), Tiruchirapalli, for further information. You may also contact Rayson K. Alex (Mobile No. 9840166877) of OSLE-India for information.

All email communications can be done at <osleindia@gmail.com>.

For proposal for hosting of the next annual OSLE-India conference, please contact The President, OSLE-India, at <osleindia@gmail.com>

American Literature- Third Semester BA

Hey everyone! This is the history of American Literature, a presentation I made in class! Hope it is useful! :)
1.The East Coast of America that we know of today was once a collection of British colonies. Thus the earliest American literature branched out of English literature.
2. The earliest literature in America was colonial literature in the form of pamphlets and writings that emphasized the benefits of colonization to the Americans.
3. Then, there were the religious writers who focussed on the separation of the church and the state. They wrote during the 17th century. Examples of such writers were John Winthrop, Roger Williams etc.
4. The other writers who flourished during that period wrote about the interactions and the subsequent clashes with the Indians.
5. The early 18th century was termed the Great Awakening, a period of religious revival. Examples of writers during this period Thomas Shepard, John Wise etc. This revolutionary period also contained political writings including some works by colonists. Two key figures during this period were Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Paine.
The serious writing that America was used to until then was seeing a gradual change with wit and intellect being introduced into the writing.
6.Post world war two, essays discussing the American government organization and republican values. Writers also discussed their disillusionment with the war. Examples of writers during this period were Alexander Hamilton and John Jay.
7. The late 18th and early 19th century saw the emergence of novels. They represented new political, cultural and literary concerns of America. The pioneer of female education was Cathy Davidson who wrote during this period.
8. The early 20 th century saw poetry flourish with Frost, T S Eliot, Slyvia Plath etc writing during this time. Mark Twain also reached the heights of his popularity at that time. His characters had regional and native accents to them. Other writers who had similar styles were George W Cable and O Henry.
9. There was a drift towards realism in the early 20th century. Class distinctions were written about. Kitchen sink dramas also became popular.
10. The period between 1960's and 70's saw realism, modernism and romanticism in the publications.
11. From the 1970's until date, the writers are termed as postmodernists. They focus on how popular culture and mass media have influenced the average American's perception of his/her own history. Examples of such writers are David Foster Wallace and Dave Eggers.

Birth of literature as a discipline and construction of literary theory

Following is the notes taken down by Noopur of III year FEP during my two lectures - on birth and emergence of English literature as a discipline and Construction of literary theory on 8 June and 12 June.

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After discussing the requests of students about how the class should function, Mr Pinto started talking about how literature emerged as a discipline. This was an overview class spanning two hours totally and we tried following the trajectory of the birth of the English department in universities and where theory in literature began. He explained that the English literature department is one of the youngest departments and that its origin is largely indebted to the empirical agenda of England. The first one was setup in 1830's in Harvard and then three departments were setup in various presidencies in India. The intent behind introducing English literature as a subject was to naturalize it and make the natives aware about their (English) culture by writing and talking about it. After the sepoy mutiny in 1857, the rule of India was transferred from the East India company to the Queen herself. 1858 onwards under this direct rule, more universities To legitimize its position, literature as a discipline starts creating and telling an account of its roots and its long history. While doing this, the path it takes is similar to that of Christianity and derives its roots from Greek literature.That is why the earliest texts in literature are from ancient Greece, namely those of Plato. Until the romantic period, practice always preceded theory and literature as such had no theory independent of the past experiences in practice. The earliest theory in literature itself was by Aristotle- "On poetics" where he has elaborately summarised a play by Sophocles called "Oedipus Rex". As discussed earlier, this discipline emerged as a part of the imperialist and military agenda wherein the logic was that if one restricts access to a particular region's literature then people on the other side have negligible or faint idea about how their enemies are and thus, since they don't know about the situation/problems/grievances of their enemy, it is easier to fight. So, underlying the foundations of literature as a discipline there is a nationalist or imperialist agenda at work.

Then he spoke about what literature is. In numerous discussions about what the nature and function of literature are, the idea that " literature is a mirror of the society" comes up. Mr. Pinto explained how this idea is also borrowed from the concept of "mimesis" from Greek philosophy.Mimesis means imitation in Greek. A sophist called Thales had asked the question: What is the substance of life?He reached the answer as water being the substance of life. Plato did not answer this question but asked another question about "how the world is made?" To this he says that "all objects in this world are an imperfect imitation of the ideal". He did not elaborate on the implications or nature of "the ideal" but explained that since all objects, including life, are an "imperfect imitation" of the ideal, they cannot seek to equal the actual essence.Further, literature seeks to describe this already "imperfect imitation" which means that it is "twice removed from reality" and is only "representing" reality. The question of representation becomes very important because then it depends on the medium and its intrinsic nature how reality is represented. Thus literature is a mirror of life, perhaps reflecting distorted images bearing resemblance to " the real/ideal".

Summing up on the timeline that the "literary theory and criticism" class would follow he started with the pre-socratic period to the Socratic period to the post Socratic. Socratic period consists of Socrates, Aristotle and Plato. This is followed by the Romantic period, then Modernist and finally the post structuralist/post modern period. Until the time of the Romantics, English literature was not informed by any theory that asked questions about the nature of writing, essence of literature itself etc. The romantics expressed a desire to write about the ordinary people, instead of the aristocracy and nobility like Shakespeare did. Matthew Arnold probed into what should be literature. Here came the romantic notion of "literature as a tool to sensitize people" which still holds in governmental education policies whereby a paper or two of humanities is compulsory for students of pure/applied natural sciences and commerce. Then came the Victorian period where literature was used to propagate moral values in a massified form. With the Avant Garde movement, people started experimenting with both, form and content and rejecting the belief that literature should have a social purpose or meaning and utility. The modernist period saw movements like Formalism where the focus was on form. The premise was that changes in form change the way a text is perceived(?) Then came the structuralists who stressed on a common structure seen through different texts. Eg. Amitabh Bacchan usually played the archetypal hero Karna, from Mahabharata throughout a lot of films. The story line was such that he ends up being the abandoned, struggler, eventually borders on the line of law (Ashis Nandy) So, we can see a common structure throughout a plethora of texts which are just tweaked in content. By this time, because of a conscious effort into producing "new"/"different" literature, theory had begun to precede practice. Vladimir Propp, a folklorist and russian structuralist had pointed out that there are actually only six to eight original structures in the short stories written till date.

What is Research?

Ashwin Kumar from CSCS gave a lecture on research for the MA English students on 11 June 2009. Following is the class notes of Jijo K. (To MA Students) if you think some points need to be added please add them in the comment section. Or if you have a write up please email it to me.

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The class was based on the perspectives of Karl Popper on research.

Karl Popper. He was psychologist and a physicist of considerable acclaim

9/10 researches in Humanities is farce and the other one is unintelligible (unundertatndable)

Karl Hopper says that research can only solve problems. Those researches which do not solve genuine problems are not researches.

E.g. What is a bike? This is not a problem actually. This becomes a problem only when you are not able to distinguish it from a car. But there is a problem when you ask, why a bike does not fall when it is on the move? Some problems are not real and can be reduced to word problems and poor narration.

Something becomes a problem because you already have a theory about it, sometimes unarticulated. There is a theory existing even as a child is born. The theory is an explanation for an expected behaviour.... or condition which is a challenge. The process of theorising is as follows.

Theory 1 (T₁) is the basic concept. T₁ predicts the expected behaviour. If the expected behaviour does not happen and .... an event occurs. An event is something that happens against or outside the horizon of expectations according to the previous theory.

Now this theory has to be changed, annulled or modified to accommodate the new event. This is called a Tentative Hypothesis. This will after testing and evaluation become a Theory 2 (T₂)

Again an event might occur and the theorising will continue.

The point is if something that does not have a problem, does not call for a research.

How to find what is a genuine problem? Intuition is the key to know whether something is a problem. Sometimes we do not ask the right questions or find the right problem because some other theories are blocking us to see the right problem. E.g. people who accepted the theory of ether tried to find its composition until someone said ether is not a necessary component to explain anything. So this was discarded and all the theories around it.

We are always called upon to make decisions. When you make a decision there is a closure of other opportunities. When you make a decision it is not based on pure logic. What is totally logical is deduction and not decisions.How do you make decisions? E.g. You were going somewhere and not able to find the way in a cross roads. But out of your hunches you make decisions. So it is not fully logical, or no reason to choose one over the other.

Theories are not verifiable. There are no positions which could not be argued out. The task of theory is to help you to perform well in a given situation. Why can’t you prove theory?

Popper answers this way

Atheory has two parts

1. The Logical Content> the set of logical materials that you present
2. Informative content> It is everything else outside of the explanation of the logical content or theory. E.g. photosynthesis gives nutrition for the plants. The Informative content is the dog does not have food through photosynthesis.

Some informative contents are relevant to the research but some are irrelevant. The knowledge of the theory is not exactly what you are trying to prove but the encircling informative content that you have. True knowledge is when you know what the theory is unable to explain.

Falsification of a theory

The only way of engaging theory is critiquing a theory. If your relationship to theory is critical then you cannot say a theory is right but only wrong. If you proved yourself you have falsified the previous theory.

You falsify a theory

1. Within the scheme of the theory itself.
2. You have to gather more informative content to disprove a theory. Not something that is not related to the topic but around the topic.
3. Only those theories are scientific which can be falsified.

Infinitive Regress: when you try to defend a theory and if the very defence is challenged as the sign of failure of the very theory you are trying to protest or defend.

All theories are infinitively regressive. Right? Falsification can be successful or otherwise.

Examples for some knowledge that you develop other than non critical ways.

Skills: E.g. Music, architectures etc...

One is theoretical knowledge?

One is a social knowledge. E.g. what kind of a government is best for a nation. This knowledge is not like that of the first one(skills), action knowledge, experiential knowledge, spiritual knowledge or theoretical. These types of knowledges that do not bend to the skill or theoretical knowledge.

Humanities and social sciences are moral sciences.

On Research

Following is the compilation of responses to a survey that MA English ... students undertook to understand issues around research in English Studies. It was part of the Research and Writing Heuristics course. The compilation was done by Rashmi and Jijo of II year MA English

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What is research?
Exploration, analysis, diverges from existing knowledge. It is constant renewal. Propose to create theories. Can be subjective. Way of life, hard work, individual perspective, search for truth. It is quest for ideas, re-search for ideas. It begins with a question or a problem. It does not start with the state of knowingness. Not defining but proposing and proving something. It is a fusion and confusion of ideas. It is a search for new dimensions. Investigation. Proposing your views and your ideas.

How is research different in Humanities, languages, social sciences and natural sciences?
Linguistics is more academic and classroom oriented, quantitative. Linguistics is exact. Research in language studies is creative and imaginative. It is inclusive and multidisciplinary, qualitative, appeals to senses. Interdisciplinary, multiple interpretations. Concepts in literature can change.

How does one go about doing research?
Observation, questioning oneself, conclusion, analysis. Need to have the basic knowledge in the area, simple and accessible, have correct perspective, be open to changes, conduct a literature survey. Follow the existing methods, be objective and clear. Should start from nothingness, read, keep jotting down? Choose the area of your interest, engage constantly, build on it, and if it is broad try to narrow it down.

When should one start?
When one feels confident, ready, when one has enough data and information, yesterday. Read and write, collect data, follow exact method, enough data, language should flow. It should start now.