File Ref.No.9534/GA - IV - B1/2012/CU UNIVERSITY OF CALICUT Abstract M.A.Philosophy -University Teaching Department (CCSS) - III Semester Elective Course - Gandhi and / as the Post modern -Scheme and Syllabus - approved - Implemented with effect from 2014 admissions onward - orders issued. G & A - IV - B U.O.No. 2867/2015/Admn Dated, Calicut University.P.O, 23.03.2015 Read:-1. UO No GAI/J1/1373/2008 dated 01.07.2008 2. U.O.No.GAIV/B1/5955/2008 dated 11-04-2011 3. Minutes of the meeting of Board of studies in Philosophy held on 30-07-2014 Item No. 3 a,b,c. 4. Minutes of the meeting of Faculty of Humanities held on 18-11-2014 Item No. VIII (iii) 5 E-Mail from Chairman Board of Studies in Philosophy. 6. Minutes of the meeting of Academic Council held on 15-1-2015. Item No. II i 7. Orders of the Vice-Chancellor on the File No.6937/GA-IV B1/2012/CU dated 10-02- 2015 ORDER Vide U.O. read first above, Orders were issued implementing the Choice based Credit Semester System in the teaching Departments/School of the University from 2008-09 admission onwards. Vide U.O. read second, the revised syllabus of M.A.Philosophy under choice based credit semester system in University Department was implemented with effect from 2009 admission onwards. Vide item read third above,the meeting of Board of studies in Philosophy held on 30-07-2014 Item No. 3 a,b,c resolved to approve the syllabus of additional elective paper Gandhi and / as the Post modern submitted by the Department of Philosopy and to implement the syllabus for this in the third semester M.A.Philosophy with course code PH I 3E07 in the University Department with effect from 2014 admission onwards. Vide item read fourth above,the Faculty of Humanities at its meeting held on 18-11-2014 ( Item No. VIII (iii) resolved to approve Item No. 3 a,b,c.of the minutes of the meeting of the Board of
Studies in Philosophy held on 30-07-2014. Vide item read fifth above Chairman Board of Studies in Philosophy has forwarded the scheme, syllabus and model question paper of the new Elective Course approved by Department of Philosophy. Vide item read sixth above, the Academic Council at its meeting held on 15-01-2015 has approved the Minutes of the Faculty of Humanities. Vide paper read seventh above, the Vice Chancellor has accorded permission to implement the decision of Academic Council held on 15.01 2015 (vide item No II i) Sanction has therefore been accorded to implement Scheme and Syllabus of Gandhi and / as the Post modern as Elective Course for III Semester M.A.Philosophy in University Teaching Department with effect from 2014 admission onwards. Orders are issued accordingly. Usha K Deputy Registrar To The Head of Department, Department of Philosophy, University of Calicut. Copy to: CE/ EX Sn/EG Sn/ DR-AR Tabulation PG/PG Sn/System Administrator with a request to upload the University Order in the University website/ GA I F Section/ Library/ SF/ FC Forwarded / By Order Section Officer
University of Calicut Department of Philosophy III Semester MA Philosophy - Elective Course Scheme of Examination Course Code and Title: Ph I 3E07 - Gandhi and / as the Post modern Maximum marks: 100 (80 + 20) ESA 80 marks Time: Three hours The question paper consists of two parts A and B Part A (Essays) Answer any two questions (Each question carries 15 marks) Part B Answer any ten questions (Each question carries 5 marks) Internal Assessment 20 marks
III Semester MA Philosophy Elective Course Title of the Course: Ph I 3E07 - Gandhi and/as the Postmodern Course Objective The course intends to generate discussion and awareness on the increasing relevance of Gandhi and his thoughts in the contemporary times when the very survival of the human species on earth is facing fundamental challenges. Pathetically inadequate are the stereotypes, of half naked fakir of mystic romantic legion of Gandhi worshippers and of bourgeois agent of Gandhi baiters like communist left, to understand the significance of Gandhism which is much bigger than Gandhi the individual. The space of Philosophical / Political imagination vacated by Nehruvian modernity, which is largely fashioned in the European mould, is being occupied by Gandhi. The very existence of living beings on the planet demands a U-turn from the entrenched paradigmatic prejudices of a civilization called western which is more a mentality with global reach than a spatial location. A master communicator with astonishing skills to reach out and present profound ideas in a lucid and simple style, Gandhi is a source of inspiration to re-imagine the jargonized/esoteric inaccessible, obtrusive and awe-inspiring meta-discourse as theory which is a case of language gone on holiday and of late fashionable in the scholastic academia. The relevance of Gandhi is not in providing us with well-formulated final solutions to all our problems. He matters because he empowers us to raise a few fundamental questions, the answers to which may change the destiny not only of us humans but of our planet and the not - yet - annihilated entire living beings. Gandhian insights can help us to pause in our break-neck speed run to self destruction. Class room lectures, paper presentations and discussions, with the help of the list of publications and other available materials like feature and documentary films, will be organized around these pressing issues and concerns. As an optional course it targets the students belonging to any discipline under the broad divisions of humanities, social sciences, natural - physical sciences etc. Certain level of interest, involvement and orientation from the students are desirable prerequisites for opting the course.
Syllabus UNIT - I Topics for discussion Evolution of Gandhian thought - Indian and western sources. ( Upanishads, Jainism, Buddhism, and Bhagvad Gita, Ruskin, Tolstoy and Thoreau) Problems of European modernity. (Critique of enlightenment and capitalist political- economy by the anachronistic postmodernism of outsider Gandhi and by the Insiders like Adorno, Habermas, Foucault ) Is Gandhi a postmodern thinker? ( Gandhi s engagement with tradition - how Gandhi was shaped by the anti-modern other west of Ruskin, Tolstoy and Thoreau to challenge the civilizational hegemony of the European modernity) Reference materials 1. M. K. Gandhi: Collected works of Mahatma Gandhi: (Relevant Sections), Govt. of India Publications. 2. Bharathi K.S : Encyclopaedia of Gandhian Thought Vol.1-IV Anmol New Delhi. 3. Max Horkheimer and Theodor W Adorno : Dialectic of enlightenment Stanford U 2002 4. Jurgen Habermas: Modernity versus postmodernity New German Critique No. 22, Special issue on modernism (winter 1981) PP 3-1 5. Luke Godfrey: Foucault s interpretation of modernity E-international relations students (Website) Oct. 26, 2012 6. LIoyd I Rudolph and Susanne Hoeber Rudolph: Postmodern Gandhi and other essays. University of Chicago press 2006. UNIT - II Topics for discussion Why Gandhi matters? (The re-invention of Gandhi in the post 9/11 world) Gandhi as the Philosopher. (Critique of ideas and ideologies of the enlightenment and the larger paradigm of modern science) Gandhism after Gandhi. (Four Gandhis who have survived Mohandas Karam Chand Gandhi s death) Reference materials 1. Ramachandra Guha : Why Gandhi matters. The London School of Economics and Political Science October 2011.
2. Akeel Bilgrami : Gandhi, The Philosopher EPW 38,No 39 (2003) 4159-65 3.Lee C. Bollinger : Gandhi, Newton and the enlightenment : Colombia News November 8, 2007 4.Ashis Nandy : Gandhi after Gandhi, The Little Magazine. No. 1 (May 2000) PP 38-41 5. Ashis Nandy : An Anti-secularist Manifesto India International Centre Quarterly Vol. 22 No. 1 Spring 1995 UNIT - III Topics for discussion Gandhi and the Dalit/ caste question. (Ambedkar Gandhi debates on the problem of caste Hind Swaraj and nation building) Gandhi on women emancipation. (Re-contextualizing his observations in the context of post-feminism) Gandhian ideas on world peace and harmony. (Non violence Cooperation - dialogical Co-existence) Reference materials 1. B.R Ambedkar : Annihilation of Caste (annotated critical new edition with introduction by Arundati Roy) Navayana 2014. 2. Narendra Jadhav : Ambedkar : Awakening of India s Social conscience 3. Shilpan Patel : Mahatma Gandhi s 5 teachings to bring about world peace. (http://zenhabits.net) 4. Ajay Gudavarthy : Gandhi, Dalits and Feminists : Recovering the convergence (EPW Special May 31, 2008) 5. Umilta : Feminist Gandhi (http://www. umilta.in) 6.Usha Thakkar : Breaking the shackles : Gandhi s views on women (http://www.gandhimanibhavan.org) 7. Madhu Kishwar: Gandhi on women EPW Oct. 12, 198 UNIT - IV Topics for discussion The Gandhian domain of the ethical. (Ecocriticism post - humanism Evolution verses revolution inclusive against exclusive - Critique of the sovereignty of the human as hegemon) The possibilities of political /cultural locations transcending the Hegemony of Eurocentric modernity. (Seeking common ground between faith and reason. against the greed of atomized individual and consumerism.) On screen re-imagination of Mahatma Gandhi.
(Discussion of the ways in which Gandhi is re-imagined in Hollywood and Indian Cinemas). Reference materials 1. John Hick and Lamont Hempel (ed): Gandhi s significance for today. London Macmillan 2. Nick Gier : Mahatma Gandhi and deep ecology ( www.nickgier.com) 3. Ashis Nandy - Final encounter: The Politics of assassination in at the edge of Psychology - essays in politics and culture. (New Delhi, Oxford University Press) 1991 PP- 75-98 4. Rachel Dwyer: Bollywood s India: Indian Cinema as a guide to modern India - (published online) Asian affairs 41: 3,381-398 D01:1080/0306837 2010.50823 5. Rachel Dwyer: The case of the missing Mahatma. Gandhi and the Hindi Cinema. Spring 2011 Vol.23 No. 2 do1:10.1215/08992363-1161949 6. D.R.Nagaraj : The flaming feet and other essays : The Dalit movement in India. Permanent black 2010
MODEL QUESTION PAPER Third Semester MA Degree examination 2015 CCSS Philosophy (Elective Course) Ph I 3E07Gandhi and / as the Post modern Time: Three hours Maximum marks: 80 Part A (Essays) Answer any two questions Each question carries 15 marks 1. Discuss and Problematize the idea of Gandhi as a postmodern thinker. 2. Discuss the idea of four Gandhis who have survived Mohan Das Karam Chand Gandhi s death. 3. Discuss Gandhi s ideas as Dalit emancipation in the context of Gandhi-Ambedkar debate. 4. Critically appreciate the onscreen re-imagination of Mahatma Gandhi. Part B (Paragraph answers) Answer any ten questions Each question carries 5 marks 5. Write a short note on influence of Indian tradition in the evolution of Gandhian thought. 6. What are the major objections of Gandhi towards modern industrial civilization? 7. Why Gandhi matters in the post 9/11 world.? 8. Is Gandhi a Philosopher? 9. How concept of Ahimsa is central to Gandhian scheme of thought.? 10. What is your view on the concept of Harijan later problematized by Dalits? 11. Was Gandhi against Women s liberation? 12. A short note on Gandhi s idea of dialogical- co- existence. 13. Which are the five teachings of Gandhi to bring about world peace? 14. Discuss the Ecological insights in the Gandhian thought. 15. Is a common ground between reason and faith possible? 16. Discuss any one of the cinematic representation of Gandhi. -----------