1st Edition

The Idea of a University Possibilities and Contestations

Edited By D. V. Kumar Copyright 2022
200 Pages
by Routledge India

200 Pages
by Routledge India

200 Pages
by Routledge India

This volume engages with the idea of a university, the importance of intellectual inquiry and research, and the articulation of diverse political views and dissent. It discusses the prominent ideas and debates around universities and their nature and contributions, within the historical and social context of India. The chapters reflect on the importance of critical thinking and the rigorous... Read more

Preface

Introduction

1 Some thoughts on university education

Romila Thapar

2 On the political economy of educational "reforms"

Prabhat Patnaik

3 Beyond instrumentality: restoring the spirit of higher education

Avijit Pathak

4 The idea of a university and its leader: a Gadamerian perspective

Binod Kumar Agarwala

5 The challenges that a university confronts in India

D. V. Kumar

6 UGC and JNU: a tale of exceptions told in two acts

Ayesha Kidwai

7 Higher education and the social sciences in a "smart India"

Maitrayee Chaudhuri

The idea of university in a princely state: reflections on the century-old Osmania University, Hyderabad

K. Srinivasulu

Spaces of contested nationalism

Sajal Nag

10 Universities as gendered institutions

Vijaylakshmi Brara

11 The social contract of a public university: equality, social justice and democracy

V. Bijukumar

Index

Biography

D. V. Kumar is Professor at the Department of Sociology, School of Social Sciences, North-Eastern Hill University, Shillong.