Department of Political Science

The department of Political Science of Pithubar Girls’ Degree College has been functioning since the inception of the college.The department commits itself to the excellent syllabus provided by Dibrugarh University to which the college is affiliated .The faculty members are well qualified and actively gets involved in the departmental activities as well as of the college. They have not only completed the courses in time but also involved in organizing various departmental activities such as freshers welcome, farewell functions, field trips, talks, webinars, parents’ teacher meet and various competitions like poster making, essay writing and speech contest etc. The department has a departmental library with 120 books for the wellbeing of the student. The department has a wall magazine viz, “HORIZON” which is altered annually. The students of the department are always encouraged to participate in all the events of the college. The students of the department are inspired to pursue higher studies and build their future. Courses offered in the department: . 1. B.A. (Honours) and Generic. Objectives The department of Political Science aims at : -- Generating new knowledge and produce students who are trained in Political Science. Mission: 1. To develop and cultivate among the young minds the political values and to exercise democracy as a citizen of the nation. 2. To open PG Course. 3. To publish ISBN Book Annually 4. To impart knowledge on commercial writing, News Reporting, Blog Writing, Anchoring & Conversational Practice for Students’ Employability. Vision : Our vision is to impart a critical bent of mind among the students to see and perceive their surroundings in all aspects socially, politically, culturally and enhancing a civic sense. HODs Message: I would like to extend heartiest welcome to all the students, esteemed colleague and all the well-wisher to our department. It gives me immense pleasure to invite all the young, energetic as well as dynamic minds to offer our course. The department of Political Science strives to inculcate values of discipline, team work, hard work, scientific temperament and to develop critical thinking among the students. Our faculty members invest great amount of efforts in giving instructions in classroom and also providing literature through other alternative methods or media. The faculties also encourages students to take part in different co -curricular activities. We encourage our students to refer and read various other reading material instead of just the prescribed reading material. Through our various papers such as political theory, global politics, comparative politics, public administration we try to inform and impart skills that would help them to be more informed in engaging with political environment of the society

Course- Outcome and Course objective

1st Semester

Paper C1

This course is divided into five units. The units introduce the students to the idea of political

theory, its history and approaches, and an assessment of its critical and contemporary

trends. Further the last two units tend to reconcile political theory and practice through

reflections on the ideas and practices related to State, Citizenship and Democracy.

Paper-C2

This course acquaints students with the constitutional design of states structures and

institutions, and their actual working over time. The Indian Constitution accommocreated_ats

conflicting impulses (of liberty and justice, territorial decentralization and a strong union, for

instance) within itself. The course traces the embodiment of some of these conflicts in

constitutional provisions, and shows how these have played out in political practice.

It further encourages a study of state institutions in their mutual interaction, and in

interaction with the larger extra-constitutional environment.

2 nd Semester

Paper C3

The Course helps the student familiarize with the basic normative concepts of

political theory. Each concept is related to a crucial political issue that requires analysis with

the aid of our conceptual understanding. This exercise is designed to encourage critical and

reflective analysis and interpretation of social practices through the relevant conceptual

toolkit. Further this course introduces the students to the important debates in the subject.

These debates prompt us to consider that there is no settled way of understanding

concepts and that in the light of new insights and challenges, besides newer ways of

perceiving and interpreting the world around us, we inaugurate new modes of political

debates.

Paper-C4

This course maps the working of ‘modern’ institutions, premised on the existence of an

individuated society, in a context marked by communitarian solidarities, and their mutual

transformation thereby. It also familiarizes students with the working of the Indian state,

paying attention to the contradictory dynamics of modern state power.

3 rd Semester

Paper- C5

This is a foundational course in comparative politics. The purpose is to familiarize students

with the basic concepts and approaches to the study of comparative politics. More

specifically the course will focus on examining politics in a historical framework while

engaging with various themes of comparative analysis in developed and developing

countries.

• Paper-C6

The course provides an introduction to the discipline of public administration. This paper

encompasses public administration in its historical context with an emphasis on the various

classical and contemporary administrative theories. The course also explores some of the

recent trends, including feminism and ecological conservation and how the call for greater

democratization is restructuring public administration. The course will also attempt to

provide the students a comprehensive understanding on contemporary administrative

developments.

Paper-C7

The course begins by historically contextualizing the evolution of the international state

system before discussing the agency structure problem through the levels-of-analysis

approach. After having set the parameters of the debate, students are introduced to

different theories in International Relations. It provides a fairly comprehensive overview of

the major political developments and events starting from the twentieth century. Students

are expected to learn about the key milestones in world history and equip them with the

tools to understand and analyze the same from different perspectives. A key objective of

the course is to make students aware of the implicit Euro - centricism of International

Relations by highlighting certain specific perspectives from the Global South.

4 th Semester

Paper-C8

In this course students will be trained in the application of comparative methods to the

study of politics. The course is comparative in both what we study and how we study. In the

process the course aims to introduce undergraduate students to some of the range of

issues, literature, and methods that cover comparative political.

Paper-C9

The paper seeks to provide an introduction to the interface between public policy and

administration in India. The essence of public policy lies in its effectiveness in translating

the governing philosophy into programs and policies and making it a part of the community

living. It deals with issues of decentralization, financial management, citizens and

administration and social welfare from a non-western perspective.

Paper-C10

This course introduces students to the key debates on the meaning and nature of

globalization by addressing its political, economic, social, cultural and technological

dimensions. In keeping with the most important debates within the globalization discourse,

it imparts an understanding of the working of the world economy, its anchors and

resistances offered by global social movements while analyzing the changing nature of

relationship between the state and trans-national actors and networks. The course also

offers insights into key contemporary global issues such as the proliferation of nuclear

weapons, ecological issues, international terrorism, and human security before concluding

with a debate on the phenomenon of global governance.

5 th Semester:

Paper-C11

This course goes back to Greek antiquity and familiarizes students with the manner in

which the political questions were first posed. Machiavelli comes as an interlude          To know Machiavelli as father of modern political philosophy and modern political

Paper-C12

This course introduces the specific elements of Indian Political Thought spanning over two

millennia. The basic focus of study is on individual thinkers whose ideas are however framedby specific themes. The course as a whole is meant to provide a sense of the broad streamsof Indian thought while encouraging a specific knowledge of individual thinkers and texts.Selected extracts from some original texts are also given to discuss in class. The list ofadditional readings is meant for teachers as well as the more interested students

Paper-DSE1A

The primary aim of this paper is acquaint with the students with the politics of

contemporary Assam and its neighbouring states. Moreover, being located in the Northeast region it is invariably the concern of the students to have prope understanding of the region

Paper-DSE2A

This course attempts to build an understanding of human rights among students through a study of specific issues in a comparative perspective. It is important for students to see how debates on human rights have taken distinct forms historically and in the contemporary world. The course seeks to anchor all issues in the Indian context, and pulls out another country to form a broader comparative frame. Students will be expected to use a range of resources, including films, biographies, and official documents to study each theme.

Thematic discussion of sub-topics in the second and third sections should include state

response to issues and structural violence questions.

6 th Semester

Paper-C13

Philosophy and politics are closely intertwined. We explore this convergence by identifying five main tendencies here. Students will be exposed to the manner in which the questions of politics have been posed in terms that have implications for larger questions of thought and existence.

Paper-C14

Based on the study of individual thinkers, the course introduces a wide span of thinkers and themes that defines the modernity of Indian political thought. The objective is to study general themes that have been produced by thinkers from varied social and temporal contexts. Selected extracts from original texts are also given to discuss in the class. The list of additional readings is meant for teachers as well as the more interested students

Paper-DSE-3A

This course provides a theoretical and practical understanding of the concepts and methods that can be employed in the analysis of public policy. It uses the methods of political economy to understand policy as well as understand politics as it is shaped by economic changes. The course will be useful for students who seek an integrative link to theirunderstanding of political science, economic theory and the practical world of development and social change.

Paper-DSE4A

This course’s objective is to teach students the domestic sources and the structural

constraints on the genesis, evolution and practice of India’s foreign policy. The endeavour is to highlight integral linkages between the ‘domestic’ and the ‘international’ aspects of India’s foreign policy by stressing on the shifts in its domestic identity and the

corresponding changes at the international level. Students will be instructed on India’s

shifting identity as a postcolonial state to the contemporary dynamics of India attempting to carve its identity as an ‘aspiring power’. India’s evolving relations with the superpowers during the Cold War and after, bargaining strategy and positioning in international climate change negotiations, international economic governance, international terrorism and the United Nations facilitate an understanding of the changing positions and development of India’s role as a global player since independence.