Department of Political Science with Rural Administration :

About the department :

The Department of Political Science with Rural Administration began its journey in the month of December 1985, four years after the Vidyasagar University was created by an Act of the West Bengal State Assembly passed in 1981. It is one of the six oldest departments with which postgraduate teaching and research started n the University. It is a front ranking department of the University that has from its inception, been continuously engaged in reorienting its teaching and research programmes. Hundreds of students have passed out each year and a large number of them are quite successfully placed in life. The department has been quite successful in providing meaningful platforms for academic interactions by taking up research projects, organizing national and state-level seminars, publication of books and departmental journal, updating of undergraduate and postgraduate syllabi and curricula, introduction of Semester System and so on. As a nodal department, it has been associated with the Gandhian Studies Centre of the University in various capacities. The students have also been making efforts to activate the department. They represent the department in various sports and cultural events organized by our own and other universities and excel in many of those. They also bring out a departmental wall-magazine regularly.

Courses Offered :

1. M.A. in Political Science with Rural Administration (under the Semester System)
2. M.A. in Political Science with Rural Administration in the Distance Mode.
3. M.Phil. Programme in Political Science was introduced from the Academic Session 2008-09.

New inclusion from the emerging fields in the curriculum :

Ø      Emerging areas of Social and Political Theories, e.g. Postmodernism, Post-colonialism, Multi-culturalism, Feminism, Ecologism etc.

Ø      Current issues in international as well as in national and regional level politics in the era of globalization.

Ø      Recent developments in Public Administration including Local Government and Politics.

Syllabus Up gradation :

·         UG level syllabus has been thoroughly revised and implemented with effect from the academic session 2005-06.

·         PG level syllabus was updated and restructured for introduction of the Semester System in the department with effect from  2007-08 session 

·         As the department is going to introduce the M. Phil. Programme from September 2008, a curriculum for the same has also been preapared  keeping in view the latest developments in the discipline.

Research areas / Fields :

The major thrust area of the department is Grassroots Politics and Governance The Department seeks to contemplate alternative ways of looking at human welfare and the political wisdom to recognized the need to draw policy-makers’ attention to human priority. After may decades of development, the obvious is rediscovered – that people are both the means and the end of human development. However, the concrete implications of the process of placing people at the center stage of politics and administration for human development are yet to be understood in its totality.

      Against the backdrops the faculties seeks to strengthen the already created research and teaching base in this department. In the wider Political Science corpus of knowledge, the major thrust of the department is likely to generate new knowledge about the local political processes and institutions involved in sustainable human development.

On going Projects in the Department :

• The department organized a National Level Seminar on ‘Terrorism: National and International Perspectives’ in March 2006.

• A Seminar on “State and Civil Society” was held in the department on 26-27 March 2008 out of UGC unassigned grant scheme.

• A Workshop on the Revision of UG syllabus was organized by the department in collaboration with WBCUTA and Kharagpur College in early 2006.

• A Special Lecture was held by the department on “Recent Trends in Public Administration” in March 2007.

Total Publication etc.

§         A journal entitled “Politics and Society” is published regularly by the department. 

§         An edited volume Indian Politics at the Crossroads was published by the department in 1998.

§         A volume entitled Terrorism: Concepts and Problems edited by the department will be published very soon. 

Note: - For publications of individual faculty members, see Faculty Profiles

FuturePlan of action of the department :

1. Introduction of M.Phil. programme in Political Science from the ensuing academic session in 2008 .
2. To organize State/National level seminars
3. To organize Extension Lecture in the department
4. Introducing modern techniques of teaching through LCD Projector etc
5. Introducing a postgraduate course in Rural Management in collaboration with other departments – such as Economics, Commerce, Geography and the like – of the University.

 Highlights

• The department regularly publishes its own journal Politics and Society, containing articles on Contemporary Social and Political Issues.

• The students of the department regularly bring out a wall magazine ‘Prekhsit’ which reflects their awareness about the contemporary socio-political scenario

• The Department conducted a UGC sponsored Foundation Course on Human Rights and Values in Education during 2005-06.

• The department has been regularly organizing seminars, symposia, special lecture, students’ colloquium on contemporary issues.

• An edited volume entitled "Terrorism: Concepts and Problems " will be published by the department very soon (in 2008).

• The faculties of the department have been offering their valuable services as resource persons/counselors/experts in various academic and related programme within and outsides the campus. 

• Smt. Anjana Singh, a student of the department and a member of the NSS unit of the University attended the National Integration Camps in 2004 at Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal, Republic Day Parade 2006 at New Delhi, Commonwealth Day Celebration 2006 at Singapore, Yoga World Cup 2006 at New Delhi. In 2007 Smt. Singh represented the Indian Cultural Team which visited China for  6 months.