Research Directions in Humanities - BKNMU - Junagadh

 Research Directions in Humanities

Abstract: 

The video discusses possible research directions in humanities and literature, with a focus on the next five to ten years. The speaker highlights the need to adapt to the changing world and rethink traditional ways of looking at topics such as epidemics and digital culture. The speaker suggests that humanities research should consider the impact of pandemics, not just wars, on society and cultural memory. Additionally, the speaker discusses how digital culture is shaping our lives and the distinction between creative and generative literature. The video aims to inspire PhD scholars to think about their research topics and to become future research supervisors.

Detailed summary:

The video is about a seminar on the future of research in Humanities and literature, held at the BKNMU in Junagadh, India. The speaker starts by acknowledging the dignitaries on the dias, the research scholars and students of the masters or graduation who are going to make various presentations in the seminar. He then proceeds to discuss the possible futures of research in Humanities and literature.

He notes that multidisciplinary, interdisciplinary, and even transdisciplinary approaches are going to be buzzwords around this century. However, apart from that, what other things can be seen or visualized? Those who are PhD scholars may have already decided on their topic, but the speaker hopes that the ideas he presents may be useful to those who will be research supervisors in the future, and their students or somebody looking for guidance.

The speaker acknowledges that predicting what may happen in 20-25 years is nearly impossible, but he suggests looking at the possibilities in the coming five to ten years. He notes that the world is moving so fast that it's hard to predict, but there are some important things to consider.

One of the most significant issues to consider is the epidemic. The speaker notes that most of the documents on epidemiology or literature review on epidemiology predicted that a pandemic was possible, but they were more concerned with the third world countries than the first world. However, the pandemic has hit the first world more severely than the third world, and this requires a new way of looking at the situation. The speaker suggests that the way we remember wars is different from the way we remember epidemics, and this could be an interesting concern to look into.

The speaker also discusses digital culture, which is shaping our lives, thoughts, and philosophies. He suggests that the questions around digital cultures and digital Humanities are important to consider. One of the emerging distinctions is between creative literature and generative literature. The speaker notes that machines are developing algorithms that can write literature, and someday people may be researching poets who are robots. This distinction between machines generating literature and humans creating literature is an emerging concern that requires further questioning.

The speaker also touches on feminist discourse and how it is being transformed by digital culture. He suggests that there is a need to look at the poetics of digital culture and the feminist discourse in more detail.

In conclusion, the speaker suggests that there are many new and emerging directions in Humanities and literature research, and it is important to keep an open mind and embrace new ideas and approaches. He encourages the scholars to be curious, explore new fields, and be open to interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary approaches.

Video Recording:

Dissertation Writing

 

Research Project Writing: Dissertation Writing

Course Objectives:

The learning objectives for writing a dissertation can be organized using Bloom's Taxonomy, which categorizes educational goals into six levels:

1.       Remembering: recall relevant information from memory, such as key concepts and theories related to the dissertation topic.

2.       Understanding: comprehend the meaning of the information and how it relates to the dissertation topic.

3.       Applying: use the information to solve problems or make decisions relevant to the dissertation topic.

4.       Analyzing: break down the information into component parts and understand how they relate to each other and to the dissertation topic as a whole.

5.       Evaluating: make judgments about the value or quality of the information and its relevance to the dissertation topic.

6.       Creating: use the information to generate new ideas, designs or theories related to the dissertation topic.

For example, a dissertation on the impact of social media on political participation, the learning objectives could be:

1.       Remembering key theories of political participation

2.       Understanding how social media affects political participation

3.       Applying data analysis techniques to study the relationship between social media and political participation

4.       Analyzing the impact of social media on different groups' political participation

5.       Evaluating the strengths and limitations of existing studies on the topic

6.       Creating new hypotheses or theories about the relationship between social media and political participation.

For more examples, visit study material website > https://sites.google.com/view/maengmkbu2020/

 Description

 

Marks: 70 | Hours: 60 | Credit - 4

 

• The dissertation of 75 to 100 pages or 20,000 to 25,000 words shall be submitted to the University.

• The format of writing dissertation shall be as given below:

• Font Size: 16 - Main Title of the Chapter > 14 Sub-titles within the chapter > 12 for main content.

• Line Space: 1.5 line space.

• Print: On both sides of the pages

• Bind: Spiral 

• The dissertation shall be approved by the Department teacher/s and duly forwarded through the Head of the Department.

The evaluation of the dissertations shall be done by internal and external examiners similar to that of answer books of MA – English programme.

Internal evaluation in form of presentation shall be carried out at the Department in presence of the Head of the Department and/or concerned teacher / supervisor. 

 

Continuous Internal Evaluation

Presentation - 25 Marks

Seminar / attendance - 05 Marks

Written Test - 00 Marks

Note:

Integration of ICT for blog, presentation, video resources will be integral part of CIA. All works produced by the students for internal evaluation shall be presented as digital portfolio.

Course Specific Learning Outcome:

1.   Remember: Students will be able to recall key concepts, theories, and research methods related to dissertation writing.

2.   Understand: Students will be able to explain the purpose and significance of their research topic, as well as the research methods they plan to use.

3.   Apply: Students will be able to use appropriate research methods to collect and analyze data for their dissertation.

4.   Analyze: Students will be able to critically evaluate and interpret their data, and integrate it with existing literature to make original conclusions and recommendations.

5.   Evaluate: Students will be able to assess the limitations and implications of their research, and consider potential future directions for further study.

6.   Create: Students will be able to compose a well-written, coherent dissertation that effectively communicates their research findings and conclusions.

These course-specific learning outcomes focus on the cognitive process of dissertation writing and how students will be able to demonstrate their understanding of the subject matter, and the skills they've acquired by the end of the course.

Suggesting Reading List:

1. Film Adaptation of a Literary Text

2. Feminist Reading of a Literary Text

3. Eco-critical Reading of a Literary Text

4. Comparative Literature Studies

5. 
   

PhD Coursework: Research Methodology - English Studies

Video Resources on Research Methodology - PhD Coursework, Dept. of English, MKBU

1. Prof. Sachin Ketkar on "Translation Studies as World Literature and World Literature as Translation Studies"

2. Dr. Kalyan Chattopadhyay on "Academic Writing"

3. Prof. Kiran Trivedi on "Quality Research Publication: Impact Factor, i-Index, h-Index, i10-Index

4. Dr. Valiur Rahaman on 'The Vocation & Life of Research Scholar'

5. Dr. Kalyani Vallath on 'Practical Ways of Organizing Research'

6. Prof. Balaji Ranganathan on 'Research Techniques'

7. Dr. Valiur Rahaman on 'The Art of Literary Research Today'

8. Prof. Atanu Bhattacharya on 'The Academic Writing: The Basics'

 

9. Prof. Atanu Bhattacharya on 'The Academic Writing: The 

Mechanics'

 

10. Prof. Nigam Dave on 'Philosophy and Ethics'

11. Dilip Barad on 'Introduction to the Course on Research and Publication Ethics' (Gujarati)

12. Critic, Researcher & Scholar | Richard Altick | The Art of Literary Research

The difference between critic and scholar and that between researcher and scholar is a sort of water-tight compartment - or a line drawn in the sand. Critics is the one who concerns with textual analysis. The researcher concerns itself with intellectual insight and imaginative responses through vivid sense of History. The Scholar is the one who is able to use critics' textual analysis as well as researchers pastness of the past in the present context. If researcher is the means, the scholarship is the end. The scholarship is a habit of main. It is a way of life.

13. Mind and Temperament of Research Scholar | The Art of Literary Research | Richard Altick

What are the necessities to make for a rewarding Research Project?

Publish or Perish?

What are the chief qualities of 'mind' and 'temperament' that go to make up a successful and happy scholar?

Interpretations?

Research Methodology Workshop Handout

This handout is drafted with a view to help research scholars who in search of research topic. Once the research topic/area is identified, the another step is to convert it into an argument. This is very difficult phase and requires a lot of thinking. The second part of this handout has some 10 indicators to help scholars to turn research topic into an argument. The third part of this handout helps in preparing first draft of research proposal.

Deciding on a Research Topic (Owens, 2010):

One of the points to stress at the outset is that the range of possible research topics in literature is very wide indeed. Despite this, or perhaps because of this, students occasionally find it difficult to make up their minds what it is they want to investigate. If you feel, momentarily, that you can’t decide what might interest you, you could try making a list of things that you would like to learn more about. Once you have a list of up to five or six things, you should take some time to read around each of them a bit, trying to think not only which seems most enticing and likely to hold your interest, but which of them your previous study has best equipped you to pursue. By ‘reading around’, I do not mean reading aimlessly, or in a desultory fashion. On the contrary, you should be reading quickly and purposively, with questions in your mind, scanning material that seems potentially relevant to your areas of interest and getting an overview of it. The questions you should be asking include:

Answer to these questions with reference to your research interest:
1	What are some of the key studies in this field?	1) 2) 3)
2	What kinds of approaches have been taken to the subject?	1) 2) 3)
3	What are the key issues and questions in this field?	1) 2) 3)
4	Are there any possible gaps, or approaches yet to be explored? (Digital Humanities, Film Studies, Cultural Studies, Globalization, postcoloniality, Study of controversies in literature, banned books, retellings, teaching literature, teaching criticism, teaching literary theories, study of censorship, sci-fi, self-help, electronic/digital literature, realism - social/virtual)	1) 2) 3)

TURNING A TOPIC INTO AN ARGUMENT (Owens, 2010)

Having decided on your topic and limited its scope, the next step is to give it a direction. The way to do this is to develop out of your topic a set of questions you want to answer, or problems that you want to solve. Doing research is not about gathering information or data for its own sake: the information or data

is presented in order to answer questions, in order to try to change what is thought about something. Virtually every good dissertation will take the form of an argument, of an attempt to prove or establish something by means of presentation and analysis of evidence.

There are many possible ways of turning a topic into an argument. To give some examples, your dissertation might be one of the following:

Based on the research topic selected above, draft an argument with the help of below given indicators
1	an argument for or against an existing critic (or critical position) in relation to the author or group of works you are studying
2	an argument about the importance of a particular influence on a writer, or influence exerted by him or her
3	an argument for the importance of some hitherto little-regarded piece of evidence to the discussion of the work of some author or group of authors
4	an argument about the value of a new theoretical approach to a text or set of texts
5	an argument turning upon the nature of the genre of a work or group of works
6	an argument about the significance of a little-known or undervalued author or work;
7	an argument about some historical or literary-historical aspect of literature
8	an argument about the adequacy of existing scholarly texts of a particular work;
9	an argument showing how a particular theme or concept may be related to a group of texts;
10	an argument bringing together some aspect of a well-known literary text with a lesser-known text or with other media.

PREPARING A RESEARCH PROPOSAL

Assuming that you have an idea for a possible research project that is sufficiently tightly defined so that it is do-able in the time and space available, and further assuming that you have checked that you can get access to the necessary materials, you will usually need to write a research proposal for approval by your

tutor or supervisor.

Think of it as an exercise in persuasion:

you are trying to convince your tutor or supervisor that you have evidence (although as yet unexploited) to support the argument you propose to advance. You should present it in continuous prose, but arranged under a set of headings such as the following.

Based on the research topic selected and argument developed in above activity, write first draft of your research proposal on the line of indicators given below:
1	Title: Do not feel bound by this: it is important to have a title that is clear and informative, but a first attempt can be altered in the finished product
2	Argument: State as concisely as possible what your subject is and what your argument will be.
3	Materials: Go into more detail about your materials, i.e. the chief primary and secondary sources you will use and discuss, giving some indication as to their aptness for your project, and how easy it will be to get hold of them.
4	Chapters[1]: Show how you think your discussion of your topic may be organised, chapter by chapter, in the final product. This provisional chapter structure is very important, so make sure it is clear to the reader how many chapters there are going to be, what is going to go into each, how they will connect with each other, and how long each is planned to be. If possible, give provisional chapter titles
5	Conclusion: Clearly, this will be provisional at this stage. You have not yet argued your case, merely outlined the materials and likely directions of your argument. You might also like to indicate at this stage what problems you think you might encounter along the way.
6	Bibliography: A list of the key primary and secondary texts you intend using should be appended to the proposal – though, again, this list will be provisional and will certainly expand once you begin serious work.

Turning Research Topic into an Argument from Dilip Barad

Work Cited

Owens, W. R. (2010). Planning, Writing, and Presenting a Dissertation or Thesis. In D. D. Correa, & W. R. Owens, The Handbook to Literary Research (second ed., pp. 187-203). Oxon, New York, Canada, USA: Rourledge.

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[1] You should be alluding throughout this section to the main secondary literature on your subject (historical, critical, theoretical, etc.), not just to demonstrate that you are aware of it, but to indicate how you might use it. So, for example, you might be planning to take issue with what some critic has said, or you may want to show how your work relates to, and perhaps extends or qualifies, some existing scholarship on your subject.