From
the outset, it was decided that the curriculum
should relate to the Indian/Asian experience of
cinema even as it assimilates the international
scholarship on film. An MA and a BA (Extra-Departmental)
course and a PhD programme were launched. The
Department soon became a meeting ground for the
foremost film scholars in the country. With a
special arrangement for Visiting Faculty, it has
been possible to maintain a steady stream of visitors
from home and abroad.
The new curriculum, introduced in 2003, incorporates
the recent developments in the field and reflects
the experience that we have gained in the past
years. The primary aim is to produce a critical
mind that enables the student to engage film and
media actively rather than be passive recipients
of their messages. The courses are meant to produce
critics and scholars, teachers and journalists.
The curriculum is designed to familiarize students
with the rudiments of film form and the advanced
theories of film practice. It is historically
inclusive and theoretically intensive in nature.
Though cinema occupies a large space in the curriculum,
there are also courses on media and television.
Since Film Studies and Media Studies share a lot
of common grounds with disciplines like Cultural
Studies, and all of them draw upon contemporary
social sciences, we offer courses that deal with
issues such as nationalism, modernity, post-modernity
and globalization. The Indian context is studied
with special emphasis in most of the papers, often
in connection with other non-western cases such
as Latin America, East Asia and Iran.
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