Workshop on ‘Teaching of Film Studies in West Bengal’, February 21, 2009
This workshop was organized as part of the ‘Baseline Survey of the Teaching of Film Studies in West Bengal‘. The survey, as part of the ‘Small Grant Programme’ of Sir Ratan Tata Trust, was conducted by ‘The Media Lab’ for a period of 3 months starting on December 15, 2008. The objective of the Baseline Survey was to get a comprehensive picture of the present state of teaching of Film Studies in West Bengal with select reference to institutions in other states. The Survey aimed at generating data that would help address the problems faced by institutions in India running courses in/related to Film Studies. These problems can be both intellectual and material in nature. We are particularly concerned with the way Film Studies is taught at the undergraduate level. One important area of investigation was the large set of courses under disciplines like Mass Communication, Mass Communication and Videography, Journalism and Media Science which often incorporate components of Film Studies in their syllabi. The contemporary debates in Film Studies developed in an inter-disciplinary framework over the last 10-15 years in India and abroad are missing from the syllabi of most of the courses. The new digital regime of media and communications, across which cinema is constantly rediscovering itself, also seems to be inadequately addressed. Infrastructural facilities in institutions do not seem to be adequate either. With a view to intervene meaningfully in this scenario, the Survey wished to take stock of both the academic and infrastructural aspects of the teaching of Film Studies in India. Based on the report, the nature of intervention could be helping the institutions with academic and logistical resources, both locally and beyond, in the form of creating broader interactive platforms (eg. digital archives). The point was to create a truly vibrant and energetic network where inputs from researchers, archivists, practitioners and workers from various fields could enter into a critical dialogue.
What the One-Day Workshop examined through the discussions:
· The opinion of the teachers regarding the syllabi
· The facilities provided by the colleges and the various problems they face in everyday teaching
· Various narratives regarding the ways in which the departments were established
· Financial and administrative structure of the colleges/departments
· An idea about the professions of the graduates
· The receptivity of the institutions towards new educational tools.
The participants, who were teachers of Film Studies and allied disciplines in various colleges and universities in West Bengal, made brief presentations concerning the above points. Some of the major recommendations that came out from the workshop were:
-A drastic improvement of infrastructure is an immediate necessity
-The syllabus should be reasonably light and comprehensive, keeping in mind that it initiates students into the discipline of Film Studies. It should never aim to produce experts but to acquaint the students with the basics of film language, theory and history.
-The West Bengal College service Commission should duly acknowledge Film Studies and make provisions for inclusion of the subject under State Eligibility Test (SET) conducted by the Commission.
-A large number of important books in English and other non-Bengali languages need to be translated in Bengali. They will cater particularly to the students outside Calcutta who are generally weak in comprehending the English language.
- Teachers (mostly part-timers or sometimes a mix of part-timers and full-timers) should meet on a regular basis. The teachers strewn over various colleges under a university should also meet regularly to ensure a parity of teaching standards across institutions.
-Workshops for teachers of Film Studies at the undergraduate level should be regularly organized by a set of competent trainers.
-The salary of teachers should increase.
-Film Studies programmes should be prepared for a substantial crunch in State funding and resource in near future and should generate own funding from various sources.
-outreach programmes should be increasingly undertaken by the Universities/faculties teaching Film Studies, to popularize the subject.
-Film Studies should be an honours subject at the undergraduate level.
-Books on model questions for the undergraduate courses should be published by the University.
-There should be an association of teachers of Film Studies where common concerns can be discussed.
- The Film Studies research fraternity should think of publishing some of its acquisitions and findings in book form. Internet is not accessible to everybody and cheap enough for underprivileged students.
-There should be efforts to make Film Studies and Mass Communication academically more connected to each other.