When we judge scholarship only as politics, something crucial is lost A new consensus unites college administrators with many of their faculty members, especially in the humanities: Scholarship today must be socially engaged. This demand, and the morally charged language that comes with it, might seem to meet the urgency of our political moment.… Read More Justin Sider: In Defense of Disinterested Knowledge
NB: Saleem was a dear personal friend and colleague at Ramjas College, in the University of Delhi. Both of us were also alumni of St Stephens College, albeit separated by a couple of years. He was a gentleman to his core and a brilliant historian. On the rare occasions he spoke in Staff Council meetings,… Read More Goodbye Saleem / सबके मेंटर थे सलीम किदवई
The withdrawal of Dr Hari Singh Gour University in Sagar, Madhya Pradesh, from an international seminar on “Cultural and Linguistic Hurdles in the Achievement of Scientific Temper” due to bullying by the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad and the local police must not be treated lightly. The university had approved the topic, the collaboration and the speakers,… Read More Apoorvanand; Gauhar Raza: The bully that is destroying India’s academic culture
“By academic freedom, I understand the right to search for truth and publish and teach what one holds to be true. This right also implies a duty: one must not conceal any part of what one has recognised to be true.” – Albert Einstein Sign the petition: http://chng.it/7b2b6CDY Dr Gilbert Sebastian, an Assistant Professor at the… Read More Petition re Suspension of academic in Kerala because he talked about fascism and Sangh Parivar
Central to our work at the Center for Philosophy for Children at the University of Washington is the conviction that we ought to challenge beliefs about children’s limited capacities, and to expand our understanding of the nature of philosophy and who is capable of engaging in it. As one seven-year-old put it: ‘In philosophy, we’re… Read More Jana Mohr Lone: ‘Mommy, why do the days just keep coming?’ – Philosophy with children
Human Rights Watch – Scenes from Sayed ul-Shuhada High School in Kabul, Afghanistan, where as many as 85 people including many schoolgirls were killed in an attack this weekend, should break anyone’s heart. They certainly broke mine. In 2017 a filmmaker and I spent a week at the school, filming a video to accompany a report on barriers to girls’ education. The… Read More Killing Schoolgirls in Afghanistan: Fundamentalist Attackers Target Girls Leaving Kabul High School
Article on the US proposal for a common minimum tax on corporations and its likely benefits for India in The Hindu on April 27. It is attached here https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/an-idea-on-taxation-that-is-worth-a-try/article34417756.ece Panel discussion on reverse migration of workers during second coronavirus wave in India, organized by IMPRI on April 26. https://youtub.e/xopvAKaivV4 Article on fighting the second wave… Read More Arun Kumar: Articles and discussions on COVID and impact, Global Corporate taxation and Academic Autonomy
In the ‘cancel culture’ era, universities should remember that the original purpose of free speech was to empower the weak, not to shelter them. Universities in the US and the UK have become a battleground in the war between safe speech and free speech. I believe that this is a false dilemma – and understanding… Read More Albena Azmanova: Safe speech vs free speech: higher education’s false dilemma
Introduction: Jamia Millia Islamia as an institution, from its inception in the 1920, has celebrated the interplay of ideas and practice. Ideas of composite nationalism, secularism, rebellion, inclusion, diversity and compassion are lived practices in the everyday life of Jamia. The university was founded in Aligarh and was housed at Krishna Ashram, as it ‘rebelled’… Read More Seminar issue on Jamia at 100
First posted March 29, 2021 NB: The authorities of a self-respecting university or college are expected to defend their staff and students. That was the case, anyway, when I was a student over 50 years ago. But Ashoka’s Founders were so infuriated by Professor Mehta’s criticisms of the Modi government that they not only pushed him… Read More Mukul Kesavan: An Ashoka for our time / Navneet Sharma & Prakrati Bhargava: No space for liberal education
