February 21, 2019
CHRIST (Deemed to be University)
Main Campus, Bengaluru
This was the second in the series
of annual seminars organised by the department of Sociology and Social Work,
CHRIST (Deemed to be University). The seminar contained papers covering a range
of topics and issues concerned with Sustainable development. There were presenters from other parts pf the country as well. It started
with the inaugural session at 9. 15 AM. The welcome address was given by Dr.
Rajeev Kumaramkandath where he spoke about sustainability being close to our
perceptions and practices including consumption. He also discussed about how as
an idea which emerged prominently in 18th century Europe,
Sustainability took a long time to get connected with discourses of
development. Dr. Victor Paul gave the presiding address followed by Dr. Kennedy
who inaugurated the semina r. In her
keynote address Dr Seema Purushotaman from Azim Premji University said that
sustainability today looks like an evolution of new cultures and is like a
jellyfish. Development looks positive. The World Council of Churches states
that economic and suitable sustainability d efine
sustainable development. We need to grow well, grow more and control pollution.
In 2015, Sustainable Development goals were released with fanfare. The Pope had stated to stop exporting pollution.
Post panel
discussion the first academic session started under the chair of Dr. Joshy,
department of Economics. Themes such as Human Rights violations, Incest
behaviour and questions of sustaining a development pattern and the question of
carbon emission were presented and discussed during the session. The following
academic sessions were divided among four parallel venues. The themes of their
organisation were 2 sessions on Ecology and Consumption, Rethinking
Development: Communities, and Education and Discourses of Development. Presenters,
from both CHRIST and outside, presented papers in the sessions and all sessions
had serious interactions between the presenters and the participants in the
respective venues. Papers by and large touched upon a range of topics starting
from climate change to questions pertaining to continued displacement for
development in the contemporary times. Papers also discussed about the
necessity to evolve a participatory model activities concerning sustainability
and talked about the need to sensitize people by using education to spread
sustainability. The second academic session came to an end at 1:30 pm and it
was time for lunch.
There were three
parallel sessions during the post lunch session, namely, Rethinking
Development: Psychology and Behaviour, Human Rights and Development, and
Sustainability and Intersectionality, Health and Development. As the themes
reflect, the papers handled a range of themes that covered the deep relation
between psychology and climatic changes to issues concerning gender and LGBTQ
related issues and their centrality in discussions of sustainability. There
were papers on SHGs as leading the postmodern discourses of development and
papers about caretaking institutions like Palliative care as central in
development models.
In this national
level seminar there were presenters from Delhi, Chandigarh, Kerala, Pondicherry
and Mumbai apart from Bengaluru. The seminar was a success due to the efforts
of the students and teachers from the Department of Sociology as they were
preparing for it from the past three months. The vote of Thanks of the seminar
was given by Ronit Ranjan at 3:50 pm which marked the end of the one day
national level seminar.
THANK YOU
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