Workshop on LFA

The department of Sociology at Christ University had organized a workshop on December 10, 2013, on Logical Framework Analysis (LFA).  Students of second year MA Applied Sociology and MSW attended the workshop between 1:00 pm and 4:00 pm. Faculty members from the Departments of Sociology and Social Work were also present for the workshop.

The workshop was initiated and conducted by Dr. Godfred Victor Singh, the director of CSA, Christ University. The workshop was divided into two sessions. The first session was a detailed explanation on projects and the second session was on LFA.

The first session covered the characteristics of a project, a project life cycle and he also explained how to make a project successful. The differentiation between project and program was also made. The section was very useful in understanding the reality of projects, through sharing real time experience. The objective of the section was to give a brief account on project which was achieved successfully.

The second session was on Logical Framework Analysis (LFA).  LFA, a research based tool was dealt in with detail in this session. It has become a major tool for planning a project and it leads to achieve goal oriented projects. The other topic which he covered was history of LFA, purpose and characteristics of LFA. The basis of LFA was explained in-depth and nine steps in LFA were also discussed at the end. The section ended with an assigned task to the participants, to give them a practical experience of LFA.

The workshop was very fruitful for all the students. Since the LFA is part of student’s curriculum, it was an opportunity for students to understand LFA better. The workshop was interactive and it gave us an in depth knowledge about Logical Framework Analysis. There will be a follow up session in February 2014.

Deepa Sebastian

'The Gods Must be Crazy'

The report is about a film screening on November 25, 2013. The title of the film was ‘The gods must be crazy’ and it was directed by James Uys and released in 1980. This film was screened for the students of MA Applied Sociology as it is an important tool to understand numerous sociological concepts.

The movie juxtaposed two varied cultures which include a technological developed society and tribal society, namely that of the Bushmen of the Kalahari. The film paints an exceptional portrait of differences between human culture as well as ethnocentrism that runs common to all.

The Bushmen’s culture is one of simplicity and contentment. The pace of life in the Bushmen culture is relaxed and slow. They seem to have a deep respect for all life both for human and non-human. They are self sufficient and happy with what they have, whereas the modern society is very different from the world of Bushmen. The ‘developed’ society is one that moves at an incredibly fast space. It is a culture of alarm clocks, traffic jams and coffee cups etc… Where people create complex things and make it clear then they create complex ideas. The social construction of reality seems to be wonderful and there are several sharp contrasts that come to light through the thoughts and behavior of characters in the film. The first such difference is standard of beauty, where the Bushmen saw a teacher Kate Thompson is not regarded as the beautiful in the eyes but was instead thought to be ugliest creature he has seen. The second difference is prevalence of fear, where Bushmen was not afraid of gun, when he picked it up it was just nothing more than a funny stick. Gun in modern society was considered as scared to death. The prevalence of bottle was another incident that created fear in Bushmen.

To conclude this film was successful in accomplishing its intended purpose which was to show that people socialized into different cultures which were to see the world through very different sets of eyes and also helped us understanding how the social change is. Just because we are different does not mean that there is nothing that we can learn from each other.

Ambika

Student Seminar November 2013

PUBLIC RELATIONS, CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY AND HUMAN RESOURCE

The Department of Sociology headed by Mrs. Pritha Das Gupta, Christ University had organized a seminar on 26.11.2013 on essential topics of Public Relations, Corporate Social Responsibility and Human Resource. There were significant number of participants from students pursuing Masters in Applied Sociology second year.

The seminar was initiated by participants like Bopana, Atlanta and Ruth who gave a brief introduction and covered important topics on PR such as ethics in PR, Goffman’s concept of framing, footing and face.

Then the seminar was led forward by students who gave an introduction to the very concept of CSR as well as their personal experiences in terms of the companies pursing CSR as part of their internship program. CSR as a business strategy has been gaining immense importance and is influential in key areas of health, education, livelihood creation, infrastructure facilities and rural development.

The third topic, ‘Human Resource’ led to an animated discussion and was explained by Anisha who stated the managerial and operational functions of HR. HR as a discipline and its relevance in the modern form of organizations has significantly contributed to its widespread popularity.

Concepts like Leadership Styles and Managing Workplace diversity in IT Companies of Bangalore also formed significant composition of the seminar held today.

A significant portion of the seminar was attributed to open discussions and questions that were addressed thereby enhancing our understanding of the various topics

However it is important to note down that the seminar proved to be a very fruitful activity for not only the audience to improve their boundaries of knowledge but also was an opportunity for the speakers to reveal their own potentials in terms of better understanding and reaching the audience in an appropriate manner.

Chandni Sarda

Training Session on Human Rights

One day training programme on Human Rights was conducted in Christ University on 3/12/2013. This session was organised by the Department of Social Work. We, the students of I MA Applied Sociology had attended the programme which had four sections based on Human Rights.

Human Rights are right inherent to all human beings, whatever our nationality, place of residence, sex, national or ethical origin,colour, religion, language or any status.The first section was conducted by Mr. Manohar, Human Rights Activist, “CARE”, Bangalore. He gave us an introduction to Human Rights. He pointed out the Constitutional Provisions, and elaborated on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and International Covenants regarding Human Rights.

The second section was taken by Ms.Swagata Raha, Sr.Consultant-Center for Child and the Law –National Law School India University, Bangalore. She spoke about the Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993, the composition and functioning of NHRC/SHRCs and other national or state Government organizations.

The third section was taken by Ms.Rajakumari Michael, Sr.Manager-Child Rights and You (CRY), Bangalore. She spoke about the UN Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination against Women, 1979, and its optional protocols, as well as the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, 1989, and its optional protocol.

The fourth section was taken by Mr.Vasudevan Sharma, Executive Director Child Rights Trust, Bangalore. He focused on the Bonded Labour issues and the Bonded Labour System Act, 1976, Child Labour Issues and child Labour Act,1986 and SC/ST issues and Scheduled caste and Scheduled tribe Act,1989,Civil Liberties Act, 1988 and Forest Rights Act, 2006. This programme had helped us to know more about the Human Rights, Human Rights Institutions in India, Rights of Women and Children and Rights of other Vulnerable Groups.

Meethu and Anupama

Student Seminar on Social Exclusion

The theme for the seminar conducted by the 1^st M.A Applied Sociology students on September 24, 2013 was Social Exclusion. There were 12 speakers who addressed various issues dealing with the theme. Moumita, spoke on Gender and focussed on the Ideology of domesticity in three important ways: Feminity, Paid work and their tendencies. Keerthana focussed on the Disability Discrimination Act and Disability in work place. Ritu spoke on the Caste system in India, Ramya spoke about Transgender and Transsexual, Soumya spoke on homosexualily, Anisha spoke on HIV/AIDS, Ann Teresa spoke on social exclusion and media and she included the results from her survey. Leela spoke on the topic of Homeless people, Margaret talked about the spinsters and the factors causing exclusion, Ringanung spoke on  aging where he focussed on the study by W.H.O. on Global aging, Anupama spoke about racial discrimination in India and lastly Tanarupa spoke on the exclusion of women in Politics.

The seminar brought the practical picture of India and how social exclusion works in India. Social exclusion was a feature of the past and continued to be so in the present, but as deducted from the seminar, initiatives should be taken at personal level to dust social exclusion scenario from the world, with India in particular.

Panel Discussion on Gender

Francis Bacon once famously said, “Reading maketh a full man, conference a ready man, and writing an exact man”

Pure academia sees to the strategies of reading and writing. And Panel discussions and conferences help all round development. For this particular session, the topic of Gender was given to the panellists: Shreya Murali and Kasturi Chatterjee from EPS, Raeshmi R. and Aswathi S. from PSEco and Rachna Baruah and Priyanka Chakrabarty from PSEng.

Gender… That one word is impregnated with enormous amount of information. It draws on History, Biology, Psychology, and most of all, Sociology. The concepts of gender and sex are increasingly becoming multilinear, touching and influencing several aspects of a person’s life.

Some of these aspects were discussed through a Panel Discussion that took place among the students of Sociology. The chief themes discussed were Gender Identity and Consumer Behaviour and their usage in advertisements; Portrayal of Gender in Media; Discrimination against women and the LGBT community; and Feminism and Western Philosophy related to this domain. Indeed, this panel discussion went well beyond the common goal of gender sensitization which such discussions often have.

With these sub-topics, the panellists covered the past and present of the concept and relevance of gender and attempted to foresee its future: perhaps, as Marx viewed a classless society on the horizon, we could, as one of the panellists remarked, hope to transform into a gender creative society.

HIV/AIDS, Cinema and Sociology

The movie Philadelphia was screened on the 30^th August. The classes present for this activity were IIIPSEco, IIIPSEng and IIIEPS. The reason as to which this movie was shown was to increase awareness among the students on the long since dreaded disease AIDS.

Directed by Jonathan Demme, the movie is set in 1970 United States. The script of the movie revolves around a homosexual man Andrew Beckett (Tom Hanks) who is a lawyer working in a leading Philadelphia law firm. Andrew is a quick learner, a hard worker and potentially one of the senior partners of the firm. The viewer is initially given the impression of a successful lawyer who is quickly working his way up in a leading law firm. He is young, systematic and seemingly sophisticated- the kind who is not only good with words but also with people. The problem, he has AIDS. Although, nobody around him knows it and he has kept it that way. 
On being handed an important case, he manages to file the report, but because of some last minute mishaps it is misplaced and later found again, just in time for submission- the failure of which would have resulted in substantial loss to the firm. Following the mishap, Beckett is summoned to a board meeting which concludes in the firm terminating his employment on grounds of inefficiency and carelessness on the job, which Beckett is convinced are inconclusive and the real reason of his termination is due to the fact that he is HIV+. 
On his termination Andrew is hell bent on proving that he was wronged by the law firm and needs a lawyer to represent him in court. At first (Denzel Washington) denies his request based on his own stigma on people with AIDS but on further realization agrees to represent him in court. The curtain closes with Denzel Washington winning the Beckett case and Tom Hanks (Andrew Beckett) finally giving in to the dreaded disease and dying.

Philadelphia projects the dreadful disease in all its reality. It showcases the social stigma HIV+ individuals face in their everyday life. Since the movie is shot in a 70s setting when the disease was just coming out of the closet, the movie showcases the ignorance, the indifference and low comprehension of the American society. The movie also exhibits the powerful emotions of the Homosexual society in terms of the discrimination which has become their social paradigm as such.

The screening surely and most definitely left a dent in everyone’s psyche, creating awareness among the students and following up to a full-fledged discussion in class where students gave their opinions and notions on the social stigma still prevalent in the world. 

Panel Discussion on 'Inequalities in India'

A Panel discussion was held on 16^th August on the topic “Inequalities in India”, which comprises of areas such as Globalisation issues, Impact of Industrialisation and Commercialisation of Agriculture. The venue was the class room of I^st  MA. Applied Sociology. First group started their discussion on “Globalisation issues” which was for three hours. Initial speakers Ritu and Moumita began defining its origin, history, theoretical positions plus the contextual relevance of concepts like “McDonaldization” and Rise of individualism. Thirdly Soumya spoke on its influence in  rural life citing examples like the usage of term ‘Bangalored’ and how an Indian candy named ‘kis-mis’ had disappeared. Further Thywill focussed on its effect on caste system and marginalised populace, followed by Rommie, discussed on its impression in the life of middle class along with concept of ‘mobility’. Varsha discussed on how Globalisation and Gender is related with respect to media, career and gender equality, then  Keerthana on how it has reflected on  the occupational sector lifestyle, migration and unemployment. Lalndrika talked on transformations in cultural aspect, Ringanung spoke on Modernisation’s relation with Globalisation and finally by Tanarupa on state and sovereignty. We are thankful to Dr.Sheila Mathew for guiding us through an intellectually rich discussion.

Cross Cultural Experiences with II PSEng

Ruth Benedict, one of the first women to earn international recognition for her work in anthropology and folklore noted, “The purpose of anthropology is to make the world safe for human differences”. And one major difference that is observed today is cultural difference. In a fast globalizing world, one is constantly exposed to different cultures. By sensitizing ourselves to the different cultures, and also learning from them, “human differences” are much easier to deal with.

What are we, if not bearers of our culture? Ethnocentrism is a powerful force, used in the right way, can unite cultures, rather than separate them. As sociology students, we explored this very important domain of our lives. Having many foreign students amongst us, we were exposed to various cultures.

 What started out as a “cross-cultural experience and exposure” tantamounted to something much more: a profound learning experience too. Students from various countries like Bhutan, Thailand, Korea, Nepal and Japan enlightened us on their respective country touching upon several significant areas including Education, Polity, Religion, and overall social status. We gained essential insights on their cultures. They were indeed, anthropological ‘informants’ in the truest sense. They were not only knowledgeable about their culture but also were able and willing to transmit this knowledge in a comprehensible way to an outsider. As Claude Levi-Strauss said, “In order for a culture to be really itself and to produce something, the culture and its members must be convinced of their originality and even, to some extent, of their superiority over the others” We learnt much about the public welfare propagandas of Bhutan, the much celebrated self-sufficiency of Thailand, the importance of education in Korea, the socio-political structure of Japan and the life-loving culture of Nepal; to name a few. After these students conveyed all the information they could, the floor was open to a question-answer session. Students were most enthusiastic to know more about these cultures and gain more insight. Thus ended the cross-cultural experience and exposure event.

Report: Voices from the Waters

The Department of Sociology, Christ University hosted Voices from the Waters 2013, the 8th International Travelling Film Festival on Water on August 29, 30 and 31 in collaboration with Goethe Institut, Rolling Frames Film Society, Karnataka Chalanachitra Acdemy, Federeation of Film Societies of India, Finger Lakes Environmental Film Festival, Swaraj and Deep Focus Cinema and the Bangalore Film Society. Films were screened between 9 and 4 pm on August 29 and 30 and between 9 and 1 pm on August 31. The venues were Room No.101 and Room No.105 in the Central block.

The Film Festival at Christ Campus was inaugurated by Prof. John Joseph Kennedy, Dean Humanities and Social Sciences. The newsletter prepared by the undergraduate students of Sociology ‘Reflections’ was also released by the Dean during the inauguration. Over 40 films from all over the world related to water were screened in the venues. It was attended by the students at Christ University as well as film enthusiasts from outside the university. Each film/documentary was followed by discussion led by the students of MA Applied Sociology as well as students from PSEco, EPS, PSEng, EMS, CEP, HEP, CJC, BBA and BBM.

The valedictory program was held in Room 105, at 12.45 pm on August 31, 2013, after three days of exhibiting these films on water related issues. Fr Jose CC, Director, Department of Sociology, offered the concluding remarks which brought the film festival to a glorious conclusion.