SEMESTER COURSES

3 credits
45 hours

Foundations of Qualitative Research Methods

Dr. Tithi Bhatnagar

Research methods help us understand the world around us and make sense of why people behave the way they do or how phenomena or behaviour is embedded in our social reality. It is easy for us to understand the manifestation of the process through measurement, but what about when we are interested in how the process actually happens and culminates in the overall impact of a phenomenon under investigation - this is where the role of Qualitative Research becomes extremely critical and significant. The course has been designed in a manner to introduce students to the nature and scope of qualitative research methods so that they can understand the science of qualitative enquiry. They will also be learning the various methods of qualitative data collection like interviews, observation, ethnography along with techniques of data analysis like the content analysis, grounded theory approach, discourse analysis, and the like. Qualitative Research is a powerful approach to see how scientific enquiry and rigor brings to life something present in the field and very abstract - to something which is concrete, objective, and comprehensible.

4 credits
60 hours

Blood Antiquities & Archaeopolitics

Poulomi Bhadra & Dr. Chris Hales, JSLH

Looting, art crimes and the black-market trade in antiquities recently sat behind only oil as a source of funding for extremist organisations such as Da’esh (Islamic State). The FBI and INTERPOL have estimated that the global annual turnover of these illegal activities is in the billions of US dollars. Illegal looting (on both small and industrial scales) is virtually ubiquitous across the world – destroying archaeological contexts and robbing countries of their cultural heritage. The illicit trade of antiquities and the mechanics behind their clandestine movement thus represents one of the most damaging and prevalent illegal activities today. Furthermore, archaeological and historical narratives are often manipulated by different groups to forge specific national and/or religious identities in contested space – such as in Israel and The Palestinian Territories; in Iraq, Iran, Syria and Afghanistan; in Greece and in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia; and even here in India, just to name a few contemporary examples. These pressures all have severe impacts on cultural heritage management practices, the selective destruction and preservation of the archaeological record, the visibility of minority communities and their heritage, issues of repatriation, on research activity, and on public narratives about “national” histories. Historically, they have even been used to justify significant conflict. Blood Antiquities and Archaeopolitics aims to investigate the dynamics behind these various activities, contextualize their importance, and explore potential solutions. We will identify looting mechanisms, detail the black-market trade in antiquities and art, and be exposed to current efforts to curtail these damaging practices. In addition, we will explore the ways in which archaeology and historical narratives can be manipulated. In different contexts, we will discuss questions such as “who owns the past?”, “which cultural heritage is worth preserving?”, and “what makes antiquities and art so valuable?”.

4 credits
60 hours

Cultural Laws & Policies in the Art Market

Poulomi Bhadra

This course will examine and investigate the relationship in the contemporary art market and arts’ social, cultural, historical, political and commercial value. Divided into three modules, this course will attempt to familiarize the student with the various facets of the art world, and particularly the art market – firstly, how the value of art is determined in different context, the business and law of buying and selling art, the use of legal and moral censorship to change and control the value of art. The first module deals comprehensively with exploring the different kinds of values placed on artworks and the factors that govern their definition. We talk about the changing value of art with time, and what implications can ‘owning’ art have, beyond a financial asset. In the second module, we also look into legal aesthetics that govern any creation of and business in items of art. In this relation, we attempt to gain an understanding of the opaque and ‘grey’ art market to study and examine the key structures and relationships in primary and secondary transactions of art. For a better understanding, we will also talk about different kinds of art crimes and their repercussions on the value of the art and artist. By comparing international and national art laws, we underline the essence of some key legal issues relating to the ownership and trading of art through auction and private sales, scope of provenance research as part of the due diligence, agency and relationships, taxation, copyright and other intellectual property issues, artists’ agreements, art management and conservation etc. In the third module, we draw upon the social influence of art in order to address some of the contemporary and ongoing issues and debates in the art world that can and have affected the representation, censorship of art, cultural preservation and management, which in turn have affected the commercial value of the art. One of the key discussions in this area will draw from the lectures in authenticity and provenance from the previous module, and try to answer the bigger question of repatriation and return of looted art. Through these discussions, we understand how art lends to the political and social narratives of the times and how its value can be extended to manage and influence social and political consciousness. By the end of the course, students will gain a variety of critical and practical knowledge through which to understand the art business and critique current approaches to artist rights and economic practices in the market.

3 credits
45 hours

Environmental Psychology

Dr. Neha Khetrapal

Global warming and climatic changes are unarguably the biggest challenges of our times. Over the past 60 years, researchers and policy makers have come together to establish ‘environmental psychology’ as a viable study domain. The subject has attracted tremendous attention in response to the degradation of the natural environment paired with a simultaneous need to design buildings that cater to the needs of the inhabitants. Like most areas of psychology, environmental psychology has a theoretical side as well as an applied side. Consistently, environmental psychologists and others from the human sciences can help play an integral part by explaining factors that motivate pro- environmental or sustainable behaviours. Over the long run, subject matter experts in environmental psychology aim to utilize the knowledge generated by their research to influence built and natural environments in positive and constructive manners. Efforts, orchestrated under the framework of environmental psychology, will also be immensely useful in helping societies make the transition towards a sustainable future and to counteract the existing environmental threats. As such, the objective of the current course is to help students develop a richer understanding of the complex interrelations between people and their natural or built environment. More minutely, emphasis will be placed on drawing bridges across cognitive psychology and environmental science. Students can expect to deepen their understanding about why people litter? How do buildings or architectural designs influence our thought patterns, mental health and emotional wellbeing? Why do people consume scarce environmental resources? How to implement techniques to mitigate the increased energy consumption? The list is not exhaustive in nature. The basic thrust will be on developing students’ broader understanding about how people influence the environment and are, in turn, are influenced by the environment.