Frontiers in Arts & Sciences Course Description
Frontiers in Arts & Sciences is Sai University's distinctive first-year introduction to the big ideas and groundbreaking research being done in the various academic disciplines of the modern university, as well as by leaders in government, business, the arts and civil society. Like Global Challenges, Frontiers in Arts & Sciences is a colloquium-based course featuring internationally-renowned guest speakers on topics as diverse as the biology of cancer, therapeutic psychology, the history of mathematics, astrophysics and astronomy, the sciences and humanities, the history of liberty, South Indian classical dance, Indian regional film, human rights and literature, cricket and colonialism, the history of caste relations, socioeconomic mobility, music and the brain, and logical traditions in India. The modular approach allows for a broad yet rigorous introduction to the lines of study in which students may choose to major and minor in their subsequent years. Frontiers in Arts & Science emphasizes the integration of knowledge across seemingly disparate fields and provides a basis for students to define their scholarly and professional interests at the intersections of traditional academic and non-academic disciplines.
Frontiers in Arts & Sciences Spring 2022 continues its colloquium guest lecture series with issues that resonate and amplify global challenges, as well as a more sustained focus on issues relating to the environment, economy and development, and political history of modern India.
FINAL ESSAY PROMPTS
1. Discuss the history of the use and alleged abuse of the AFSPA (1958) in Northeast India. Include in your discussion a brief analysis of the significant clauses of the act and their legal consequences for human rights accountability and the role of the judiciary as a check on executive power in India.
2. Offer a theoretical distinction between the humanities and sciences, considering differences between the object of study, the form or method of its activity, and its value for society and the student.
3. Discuss India's commitments under the Paris Accords and whether it can and should lead such efforts internationally in dialogue with Sunita Narain's writings at Down To Earth. (Those writing on the same topic for Global Challenges must choose another prompt.)
4. Describe your vision for the political nation of India in light of the comment of B.R. Ambedkar in his speech to the Constituent Assembly in 1948: 'In this country both the minorities and the majorities have followed a wrong path. It is wrong for the majority to deny the existence of minorities. It is equally wrong for the minorities to perpetuate themselves' (Sources of Indian Tradition Vol. 2, p. 598; see context for the rest of the quote).
5. Is green economic growth a responsible aim for a developing country like India? What changes and tradeoffs would be required to achieve economic growth that preserves environmental integrity locally, nationally and globally? Discuss the problem in its technical or technological as well as human, social and political dimensions.
6. Are international sanctions effective and equitable in war and in peace? Use the Western response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and preexisting Magnitsky legislation, as a starting point for addressing this question.
7. Should India embrace free market capitalism to a still greater degree than it has since the economic reforms of the 1990s? If so, what steps would further economic liberalisation entail? Could India grow its economy without worsening income and wealth inequalities? Do you believe government is capable of and responsible for taking measures to ensure equitable growth?
8. Is the technology and internet-based economy a driver of inequality or a new field of opportunity for millions?
9. Discuss the impact of the internet and social media on public discourse and the character of politics in the context of India
- Cody Valdes, Senior Tutor
FRONTIERS OF KNOWLEDGE COLLOQUIUM
