Established : 1961 

Sanctioned Strength : 88 

Actual Student Strength (AY 2022-23) 

First Year : 52

Second Year : 32

Third Year : 65

Activities Conducted By the Department : 

Extension Lecture –

The Department invites faculty members and research scholars from other Departments of the College as well as other esteemed Institutions of Higher Education to provide interdisciplinary perspectives on myriad topics – 

1. Lecture on “ Feudalism : An Institution in Medieval Europe: A Brief Analysis“ by Prof. Dipankar Bhattacharya, Associate Professor in Political Science, Sivanath Sastri College on 17th August 2019. 
2. Interdisciplinary Lecture on “Theosophy and Indian Nationalism in the Times of Annie Besant” by Mriganka Mukhopadhyay, Research Scholar, Department of History, University of Amsterdam on 26th September 2019. 
3. Interdisciplinary Lecture on “Classical Greek Thought: A Philosophical Perspective” by Prof. Dola Chattopadhyay, Associate Professor, Department of Philosophy, Sivanath Sastri College on 4th December 2019. 
4. Interdisciplinary Lecture on “Sino-Soviet Relations” by Prof. Dipankar Bhattacharya, Associate Professor, Department of Political Science, Sivanath Sastri College on 2nd May 2023. 
5. Interdisciplinary Lecture on “Second Wave Feminism: An Analytical Perspective “ by Dr. Samata Biswas, Department of Women’s Studies, Sivanath Sastri College on 4th May 2023. 

Following the lectures, student feedback was recorded. The feedback has been positive and they have requested additional extension lectures from time to time. 

Parent Teacher Meeting – 

The Department conducts parent-teacher meeting where parents and guardians of the students discuss the performance of their wards and suggest improvements for the Department to work upon. They fill out feedback forms which are then considered for improvement of the Department’s activities. Parent Teacher Meetings were conducted on – 

1. 30th April 2019. 
2. 17th September 2019. 
3. 12th and 13th April 2023. 

Based on the feedback received from the Parents and Guardians, the Department has undertaken a number of improvements such as – 

1. Provided additional study material, especially in Bengali langauge. 
2. Used interactive maps via ICT enabled classrooms to better explain geographical positions of various historical events. 
3. Provided counseling for competitive examinations like UPSC, WBCS, etc. 
4. Helped students understand the basics of research methodology and writing scholarly articles. 
5. Provided suggestions for non-academic career options including management, hospitality, etc. 

Departmental Meeting – 

The Department conducts meetings in which faculty members discuss methods by which the Department can be improved, including feedback coming in from different stakeholders. At least one meeting is held per Semester. 

Mentoring – 

Students are mentored to assess their weaknesses and explore avenues by which they can excel in their curricular and extra-curricular work. Special attention is given to students who are weak and irregular to College and have been found to be lacking in attention in class. Students interact with faculty members in one-to-one sessions in the College. 

Mentoring was carried out for all even Semesters in May 2022 and again in May 2023. The reason for conducting these sessions in May is that faculty have a complete record of the student’s performance for most of the academic year by this point, and can therefore discuss the issues with them in a more informed manner.

Some of the major takeaways from the mentoring was as follows – 

1. Students living far from the College campus find it difficult to arrive in time and this has sometimes caused attendance loss.
2. Students are tuition and rote-learning focused with low enthusiasm from exploring libraries and alternative sources of information like online MOOC courses. 
3. Career options typically considered by students remain limited to traditional teaching and civil services options. 
4. Some students found it difficult to cope with the economic and social burdens arising out of the Covid-19 pandemic, especially since many homes are not equipped to provide a classroom-like atmosphere. This hampered studies. 
5. Some students hail from financially challenged families who are not able to purchase a number of books for reference. 

To remedy these issues, the Department suggested and/or took the following steps – 

1. More exposure towards MOOC courses in four quadrants has been provided to them from time to time. 
2. Students are encouraged to use the textual and online resources available in the Ramkrishna Mission Institute of Culture (RMIC) Culture in Golpark, which is very close to their place of study. They are also encouraged to utilize the State Central Library in Ultadanga and the National Library in Alipore. 
3. The Department has focused on requisitioning books that provide an ideal mix of basic textbooks and advanced reference books. The textbooks cater to students who cannot purchase their own copies owing to financial difficulties. On the other hand, advanced texts ensure that advanced students are able to explore additional resources within the College premises itself. 
4. The Departmental faculty have been sharing material such as articles from INFLIBNET (eg. JStor) from time to time to encourage the development of the habit of reading the latest literature, which is often not available in books. 
5. The Placement Cell of the College has been conducting workshops for students to introduce them to new career options. In recent years, a marked diversification of career options has been witnessed. 
6. Students were provided with reading materials, previous year question papers, audio-visual material and recordings of class lectures and lectures by noted faculty from other institutions (available on major platforms such as YouTube) through Google Classroom. These Classrooms continue to exist and students are regularly onboarded as and when they enter the relevant Semester. The resources continue to be of assistance to the students. 

Departmental Activities Report