Background Notes (from XUB Team)
Humanity is going through a challenging time socially, ecologically and spiritually. No doubt we have grown and advanced a great deal and have achieved much. But our growth (read economic growth) has become our problem. It challenges us, scattering the globe with sites of pain, empires of cruelty, exploitation, social and ecological disasters, and death. All these scar us deeply -- physically, socially and spiritually. Our individual and collective futures are critically at stake. And, there is a battle within and for the human spirit.
Human society is now at a crossroad -- to continue to do what it has done from its comfort zone of material affluence or take a step back to innovatively advance the human agenda in a qualitatively different direction and path. A serious detour is necessary to address the growing reality of civilisational collapse. Do we celebrate our successes by being blind to the mess we have created in the biosphere, which we share with all sentient beings or do we take stock of where we are heading, seek ways to resist, repair, regenerate and heal the planet?
In this effort, the role of institutions of higher learning, like Xavier University Bhubaneswar (XUB), is critical for they offer a dynamic space to influence and shape the human spirit -- to shape generations of young people and their futures. What role should institutions play in influencing the young people? Should we plug in and play out the mainstream narratives of livelihoods, achievements and careers that continue to pose challenges to the well-being of the planet, individuals, communities, societies and other beings? Should we continue to be part of the problem, without being mindful? Or, should we daringly innovate and take to the uncharted? And, be part of critical, self-conscious sustainable solutions? Are we ready to ‘let go’ and move on in other critical directions? How do we address all these concerns and challenges from the educational space where young people spend a lot of time seeking to meaningfully engage the future?
XUB has taken the journey to be different in many ways. It has for instance started a School of Sustainability, offering students the “sustainability imagination”. It is engaging people from the creative arts to influence its students and teachers, to offer them alternative visions of the possible – more humane, more inclusive, more diverse, more just, more green and more sustainable. Now XUB is ready to take that giant leap in its efforts to re-frame in a small way the human agenda, through reimagining humanities and social sciences.
The Leap: The New School of Humanities and Social Sciences
Humanities and Social Sciences are central to the structured and systematic understanding of human, societal and ecological realities, with inter-generational implications. Because today we are increasingly faced with blind materialism, all-round alienation and unsustainable orientations that are moving us towards personal and planetary crises, we need a whole new way of approaching the education of the younger generation.
We need engaging new meanings, recovery of new realities, new knowledge, embedded innovative public practice and transformative pedagogy. We need a whole new way of presenting humanities and social sciences to the young that breaks old habits and routines of the mind. And, through this contribute to the creation of a new generation of students, teachers, public intellectuals, and citizens who will seek to heal the planet, engage spirituality and grow sustainable futures for all. We need to reorient the art and science of the human spirit to the needs of today and tomorrow on a re-imagined educational platform.
Vision and Mission
Vision
A world of humanities and social sciences beyond the traditional boundaries.
Mission
Promoting transdisciplinarity and the next generation educational practice of humanities and social sciences.
Centres, Platforms and Co-Creators
The new school of Humanities and Social Sciences will redraw the traditional disciplinary boundaries and go beyond the normative disciplines of history, literature, languages, theology, economics, political science, anthropology, sociology, and psychology. The new school will create inter- and transdisciplinary spaces and will draw from unconventional sources and disciplines for its teaching, learning and research activities.
(a) Centres
The following proposed Centres constitute the new school. (These are proposed centres and will undergo changes as we clarify.)
1) Centre for the Study of Spirituality, Theology and Religion (CSTR)
2) Centre for the Study of Philosophy, Wisdom and Social Value (CPWS)
3) Centre for the Study of Mindfulness, Interconnectedness and Mutuality (CMIM)
4) Centre for the Study of Compassion, Empathy and Inter-Being (CCEI)
5) Centre for the Study of Truth, Criticism, and Dialogue (CTCD)
6) Centre for the Study of Conflict, Peace and Reconciliation (CCPR)
7) Centre for the Study of Design, Imagination and Futures (CDIF)
8) Centre for Odisha Studies (COS)
The Centres (as well as Inter-Centre Initiatives) will do the following:
(i) research (ii) long and short, onsite and online degree programmes (iii) local public events and lectures (iv)regional and global collaborations (v) field campuses (vi) community engagement initiatives and (vii) publications/productions. The initial effort will be focused on research.
(b) Platforms
Platforms are dynamic ‘free learning spaces’ that bring the creative practicing public (movements, professional organizations, art foundations, etc) into contact with students and teachers on a need and relevance basis. The effort is to create not just students but public intellectuals who see their career differently as they engage with the creative public working at all levels for the common good. These spaces will also help research activities. Some of the platforms that will be developed (in association with other Schools at XUB) are:
(c) Co-Creators Group
Co-creators are those who will participate in XHS’s research-teaching-learning activities. They will support the centres and its academic activities in terms of sharing programmes and teaching resources, curriculum development, non-curricular experience based-learning, non-expert/academic faculty, sharing teachers, offering field experiences, etc. They will be the partners in developing XHS. They will help fast track the development of XHS. The co-creator group will consist of institutes, universities, foundations and structured local and global movements.
(Nat/XHS-3/July 2016/March 2017)
Human society is now at a crossroad -- to continue to do what it has done from its comfort zone of material affluence or take a step back to innovatively advance the human agenda in a qualitatively different direction and path. A serious detour is necessary to address the growing reality of civilisational collapse. Do we celebrate our successes by being blind to the mess we have created in the biosphere, which we share with all sentient beings or do we take stock of where we are heading, seek ways to resist, repair, regenerate and heal the planet?
In this effort, the role of institutions of higher learning, like Xavier University Bhubaneswar (XUB), is critical for they offer a dynamic space to influence and shape the human spirit -- to shape generations of young people and their futures. What role should institutions play in influencing the young people? Should we plug in and play out the mainstream narratives of livelihoods, achievements and careers that continue to pose challenges to the well-being of the planet, individuals, communities, societies and other beings? Should we continue to be part of the problem, without being mindful? Or, should we daringly innovate and take to the uncharted? And, be part of critical, self-conscious sustainable solutions? Are we ready to ‘let go’ and move on in other critical directions? How do we address all these concerns and challenges from the educational space where young people spend a lot of time seeking to meaningfully engage the future?
XUB has taken the journey to be different in many ways. It has for instance started a School of Sustainability, offering students the “sustainability imagination”. It is engaging people from the creative arts to influence its students and teachers, to offer them alternative visions of the possible – more humane, more inclusive, more diverse, more just, more green and more sustainable. Now XUB is ready to take that giant leap in its efforts to re-frame in a small way the human agenda, through reimagining humanities and social sciences.
The Leap: The New School of Humanities and Social Sciences
Humanities and Social Sciences are central to the structured and systematic understanding of human, societal and ecological realities, with inter-generational implications. Because today we are increasingly faced with blind materialism, all-round alienation and unsustainable orientations that are moving us towards personal and planetary crises, we need a whole new way of approaching the education of the younger generation.
We need engaging new meanings, recovery of new realities, new knowledge, embedded innovative public practice and transformative pedagogy. We need a whole new way of presenting humanities and social sciences to the young that breaks old habits and routines of the mind. And, through this contribute to the creation of a new generation of students, teachers, public intellectuals, and citizens who will seek to heal the planet, engage spirituality and grow sustainable futures for all. We need to reorient the art and science of the human spirit to the needs of today and tomorrow on a re-imagined educational platform.
Vision and Mission
Vision
A world of humanities and social sciences beyond the traditional boundaries.
Mission
Promoting transdisciplinarity and the next generation educational practice of humanities and social sciences.
Centres, Platforms and Co-Creators
The new school of Humanities and Social Sciences will redraw the traditional disciplinary boundaries and go beyond the normative disciplines of history, literature, languages, theology, economics, political science, anthropology, sociology, and psychology. The new school will create inter- and transdisciplinary spaces and will draw from unconventional sources and disciplines for its teaching, learning and research activities.
(a) Centres
The following proposed Centres constitute the new school. (These are proposed centres and will undergo changes as we clarify.)
1) Centre for the Study of Spirituality, Theology and Religion (CSTR)
2) Centre for the Study of Philosophy, Wisdom and Social Value (CPWS)
3) Centre for the Study of Mindfulness, Interconnectedness and Mutuality (CMIM)
4) Centre for the Study of Compassion, Empathy and Inter-Being (CCEI)
5) Centre for the Study of Truth, Criticism, and Dialogue (CTCD)
6) Centre for the Study of Conflict, Peace and Reconciliation (CCPR)
7) Centre for the Study of Design, Imagination and Futures (CDIF)
8) Centre for Odisha Studies (COS)
The Centres (as well as Inter-Centre Initiatives) will do the following:
(i) research (ii) long and short, onsite and online degree programmes (iii) local public events and lectures (iv)regional and global collaborations (v) field campuses (vi) community engagement initiatives and (vii) publications/productions. The initial effort will be focused on research.
(b) Platforms
Platforms are dynamic ‘free learning spaces’ that bring the creative practicing public (movements, professional organizations, art foundations, etc) into contact with students and teachers on a need and relevance basis. The effort is to create not just students but public intellectuals who see their career differently as they engage with the creative public working at all levels for the common good. These spaces will also help research activities. Some of the platforms that will be developed (in association with other Schools at XUB) are:
- The Performing Arts
- The Cinematic Arts
- Healing and Health
- Agroecology and Eco-Villages
- Inter-Faith Explorations
- Localisation and Alternative Economics
(c) Co-Creators Group
Co-creators are those who will participate in XHS’s research-teaching-learning activities. They will support the centres and its academic activities in terms of sharing programmes and teaching resources, curriculum development, non-curricular experience based-learning, non-expert/academic faculty, sharing teachers, offering field experiences, etc. They will be the partners in developing XHS. They will help fast track the development of XHS. The co-creator group will consist of institutes, universities, foundations and structured local and global movements.
(Nat/XHS-3/July 2016/March 2017)
