1. Liberal Studies in India is relatively young but gaining steady acceptance. What is the importance of Liberal Studies and why do you think students should opt for it?
For the skills one requires to solve the problems their society faces, we look at the social and physical sciences that lend themselves to policymaking and the creation of techniques and technologies. Liberal studies will teach students to draw upon history, literature, arts, cinema and other similar branches of human knowledge and creativity to bring clarity to the (perhaps unsolvable) moral issues a society may face in making its policy and technological choices.
For example, digitization is changing almost everything we have been accustomed to, the way we do business, the way governments function as well as the way citizens interact with each other. While this has the potential for improving our lives, it also throws up new challenges. Digitalization and big data are helping us address issues more effectively and efficiently while the digital divide is creating deep fissures and disparities in the opportunities an individual faces. So, in this given context, liberal studies is a field which will encourage a student to use digital technology as a tool for creative thinking and also develop a growing awareness of the challenges that digital media may produce. Liberal studies is gaining importance because today it is imperative for young adults to be well prepared to meet the challenges that will be thrown up by
a fast-transforming society and be in a position to provide solutions to those challenges.
2. School of Liberal Studies at UPES takes the Transdisciplinary Learning approach. What does it mean? And do you feel that there is a need for universities to change the approach in designing the curriculum for students?
Young adults trained at UPES will be able to identify, formulate and solve the problems in the society they live in. In addition, they will be trained to anticipate problems such that they can be prevented wherever possible. The schools objective is not only the pursuit of knowledge. The curriculum fosters an awareness and deep understanding of the issues faced by the society around them and strives towards this objective by concentrating on the importance that individuals have with the State and Society as citizens.
There will be three distinct parts in all the programmes under UPES School of Liberal Studies:
a) Classroom lectures (both theoretical and practical)- which is basically the disciplinary training of the core subjects
b) Application of whatever is taught in the classroom to live issues in the neighbourhood- This will enable students to directly connect the classroom theory to the world around them and put their existing knowledge under question. This will also train students in fieldwork and the use of both qualitative and quantitative data.
c) Each course ending with a list of open and topical questions- This is to encourage students to conduct research towards a deeper understanding of specific aspects of the society they are in so that they are better placed to anticipate and tackle future challenges.
3. Liberal Studies is said to focus more on How to think rather than What to think. How does this encourage students to be critical and think differently with a creative mindset?
One of the main aspects of Liberal Studies is that it encourages students to apply their knowledge, thinking and understanding to a situation rather than giving them a planned answer to problems. It creates a habit among students to exercise their minds and find solutions. One of the requirements for anticipating problems and, hence, preventing them or reducing their impact, is the ability to build alternate realities of how things could turn out in the future. If we cannot do this, we will always be reacting to problems. We will always be firefighting rather than preventing fires. The ability to think in the abstract, to understand the relationship between things and visualize the context within which things will play out are all brought together through critical thinking. And that is not all. Imagining alternate realities requires creativity!
4. The world today needs more of problem solvers for a sustainable society. What are the training and skills that the coming generation need to become global leaders capable of solving real world problems?
The world is connected and so are societies. What happens locally can be scaled up globally and what is happening globally could have serious implications for the local. So, our students must be trained as global citizens; they will have to be connected to their immediate neighbourhood as well as the world at large. Local and global are not mutually exclusive choices. Instead, they feed from and impact each other.
Let us take a problem we face today --- the quality of air in Indian cities. It is an environmental issue and a health issue. How does one solve this? It depends on the way the city has been planned or developed organically. It depends on the economic activities in and around the city --- brick kilns, stubble burning, tree cover, movement of goods and people within the city, growth of slums and various other factors. Is it possible for one type of expertise to solve these many factors that all lead to the problem we are facing? We need economists, city planners, logistics experts, architects, sociologists and behaviour scientists and then, of course, scientists, engineers and technologists. It is impossible for any one person to have expertise in all of these. So, we need different experts to work together in a team. And, for that, each team member must have an appreciation of the perspectives the other team members bring to the problem discussion. And that is what we are trying to do at UPES. We are trying to break down the silos within which we have been training our students.
5. What can a student find himself/herself learning under Liberal Studies and how is it going to help them build successful careers?
The things we observe around us are outcomes of the interplay among various factors in a complex system. These factors include human behaviour, nature, technology, regulation and norms among others. A student of liberal studies is trained to understand this system. A student graduating from this programme can, therefore, work with business, government and non-profit organisations or civil societies. Careers include journalism, law, politics, economics, social work, behaviour management and public policy. Some can also go on to higher studies in any of the specific specializations.
To know more click here!
Read more here:
UPES School of Liberal Studies Wants Students To Be Critical Thinkers - The Quint
- Here is what the Liberal party could learn from the Conservatives under David Cameron - The Guardian - June 24th, 2022
- What liberal and woke Meghan Markle thinks of Supreme Courts ruling on abortion? - The News International - June 24th, 2022
- Ex-Liberal MP Raj Grewal invited lenders to private meet-and-greet with Trudeau - EverythingGP - June 24th, 2022
- The 6 weirdest Liberal Democrat election victory stunts - The Independent - June 24th, 2022
- Liberal Arts Professors Honored for Excellence in Teaching, Research - Ole Miss News - June 24th, 2022
- Can the Liberal Party really replace Justin Trudeau? - The Globe and Mail - June 24th, 2022
- How PM Modi riles liberal elites: The choice of Droupadi Murmu, the frustration of the cabal and the dangerous games they might play - OpIndia - June 24th, 2022
- Told to take a hike by UCP, former Alberta Liberal leader Raj Sherman says he'll run to lead Conservatives anyway - albertapolitics.ca - June 24th, 2022
- Liberal housing plan will not fix affordability crisis: CMHC - Conservative Party of Canada - June 24th, 2022
- The Liberal Party cant exist for itself: Constance on life after politics - Sydney Morning Herald - June 24th, 2022
- The Liberal party cannot rebuild until it rediscovers its reason to exist - The Guardian - June 5th, 2022
- Are the Movies Liberal? - The New York Times - June 5th, 2022
- Johnny Depp's Victory Is a Crack in the Moral Armor of Liberal Feminism | Opinion - Newsweek - June 5th, 2022
- Opinion | What America Needs Is a Liberalism That Builds - The New York Times - June 5th, 2022
- GOLDSTEIN: There's no Tory dynasty in Ontario and the Liberals aren't dead - Toronto Sun - June 5th, 2022
- Liberal-led Senate inquiry into ABC and SBS abandoned - The Guardian - June 5th, 2022
- Liberal government throws support behind bill aimed at tackling forced labour in supply chains - The Globe and Mail - June 5th, 2022
- The Liberal government continues to fail to act three years after the MMIWG Inquiry - New Democratic Party - June 5th, 2022
- NDP majority with Liberal opposition if students had their way - GuelphToday - June 5th, 2022
- Delaware shows the War on Drugs lives on in liberal enclaves - Brookings Institution - May 25th, 2022
- The Liberal Obsession With 'Disinformation' Is Not Helping - New York Magazine - May 25th, 2022
- It's not 'bias' liberal media are telling the truth, pointedly - The Boston Globe - May 25th, 2022
- Abandoning classical liberalism turns the heartland teal - The Australian Financial Review - May 25th, 2022
- Geoff Russ: The Liberal Canada loved by the boomers keeping Trudeau in power won't last - National Post - May 25th, 2022
- Labor says Peter Dutton taking reins of Liberal Party shows Coalition 'learned absolutely nothing' from federal election - ABC News - May 25th, 2022
- Liberals discussed dumping Morrison in Coalitions final months - Sydney Morning Herald - May 25th, 2022
- DAVID JOHNSON: Treason and the Liberal-NDP agreement - Saltwire - May 25th, 2022
- Regional Queensland voted for the Liberal National Party. What do they make of the Labor government and 'greenslide'? - ABC News - May 25th, 2022
- Conrad Black: Poilievre has a real chance to break the Liberal status quo and that has his enemies trembling - National Post - May 25th, 2022
- Angus Taylor says Liberal Party must focus on core values after federal election loss - ABC News - May 25th, 2022
- Liberals are too focused on themselves, says Constance, as Gilmore hangs in balance - Sydney Morning Herald - May 25th, 2022
- Where Have All the Liberals Gone? - The New York Times - May 15th, 2022
- Liberals Should Be Worried About the Conservative Comedy Scene - POLITICO - May 15th, 2022
- Bill Maher Laments About A Liberal World That Seems To Be Going Mad In Real Time Takes - Deadline - May 15th, 2022
- The Looming End to Abortion Rights Gives Liberal Democrats a Spark - The New York Times - May 15th, 2022
- Ontario Liberals accuse PCs of favouring own party in government appointments - Global News - May 15th, 2022
- GUNTER: Yet more Liberal falsehoods surrounding the convoy have been debunked - Toronto Sun - May 15th, 2022
- Danger for the Liberal Party coming from the right as well as the teals - Sydney Morning Herald - May 15th, 2022
- What Labor and Liberal Facebook ad spend tells us about where the election campaign is heading - ABC News - May 15th, 2022
- Lib Dems already campaigning for Tiverton and Honiton byelection - The Guardian - May 15th, 2022
- Is AARP too liberal? That's what its right-leaning rivals say - Newsday - May 15th, 2022
- Can Doug Fords nephew topple the NDP incumbent in a Liberal riding? - Toronto Star - May 15th, 2022
- Utting Research Perth seat polls and Liberal Party briefing wars The Poll Bludger - The Poll Bludger - May 15th, 2022
- Liberal Party unveils one weird political ad to rule them all - Mumbrella - May 15th, 2022
- Scottish Water condemned by Liberal Democrats for bonuses as sewage is released into rivers - STV News - May 15th, 2022
- Liberal Party 'warms up' with final countdown underway - The Transcontinental - May 15th, 2022
- Abortion leak: Is the Supreme Court conservative or liberal? | Opinion - Deseret News - May 15th, 2022
- Will Orban Be Remembered as a Liberal? - The American Conservative - May 11th, 2022
- Francis Fukuyama Predicted the End of History. Its Back (Again). - The New York Times - May 11th, 2022
- Better med care, more say over immigration among Liberal promises to northern Ontario - Sudbury.com - May 11th, 2022
- Abortion laws in Colombia are now among the most liberal in the Americas : Goats and Soda - NPR - May 11th, 2022
- Former Australian of the Year says Liberal MP Fiona Martin selectively quoted him in political endorsement without his knowledge - ABC News - May 11th, 2022
- College Students Shouldnt Have To Choose Between Career Skills And Liberal Arts - Chief Executive - May 11th, 2022
- Globe editorial: The Liberals are eager to talk about regulating speech online but wisely reluctant to actually do it - The Globe and Mail - May 11th, 2022
- GUNTER: The Liberals have sneakily brought back the gun registry - Toronto Sun - May 11th, 2022
- Renfrew-Nipissing-Pembroke Liberals announce Oliver Jacob as their 2022 provincial candidate - Pembroke Observer - May 11th, 2022
- Frydenberg: if he loses, the Liberal Party would be changed dramatically - Crikey - May 11th, 2022
- Jesse Watters: Liberal protests at homes of Supreme Court justices are just a warning shot - Fox News - May 11th, 2022
- Federal Labor and Liberal parties pledge additional funding for CIT accommodation, Canberra's Home of Football - ABC News - May 11th, 2022
- The White Card review the liberal art worlds blindness to privilege - The Guardian - May 11th, 2022
- Liberal MP doubles down on comments that raped women should be denied abortions - The Age - May 11th, 2022
- CU Denver - College of Liberal Arts and Sciences - May 3rd, 2022
- Roe v. Wade and an End to the Liberal Romance With Courts - New York Magazine - May 3rd, 2022
- Liberal dark money group with Biden admin ties capitalizes on SCOTUS leak to push court-packing agenda - Fox News - May 3rd, 2022
- I was deputy leader of the Liberals. The party I served has lost its way - Sydney Morning Herald - May 3rd, 2022
- Red stock, blue stock --- MAGA Republicans and liberal Democrats are taking their politics to Wall Street - MarketWatch - May 3rd, 2022
- There are pros and cons to the Liberal plan for $1 transit fares, experts say - CBC.ca - May 3rd, 2022
- Liberal and Elkhart Baseball Split on Wind Blown Day - KSCB News.net - May 3rd, 2022
- Why teal independents are seeking Liberal voters and spooking Liberal MPs - The Conversation - May 3rd, 2022
- N.S. Liberal Party recovered $195K related to internal theft - CBC.ca - May 3rd, 2022
- Kevin Falcon eyes Liberal party renewal with his seat in the house secured - Vancouver Sun - May 3rd, 2022
- Council elections in Scotland: What are the Liberal Democrats for? Alex Cole-Hamilton MSP - Edinburgh News - May 3rd, 2022
- FIRST READING: Liberal voices starting to warn Pierre Poilievre could be their undoing - National Post - May 3rd, 2022
- Will the standard Liberal tactics of accusing Conservatives of being pro-gun and anti-abortion work on Pierre Poilievre? - The Globe and Mail - May 3rd, 2022
- FIRST READING: Another Liberal gun policy that neatly ignores where the guns come from - National Post - May 3rd, 2022
- Liberal Protestants and the Polarization of the US - Religion & Politics - April 20th, 2022
- Preregistration is the Enemy of Liberal Education | Opinion - Harvard Crimson - April 20th, 2022
- Rachel Williams named dean of the Division of Liberal Arts at UNCSA - UNCSA - UNCSA - April 20th, 2022
- The Liberal Party wants us to 'look at the facts'. But just whose facts? - Crikey - April 20th, 2022
- Ari Fleischer writes new book on why the liberal media keeps getting the news wrong - Fox News - April 20th, 2022