Interaction Programme for Research Scholars at the Department of History

Aligarh : A three-week interaction programme for research scholars, on the theme “Research Methodology: History, Sources, Methods and Practices” began at the Centre of Advanced Study, Department of History, Aligarh Muslim University (AMU), under the aegis of UGC Human Resource Development Centre, AMU.

Explaining the objective of the programme, Professor Gulfishan Khan, Coordinator of the Workshop and Dr. Faiza Abbasi, Director, UGC HRD Centre said that the purpose is to introduce qualitative and quantitative research methods to the research scholars of history to enlarge their vision for recognizing, using, and interpreting historical sources to increase historical knowledge of India’s past.

During the programme, the students would be introduced to a wide variety of primary sources in Persian, Arabic and Sanskrit languages, manuscript and printed both, as well as secondary material available in the form of current historiographies. The emphasis would be on the literary sources which include normative texts, historical narratives, biographies and poetry and works in the form of other literary genres such as the tazkira, Insha and malfuzat literatures and travelogue-cum-memoirs.

The research scholars will be acquainted with the significance of archival records and visual material such as paintings, photographs, numismatics and epigraphy on sacred and secular monuments, tombs, mosques and imperial palaces such as the Jami Mosques and palaces of Delhi and Agra.

Some of the specialists would also deliver lectures on the contemporary empires of Persianate cultural zone such as the Ottomans and Safavids to provide a comparative perspective to the students researching aspects of imperial history. Thirty-six interactive sessions will be held on diverse historical issues and themes in online and offline modes.