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Advanced Research Seminar in Cinema Studies (Optional for IV semester students)

Advanced Research Seminar in Cinema Studies (Optional for IV semester students)

-  Prof Ranjani Mazumdar

The discipline of Cinema Studies has a history that is less than fifty years old. In the early days of the discipline, cinema was viewed either as an art form or as unadulterated mass culture. This framework soon faced a strain with the growing influence of film historiography and cultural studies on the discipline since the 1980s. Film got located within a larger context of cultural history to be studied as one of the defining features of 20th century modernity. This Advanced Research Seminar introduces 4th semester M.A students to techniques of Research and Writing drawing them into the new methodological developments of the discipline. The seminar operates like a module where theoretical and methodological debates related to the field of cinema are discussed in relation to the research project undertaken by the students. Enrolled students are encouraged to develop research projects in any area related to film, television or the New Media, that allow them to combine archival, ethnographic, cultural/ historical/ideological, philosophical, technological discourses and methodologies. The research progress is presented on a weekly basis in class. In the first stage students are asked to write a short proposal which includes a research plan and a bibliography prepared by them. The second stage of the course involves presentation of material every week along with written abstracts. At the end of the course students submit a 10000 - 15000 word long paper. The advanced seminar has restricted entry. The selection is done on the basis of abstracts submitted to the course instructors in advance.

A warm welcome to the modified and updated website of the Centre for East Asian Studies. The East Asian region has been at the forefront of several path-breaking changes since 1970s beginning with the redefining the development architecture with its State-led development model besides emerging as a major region in the global politics and a key hub of the sophisticated technologies. The Centre is one of the thirteen Centres of the School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi that provides a holistic understanding of the region.

Initially, established as a Centre for Chinese and Japanese Studies, it subsequently grew to include Korean Studies as well. At present there are eight faculty members in the Centre. Several distinguished faculty who have now retired include the late Prof. Gargi Dutt, Prof. P.A.N. Murthy, Prof. G.P. Deshpande, Dr. Nranarayan Das, Prof. R.R. Krishnan and Prof. K.V. Kesavan. Besides, Dr. Madhu Bhalla served at the Centre in Chinese Studies Programme during 1994-2006. In addition, Ms. Kamlesh Jain and Dr. M. M. Kunju served the Centre as the Documentation Officers in Chinese and Japanese Studies respectively.

The academic curriculum covers both modern and contemporary facets of East Asia as each scholar specializes in an area of his/her interest in the region. The integrated course involves two semesters of classes at the M. Phil programme and a dissertation for the M. Phil and a thesis for Ph. D programme respectively. The central objective is to impart an interdisciplinary knowledge and understanding of history, foreign policy, government and politics, society and culture and political economy of the respective areas. Students can explore new and emerging themes such as East Asian regionalism, the evolving East Asian Community, the rise of China, resurgence of Japan and the prospects for reunification of the Korean peninsula. Additionally, the Centre lays great emphasis on the building of language skills. The background of scholars includes mostly from the social science disciplines; History, Political Science, Economics, Sociology, International Relations and language.

Several students of the centre have been recipients of prestigious research fellowships awarded by Japan Foundation, Mombusho (Ministry of Education, Government of Japan), Saburo Okita Memorial Fellowship, Nippon Foundation, Korea Foundation, Nehru Memorial Fellowship, and Fellowship from the Chinese and Taiwanese Governments. Besides, students from Japan receive fellowship from the Indian Council of Cultural Relations.