Undergraduate

Syllabus and Scheme of Examination for B.A. History Honours Programme
Three-year full-time Programme: Choice-Based Credit System (CBCS)

Introduction to BA History Programme

History is a discipline which instructs students on how to read and process the information on people, societies, cultures, events and places that are far removed in time and space from our own experience. Knowledge of this past is critical in understanding how our world is connected. The syllabus for B.A. (Hons.) in History is designed to improve the quality of higher education.

At a general level, our courses are structured to give requisite information about different aspects of the past to students, to teach them how to parse this information, instruct them on how historians research, frame an argument and debate details that have significance to how we understand the past and the present. The outcome is to provide students with a sense of how interconnected our present is with the past, and how learning about the past provides them with the skills to understand the present. To facilitate this understanding, our courses, classroom instruction and assignments give students the ability to think and reach their conclusions. Our tutorial discussions, written assignments, classroom presentations, and field-work projects, consolidate their ability to analyse, research and process information.

Learning Outcome-based Curriculum Framework in B.A. Honours History Programme

The B.A (Hons.) programme is organized to provide the greatest flexibility to its students. There are Core Disciplinary papers that provide fundamental knowledge in the discipline of history and the study of the History of India and the World. The programme is otherwise envisaged to provide a large amount of choice so that students can tailor their education based on their interests. These provide not just skills in history but also vital sill in other disciplines as well. The B.A (Hons.) History programme course is interdisciplinary keeping in mind that specialisation in History is the key to accessing cognate skills from other disciplines. With its mix of Core, Discipline Specific Electives and Skill Enhancement Courses, it provides multiple points where students can participate in interdisciplinary reflections on cross-cutting themes.

Nature and Extent of the B.A. Honours History Programme

The duration of B.A (Hons.) History Programme is for three academic years. Each academic year is divided into two semesters. The B.A (Hons) History Programme, therefore, spans six semesters. Each semester is for sixteen weeks.

The teaching and learning modalities in the B.A (Hons.) History Programme will involve theory classes or lectures of 50 minutes each and tutorial classes. The curriculum will be taught through formal lectures with the aid, wherever the teacher feels the need, of power-point presentations, audio and video tools. There are additional requirements in certain courses for documentaries, cinema, field and archival work, visits to museums, class reports, discussions and project work. These are built into the teaching and assessment of many courses. Assessment is in two parts. The first comprises internal evaluation/continuous assessment of term papers, presentations, exams, and project work which is carried out throughout the term and comprises 20% of the final grade. The second is the end of semester examination which comprises 80% of the final grade.

Structure of B.A. Honours History Programme

The programme consists of six and four-credit courses. The six-credit course will comprise theory classes (five credits) and tutorials (one credit). The four-credit courses will comprise solely theory classes. Each credit is equivalent to one hour of classroom instruction per week.

To acquire a degree in BA History Honours a student must study fourteen Core Courses (CC) – two each in semesters 1 and 2, three each in semesters 3 and 4, and two each in semesters 5 and 6. These are compulsory courses of six credits each.

The student also needs to take four Discipline Specific Elective Courses (DSE). DSE papers are elective and out of the fourteen offered, students have to select any four – two each in semesters 5 and 6. These are all six credits each.

Students are also required to take four interdisciplinary General Elective Courses (GE). GE papers are elective, and students can take any four courses offered in cognate disciplines by the different departments in the university. They have to opt for one course in each of semesters 1, 2, 3 and 4. The Department of History lists four GE papers in its Honours curriculum. These are six credits each and open to enrollment for Honours students from other disciplines.

Students are expected to take two discipline-centred Skill Enhancement Courses (SEC). There are four SEC courses offered by the Department of History in semesters 3 and 4. Students are required to opt for one SEC paper in each of these semesters. These are four credits each.

Additionally, they must also take two Ability Enhancement Compulsory Courses (AECC), one each in semesters 1 and 2. The AECC courses are four credits each. Please note that AECC courses are not in history. The two courses are AECC 1, English/ Hindi/ Urdu Communication, and AECC 2, Environmental Sciences.

UG COURSES – Curriculum & Full Syllabus

1st Semester Papers | 2nd Semester Papers | 3rd Semester Papers | 4th Semester Papers | 5th Semester | 6th Semester

BA (Hons.) CBCS: List of Papers for Even Semester (Semester II, IV & VI)

BA (Hons.) CBCS: List of Papers for Odd Semester (Semester I, III & V)

BA (Hons.) CBCS: List of Papers for Even Semester (Semester II, IV & VI)