Foundation Course
Semester IIIand IV
B.A., B.Sc., B.Com.
Semester III Total Marks:
100 Lectures: 60
Objectives
·
Develop a basic understanding about issues
related to human rights violations, ecology and urban-rural disparities in
access to health and education
·
Gain an overview of significant skills required
to address competition in career choices
·
Appreciate the importance of developing a
scientific temper towards technology and its use in everyday life
Unit 1 Human Rights Violations and
Redressal (10 lectures)
A.
Types
and nature of human rights violations faced by vulnerable groups, namely
the Scheduled Castes, Scheduled tribes,
Women, Children and Minority communities ( 3
lectures)
B.
Human
Rights violations faced by People with Disabilities and by the Elderly population
(1 lecture)
C.
Constitutional
provisions and laws protecting the rights of vulnerable groups-( 4
lectures)
Right to
Equality, Right to Freedom, Right against Exploitation.
Salient
features ofsome important Acts like
The Prevention
of Atrocities (Against SC/ST) Act, 1989;
The Domestic
Violence Act, 2005; Vishakha Guidelines for Preventing Sexual Harassment at
Workplace, 1997;
The Child
Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986;
The Persons
With Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full
Participation) Act, 1995;
D.
Redressal
mechanisms at the National and State levels- (
2 lectures)
The National
Human Rights Commission (NHRC), the SC/ST Commission, the National Commission
for Women; the Minorities Commission
Unit 2 Dealing With Environmental
Concerns (10
lectures)
A.
Threats to the environment arising from extinction,
loss of habitat, degradation of environment, pollution, climate change ( 2
lectures)
B.
Some locally relevant case studies of
environmental disasters (3
lectures)
C.
Concept of Disaster and general effects of
Disasters on human life- physical, psychological,economic and social ( 2 lectures)
D.
Dealing with Disasters - Factors to be
considered in Prevention, Mitigation (Relief and Rehabilitation) and disaster
Preparedness (2
lectures)
E.
Human Rights issues in addressing disasters-
issues related to compensation , equitable and fair distribution of relief and
humanitarian approach to resettlement
and rehabilitation
(1 lecture)
Unit 3 Science and Technology I (10
lectures)
A.
Development
of Science- the ancient cultures, the Classical era, the Middle Ages, the
Renaissance, the Age of Reason and Enlightenment ( 2 lectures)
B.
Nature
of science- its principles and characteristics; Science as empirical,
practical, theoretical, validated knowledge ( 1
lecture)
C.
Science
and scientific temper- significance of observation and experimentation,
empirical explanation and objectivity; scientific temper as a fundamental duty
of the Indian citizen
(2
lectures)
D.
Science
and Superstition- the role of science in exploding myths, blind beliefs and
prejudices; role of science and scientific temper in promoting tolerance and
harmony in social groups (3
lectures)
E. Science in everyday life- technology,
its meaning and role in development; Interrelation and distinction between
science and technology ( 2
lectures)
Unit 4 Soft Skills for Effective Interpersonal
Communication (8
lectures)
A
I)
Effective Listening- importance and features
II) Verbal
and non-verbal communication; public-speaking and presentation skills
III) Barriers
to effective communication; importance of self-awareness and body language
(3
lectures)
B
I)
Formal and Informal communication- purpose and
types
II)
Writing formal applications, Statement of
Purpose (SOP) and resume
III)
Preparing for Group Discussions, Interviews and
Presentations ( 3 lectures)
C
I)
Leadership Skills and Self-improvement- characteristics
of effective leadership
II)
Styles of leadership and team building (2
lectures)
Unit 5 Understanding Issues of Right to Health and
Education (7 lectures)
A
I)
Concept and Determinants of Health- holistic
health including physical and mental well-being;
food
security, adequate nutrition, safe drinking water and sanitation, healthy
environment and working conditions, availability of healthcare and medical
services, gender equality
II)
Right to Health- right to a system of health
protection to all without discrimination; right to prevention, treatment and
control of diseases; Access to essential
medicines;
III)
Issues of access, affordability and availability
in promoting Right to Health (4 lectures)
B
I)
Right to Education- universalization of
education and obstacles to free and compulsory education for all
II)
Issues of access, affordability and availability
in the education sector
III)
Contemporary challenges in the Education
sector-increasing privatisation of education, decreasing fund allocation by
Government ( 3
lectures)
Unit 6 Projects/Assignments (15
lectures)
Projects/Assignments
should be drawn for the component on Internal Assessment from the topics in Unit 1 to Unit 5. Students should be
given a list of possible topics- at least 3 from each unit at the beginning of
the semester. The project/assignment can take the form of
street-plays/power-point presentations/poster exhibitions and similar other
modes of presentation appropriate to the topic; students can work in groups of
not more than 8 per topic. Students must submit a hard/soft copy of the
project/assignment before appearing for the semester end exam.
Unit 6 will not be assessed in the semester
end exam.
Question Paper
Pattern
There will be four
questions in all with internal divisions as follows:
Question Number 1, 2
and 3 will be on Unit Numbers 1, 2 and 3 respectively each carrying 15 marks.
Each of these questions
will be sub-divided into one long answer question for 9 marks, having internal
choice; and one short answer question for 6 marks having internal choice.
Question number 4 will
be on Unit Numbers 4 and 5 and will be short notes, each carrying 5 marks.
Students will have a choice of answering 3 short notes out of 6.
The Question paper
therefore will read as follows:
Question 1 (on unit 1) 15
marks
1a) or 1b) long answer (9 marks)
1c)or 1d) short answer (6 marks)
Question 2 (on unit 2) 15
marks
2a) or2b) long answer (9 marks)
2c) or 2d) short answer (6 marks)
Question 3 (on unit 3) 15
marks
3a) or3b) long answer (9 marks)
3c) or3d) short answer (6 marks)
Question 4 (on units 4 and 5) 15
marks
Any three short notes
4a, 4b, 4c, 4d, 4e, 4f, 4g (5
marks each)
Semester IV Total
Marks: 100 Lectures: 60
Unit 1Significant,
contemporary Rights of Citizens (10lectures)
A. Rights of Consumers-right to safety,
right to be informed, right to choose, right to be heard,right to seek redressal,
right to consumer education;
Violations of consumer rights and important provisions
of the Consumer Protection Act, 1986;
Other important laws to protect consumers, like- Indian
Contract Act, 1872, Sale of Goods Act, 1930, The Essential Commodities Act,
1955, The Prevention of Food Adulteration Act, 1955, The Standards of Weights
and Measures Act, 1976
Consumer courts and consumer movements (4 lectures)
B. Right to Information- Genesis and relation with transparency and
accountability; important provisions of
the Right to Information Act, 2005; some success stories (3
lectures)
C. Protection of Citizens’/Public Interest-Public
Interest Litigation, need and procedure to file a PIL; some landmark cases. ( 3
lectures)
Unit 2Approaches to
understanding Ecology (9 lectures)
A.
Understanding
approaches to ecology- Anthropocentrism, Biocentrism and Eco centrism,
Ecofeminism and Deep Ecology (3 lectures)
B.
Environmental
Ethics- Libertarian ethics, Ecologic Extension and Conservation; concept of
intrinsic and extrinsic value of human and non-human life; eco spirituality. (3 lectures)
C.
Some
significant principles and issues- ‘polluter pays’ principle and global and
local issues of fair share of carbon space (3
lectures)
Unit 3 Science and Technology II (10 lectures)
A. Technology and Development- the
interconnectedness between growth of technology and development of societies (2 lectures)
B.
Some
significant modern technologies, their basic features and applications:(6 lectures)
Laser
Technology- Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation";
use of laser in remote sensing, GIS/GPS mapping, medical use
Satellite
Technology- various uses in satellite navigation systems, GPS, and inprecise
climate and weather analyses
Information and
Communication Technology- electronic systems such as telecommunication,
radio, television, video and internet aided by computer-based information
systems; convergence of various technologies like satellite, computer and
digital in the information revolution of today’s society
Biotechnology
and Genetic engineeriong- applied biologyand uses in medicine, pharmaceuticals
and agriculture; genetically modified plant, animal and human lifeNanotechnology- definition: the study,
control and application of phenomena and materials at length scales below 100
nm; uses in medicine, military intelligence and consumer products
C. Issues of Control, Access and Misuse of
Technology (2 lectures)
Unit 4 Introduction to Competitive Exams (9
lectures)
A. Basic information on Competitive Exams- the
pattern, eligibility criteria and local centres:
Exams conducted for entry into professional courses-
Graduate Record Examinations (GRE), Graduate Management Admission Test GMAT), Common
Admission Test (CAT) and Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT)
Exams conducted for entry into jobs by Union Public
Service Commission, Staff Selection Commission (SSC), State Public Service
Commissions, Banking and Insurance sectors, and the National and State
Eligibility Tests (NET/SET) for entry into teaching profession ( 3 lectures)
[NOTE: Students will not be tested on above topics]
B. Soft skills required for competitive exams-
i)
Information on areas tested- Quantitative
Ability, Data Interpretation, Verbal Ability and Logical Reasoning, Creativity and Lateral Thinking
ii)
Motivation- concept, theories and types of
motivation
iii)
Goal-setting- types of goals, SMART goals,
Stephen Covey’s concept of human endowment
iv)
Time Management- effective strategies for time
management (6 lectures)
Unit 5 Urban-Rural Disparities in
Development (7 lectures)
A. Concept
of ‘rural’, ‘tribal’, ‘semi-urban’ and ‘ urban’; disparity in availability of services
like health, education, transport, electricity and employment ( 2
lectures)
B. Distribution
of natural resources like land, water and forests in rural and urban areas;
changing land-use and impact on rural life ( 2
lectures)
C. Increasing
urbanisation and growth of megacities- issues of adequate water availability,
affordable housing, transport/traffic
congestion, waste management and social tension (3
lectures)
Unit 6 Projects/Assignments
(15 lectures)
Projects/Assignments
should be drawn for the component on Internal Assessment from the topics in Unit 1 to Unit 5. Students should be
given a list of possible topics- at least 3 from each unit at the beginning of
the semester. The project/assignment can take the form of
street-plays/power-point presentations/poster exhibitions and similar other
modes of presentation appropriate to the topic; students can work in groups of
not more than 8 per topic. Students must submit a hard/soft copy of the
project/assignment before appearing for the semester end exam.
Unit 6 will not be assessed in the semester
end exam.
Question Paper
Pattern
There will be four questions in all with internal divisions as follows:
Question Number 1, 2 and 3 will be on Unit Numbers 1, 2 and 3 respectively
each carrying 15 marks.
Each of these questions will be sub-divided into one long answer
question for 9 marks, having internal choice; and one short answer question for
6 marks having internal choice.
Question number 4 will be on Unit Numbers 4 and 5 and will be short
notes, each carrying 5 marks. Students will have a choice of answering 3 short
notes out of 6.
The Question paper therefore will read as follows:
Question 1 (on unit 1) 15
marks
1a) or 1b)
long answer (9
marks)
1c) or 1d)
short answer (6
marks)
Question 2 (on unit 2) 15
marks
2a) or 2b)
long answer (9
marks)
2c) or 2d)
short answer (6
marks)
Question 3 (on unit 3) 15
marks
3a) or 3b)
long answer (9
marks)
3c) or 3d)
short answer (6
marks)
Question 4 (on units 4 and 5) 15
marks
Any three short notes
4a, 4b, 4c, 4d, 4e, 4f, 4g (5 marks each)
