DU committee raises concerns over syllabus alignment in Economics and History programs

Delhi University’s standing committee on academic matters has called for revisions to elective courses in the postgraduate Economics and History programs following objections to content and syllabus structure, an official statement said.

The committee met to review proposed electives for the second semester of the two-year postgraduate programs.

Concerns were raised about an elective titled “Economics and Gender,” which included topics such as intimate partner violence, domestic violence, workplace harassment, and crimes against women.

Members argued that these subjects did not align with economics and that some electives were not structured chronologically.

Dhanpal Singh, associate professor at Keshav Mahavidyalaya and committee member, said the objections focused on how the syllabus was presented, particularly Unit 3 on Crime and Gender.

Monami Sinha, associate professor at Kamala Nehru College, defended the course, emphasizing the economic implications of violence against women as a well-established area of research.

“India’s low female workforce participation, coupled with social norms, domestic violence, and safety concerns, significantly influences women’s participation in the labor market. Despite these clarifications, the objecting members remained unconvinced, and the course was sent back for revision,” Sinha said.

The Department of History also presented its DSCs and DSEs for the second semester. Committee members raised concerns that the syllabus was overly focused on global history.

The department responded that roughly 70% of the curriculum covered Indian history, while 30% addressed global perspectives, noting that a credible history program requires a balance between local and global contexts.

Additional objections were made to the elective “Themes in Ancient Indian Economy and Society,” particularly the inclusion of “society” in the title.

Members suggested removing social readings, and as a result, several texts by Shireen Moosvi, Indrani Chatterjee, and Richard M Eaton were ultimately dropped from the syllabus.