International Talkies

The Department of International Studies and History organised a global class in collaboration with Durham College, Canada on the topic, Democracy and Media. The focus this time was on India's recent elections and what Canada can learn from the same about media involvement . Students and faculties had an engaging session where thoughts and insights about democracy in India and Canada were exchanged.

The Department of International Studies and History in collaboration with the Consulates General of Switzerland and Israel is organizing within the framework “ Leadership Beyond Duty” Exhibition and Screening of the Swiss documentary film “Carl Lutz – The Hidden Hero” .   The session was inaugurated by Professor Manoharan who gave brief introduction to the programme. Ariel Seidman, Deputy Consul General of Israel to South India addressed the gathering by showing two videos, which featured the tragic past of the Holocaust. In the video, there was a mention of numerous brave people, who put their lives at risk during the Holocaust, to rescue the Jews. These brave people have been honoured, through the years, by Israel. They are given the ‘Righteous Among the Nations’, an honorific title, to honour their (non-Jews) efforts to save the Jews from extermination by the Nazis.  Sébastien Hug, CEO and Consul General at Swissnex India, Consulate General of Switzerland, talked about a

An International Affairs Quiz was held for all the students of CHRIST (Deemed to be University) by LYCEUM, the Post Graduate Association of Department of International Studies and History on 13 th September, 2019.Some of the themes covered in the quiz were: ·          Foreign Policies of India, US, Russia and China. ·          Current news and events of international politics ·          General knowledge on countries and their governments. The quiz witnessed a huge turnout and was a learning experience for both the participants and the audience.

The Department of International Studies and History organised a guest lecture on 18th September 2019 regarding internship availability for students which was given by Dr Gladston who works as a Professor at Loyola College, Advisor of UNHCR and as Deputy Commissioner for Asia Pacific Refugee Rights Network. As an expert into International Peace and Conflict Studies, he has listed out the following places where one can do internship: 1. Apply for the 50 bodies in UN via the UNV and VSO exam. ·          The UNV exam- United Nations Volunteers which is divided into - 1. Human Rights 2. Humanitarian 3. Political through which one can avail internship/ jobs for a period of minimum 6 months. ·          The VSO exam- Volunteer Service Overseas which is a paid internship to work for NVPF- Non-Violent Peace Force on the post of International Protector. 2. To be a CAUX scholar where 5 Indians are selected. 3. Write the prestigious UN Civil Service Examination: EHS- Employment Humanit

Interaction of cultures is very essential in order to increase cooperation and understanding in this globalized world. The department of international studies and history organized an interactive session between the first-year students of Department of International Studies and History and the exchange program students from Netherlands, on 14 th  September 2019. Considering this as an opportunity to learn and understand about two countries, in terms of culture, custom, tradition and even educational system, the students from Netherlands provided a brief account of   their country, by addressing the stereotypes associated, food, culture, economy, and educational system. The programme was interesting and engaging enabling students to converse upon wide ranging topics, including the political structure of each nations. The student of MAIS also guided them in understanding more about India, while the students from Netherlands were amazed by the amount of diversity especially within the

The Department of International Studies and History organized a workshop on Risk Management and Career Option by Dr. Arpit Rajain, Director (Executive) and VP, Risk, India Bound, who has 20 years’ experience in risk management professional. Students from 3MAIS had interned at the organization during their summer break. Accordingly, the workshop was conducted to provide the students with the diversity of career opportunities in risk management available after their post-graduation. Dr. Rajain began the talk by quoting Thomas Friedman's work - 'The World is Flat' emphasizing on the globalized nature of the world in the 21st century. He, further, detailed about the expansion of Multinational Corporations (MNCs), especially in the context of India. He cites examples of Amazon, Accenture, Deloitte and their large operations in India, and Bengaluru. Giving a brief of companies and their expansion, he stressed on the need for analyzing risks for such wide network of MNC

The Department of International Studies and History, CHRIST (Deemed to be University), organized a guest lecture on ‘Scholarship Opportunities and Career path in Embassies’, on 11 th  September, 2019. The talk was delivered by Mr. Manjunath KS, the political and economic advisor for the UK deputy High Commission in Bengaluru. Dr. N Manoharan, from the Department of International Studies and History, CHRIST (Deemed to be University), welcomed the speaker, wherein he briefly mentioned the roles that Mr. Manjunath performs at the High Commission, some of them being – advising the High Commissions about how UK can develop relations with India; supervising fellowships, and exploring potential areas of investments from UK firms in India and vice versa. The talk commenced with Mr. Manjunath, providing a glimpse into his career path, wherein he mentioned that prior to his current position of employment, he was pursuing journalism. During his time as a journalist, he had been intens

The Department of International Studies and History organised a Skype lecture by Professor Idesbald Goddeeris of KU Leuven on “Migration and Multiculturalism” for 1 MAIS class on 6 September 2019 between 11 AM to 12 PM at Council Room, Central Block, Christ (Deemed to be University). The speaker focussed his talk on European Identities and how migration has affected the continent. In a globalised set up, it is problematic to have a one-dimensional approach towards the population. With reference to Benedict Anderson’s “Imagined Communities”, it is necessary to understand that Europe is in a juxtaposition between collective and coercion identity. With the end of Cold War in 1989 with the fall of USSR, European Union allowed the skilled and enthusiastic people from Global South. This led to an issue of integration and inclusiveness where there was no reciprocity between migrants and citizens of a country. The effect of the migrant population can be seen by the influence over the style

On September 9 th 2019, the Department of International Studies and History organized a guest lecture on ‘Comparative Foreign Policies of Rising Powers’ by Professor Deepa M. Ollapally, Research Professor of International Affairs and the Associate Director of the Sigur Center for Asian Studies at the Elliott School of International Affairs, George Washington University. Professor Ollapally began the lecture by quoting Paul Kennedy’s 1987 work ‘The Rise and Fall of Great Powers’. She compared the countries considered as rising powers then, as compared to now, such as India, which was not included in his works. She stated that the label of ‘rising power’ is determined by multiple factors of the foreign policy like economic responsibilities and relations, military (defence) networks, cultural influences and future resources. One of such examples which utilizes these indicators is the Lowy Institute’s Asia Power Index, which ranks India as 4 th , after China and Japan, in terms of e

On the joyous occasion of Teachers’ day, the post graduate students from the Department of International Studies and History, organised a cultural programme to express their heartfelt gratitude and adulation for their professors, on 4th September, 2019. The evening was filled with several performances that displayed nothing less than immense exuberance and joy. All the faculty members of the Department of International Studies and History were presented with a token of the students’ appreciation. The cultural programme concluded with a jam session, where students and teachers grooved zestfully to famous Bollywood numbers.