Humanities Electives

-​Compiled by Aryaman Agrawal

Before moving on towards an overview of the various

electives which are offered, here are some important things
which you should know :
1. ADDITION​:
At the time of registration if you do not fill any HuEl, the server will notify you
about the same and you will receive a backlog, so you can add a course at the
time of addition. This is pretty risky, so it is suggested that you pick any HuEl at
the time of registration, be it of your choice or not, and later on add another
one making a total of 2 HuEls in the same semester. If you excel, well and good
otherwise you can withdraw (4​th​ point).

2. DIFFICULT TIME TABLE CASE​:

If you fall under the category of a difficult time table case, you are not given
any HuEl. However, you can choose upto 1 HuEl at the time of addition of
courses.

3. SUBSTITUTION​:
In case you are not able to get your preferred HuEl, you can substitute it at the
time of Substitution.

4. WITHDRAW​:
In case you are unable to get a good grade in the elective or if you lose interest
in the same, you have an option to drop the course just after midsems ( before
the midsem grading) as long as you have another HuEl. The withdrawn course
need not be repeated and is not counted in the GPA.
However, this course will be listed with a ‘W’ sign on your score card.

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Some Key Points:

1. Dualites will have to complete all 3 HuEls in 2nd year itself otherwise you
get a backlog which is not actually any academic misconduct but
indicates that you'll have to do it later(which might prove to be a burden
if you have lesser slots later on)

2. We don't generally get DELs in 2-1

3. You might manage to get an OpEl but not generally advised unless you
are actually inclined towards learning it.

4. Generally students complete HuEls in the 2nd year(even single degree

students) so that they can concentrate on OpEls and DELs later.

5. The concept of OpEls is to get an insight into fields other than your
branch of choice. For DELs it is to get knowledge regarding the branch
specific interests.

6. Any HuEl taken after the required 8 units(3 huels), is considered as an

OpEl.

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Here is a brief description about the various Electives which are offered:

1. APPLIED PHILOSOPHY
The huel mainly focus on the philosophical perspective of different
philosophers to understand various issues that prevail in society. The pre
mid sem part focuses on memorizing and post mid sem, merely general
discussion! Nothing to understand much; just memorize all the slides and
material and write the exact definitions to get a good grade. Initially, the
course discusses ancient Greek and modern western philosophers -
Plato, Sigmund Freud etc. The course then goes on to touchstone various
topics -Abortion, Euthanasia etc.- on philosophical standards. However, the
instructor would reward you for attending the classes.
Grading: ​Tough

2. APPR OF INDIAN MUSIC

The course is easy for those who have prior knowledge about Indian
classical music but is a nightmare for other students. Attendance not
compulsory. Not recommended for students not having any prior music
knowledge.
Grading: ​Easy

3. COMPARATIVE INDIAN LIT

Short stories from various regions of the country are read and analysed in
the class. Stories related to various issues such as dowry system, feminism,
caste etc are taught. Most of them are depressing and describe the reality
of life for the oppressed. KSB is amazing at analyzing and humorously
pointing out the ironies of the perception of society in general which he
expects to bring it out in the stories chosen.
Grading: ​Avg Grade - C; Avg+15 – B

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4. CONTEMPORARY INDIA
The course starts from the Battle of Plassey (1957) and ends around the
Bangladesh Liberation War (1971). Really good for individuals who wish to
know about the pre and post-independence Indian history. Other than this,
some of the startling problems of modern Indian society like patriarchy,
orientalism and farmer issues are also discussed.
Grading: ​Easy

5. CREATIVE THINKING
Academically speaking, this has got to be one of the easiest HUEL. It’s taken
by Sangeeta Sharma, one of the most fun and easy-going professor you’ll
ever get to know. Now, keep in mind that if you take this course, be ready
to attend classes since nearly in nearly all of them there is a graded
assignment. You’ll be made to perform different activities and taken out of
your comfort zone. Opportunity will be provided to explore different
activities like dramatics, singing, photography, entrepreneurship etc. The
Mid-Sem and Compre were a bit weird, but nothing one can’t manage.
You’ll only need a couple of hours to prepare for them though.
Grading: ​Top 35 students got A, next 15 got A- and so on. The strength was
205.

6. CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF LITERTAURE AND CINEMA

The course follows learning through a well-designed handout, morals, and
analysis of short stories, interpretation of Comics from a social radical,
critical analysis of media and movies and A novel which act as a summary to
the course handout. Interesting course. Almost all evaluative are open
book. Need to be regular in class to get a good grade.
Grading: ​Avg =B-; Avg+10 = B; Avg+ 35 = A

7. CROSS CULTURAL SKILLS

The course is very theoretical and has little to understand (although going
to class is always beneficial). Fill pages in the examination to get more
marks. It also had evaluative components like GD, presentation. The course

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 is good if you want to learn more about foreign cultures. There are too
many presentations and assignments which consumes a hell lot of time. It is
advisable to take this course only when you have an interest in it.
Grading: ​Avg+2=B-; Avg+16=B; Avg+32=A

8. DYN OF SOCIAL CHANGE

The course is quite interesting, but the instructor demands point to point
answers crammed from Notes, which might be a downfall. All in all, the
classes are interesting and engaging. It is advisable not to opt for this until
interested or left with no choice. Covers political ideologies and social
affairs like castes, secularism, etc.
Grading: ​Hard; B at avg+17 (100 marks course)

9. CURRENT AFFAIRS
Very easy course if you are used to the following day to day news. Most of
the questions asked are from the topics in mainstream media. No need to
study anything before exams if you are following the news regularly.
Questions asked in mid sems and compres are mostly long answer/ essay
type and you just have to write your opinions on current issues. No need to
go to class. He discusses everything in class so if you attend classes no need
to read newspapers. Assignments are very easy. The test will be announced
and It is important that you get good marks here because mark distribution
is not very wide in exams. Midsem and compre questions have predictable
topics.
Grading: ​Easy

10.ENVIRON DEV & CLIMATE CHANGE

The name suggests it all. It's about environment related issues and causes
of destruction. All political, economic, social and environmental issues are
correlated in ways that seem obvious but new. You will be introduced to
terms that help you in general environment related debates and projects.
Also, if you have EVS this semester, you might as well get some help from
this course (not so much). The problem with course is with the reading

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 material as the language isn't very easy to comprehend. So, if you aren't
comfortable with English, I would suggest that you don't go for this course.
Grading: ​Avg B-

11. ​GANDHIAN THOUGHTS

The course revolves around Gandhi's life and ideology - from his birth
(1869) to histrial in the Bombay High Court (1922). You would study from
his own works namely – My Experiments with Truth, Satyagraha in South
Africa and Hind Swaraj. Certainly not for individuals who venerate Gandhi.
He is admired, questioned, mocked, respected and abhorred, in various
degrees, on every topic that encompassed his life - From Satyagraha to his
sexual Experiments.
Grading: ​Easy

12.INTRO TO MASS COMM

This course is not actually about communication but about mass media i.e.
News, Movies, Internet and other forms of media. The course is highly
interactive with a full set of presentations, group discussions and more
obviously reports. This can be helpful in placements. This is one of the
courses in which you might feel that most classes are like conversations,
observations and stuff like that(I mean, you can't differentiate the casual
talks and the teaching). You surely need to have a fair enough grasp on
current affairs and history as well(especially the Indian Emergency).
Grading: ​Easy to moderate

13.INTRO PHILOSOPHY
The course is all about mugging up the things. The course book is about 700
pages and you must remember all the things. There is no need to attend
classes, just spare 2- 3 days before midsem and compre and you are good
to go. Take this course if you really want to apply some efforts because
nobody reads the book, so relatively scoring is easy. Both evaluations are
theoretical, and the quiz is scoring.
Grading: ​Easy

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14.INTRO PSYCHOLOGY
As the name suggests, this course introduces the student about basic
psychology behind the working of brain.
Grading: ​Avg = B; Av+20= A

15.LINGUISTICS
The course involves everything about a language- starting from the origin of
sounds to the death of a language. English is taken as the base language
and most discussion is about English, while other Indian languages are used
for comparison. The pronunciation, word formation, semantics, pragmatics,
and grammar of English are covered in depth. Also, ways of acquiring
languages and shift of language demographics are taught. The evaluation
components consisted of midsem, compre, a language assignment, a course
quiz (MCQ and fill in the blanks) and a case study.
Grading: ​Relatively hard

16.MAIN CURRENT OF MOD HIST

The course covers the past 2000 years briefly with a focus on the "Modern"
period i.e. 1500-1800. I'll just list out a few keywords as it is hard to
describe the entire course - Aristotle, Bible, Church, Spanish Inquisition,
Martin Luther, Discovery of America, Industrial Revolution, Copernicus, EIC,
French Revolution, and American Revolution. It is not as boring as it sounds.
Personally, I will say that if you have any interest in history TAKE THIS
COURSE. The instructor (Dr. Hari Nair) is phenomenal; you'll get to learn so
much more than history. There are screenings of movies related to the
course, documentaries are shown, and class discussions are encouraged.
Grading: ​Avg = B-; Av+20= B

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17.MASS MEDIA & CONTENT DES
Theory and practical, no need to go to classes and labs also to some extent,
only two labs evaluative one before midsem one after midsem. Midsem
and Compre are easy but you have to learn a lot of theory.
Grading: ​Av+5 = B

18.MOD POLITICAL CONCEPTS

This course is not about politics, it is about political concepts. The first part
of the course deals with the meanings and definitions of words like politics,
nation, state, gender, citizen, etc. Then, there are readings of major political
thinkers, namely Hobbes, Machiavelli, Rousseau, and Locke. The last part of
the course is involved with modern political philosophies like Liberalism,
Communism, Anarchism. The instructor, Prof. Hari Nair, is thorough and the
course demands time in the form of readings and a project.
Grading: ​Hard

19.ORGANIZATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY
This is a management course (You can find topics in MBA courses). The
course elaborated on hundred ways of how to keep employees in an
organization happy. Midsems and Compres are open laptops. Quizzes are
very easy. Content is not very useful unless you're interested in how
employees lead teams, handle stress etc.
Grading: ​Avg grade C; Av + 20 = B

20.PRINT & AUDIOVISU ADVER

Its fun attending classes. Got to learn a lot about the advertisement. It
changes one's perspective at looking at ad. One-day study before compre
would be more than sufficient but do attend class if you want A. Pretty easy
course as there are several assignments in the class which is announced.
Grading: ​Avg grade B-

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21.PROFESSIONAL ETHICS
Slides are sufficient and have been running for years. One day before
midsem and two days before compre are sufficient. The overall course and
evaluative are quite easy.
Grading: ​Avg grade B-, Av+25 = A

22.SYMBOLIC LOGIC
This elective is based on the interpretation of various kinds of logical
statements and identifying if they are valid or not. The methods to identify
them are all that is taught in the course. Understanding and applying the
concepts learner is easy. The first half, of Course, covers the history of logic,
Aristotelian logic which is bit theoretical. Post midsem covers Boolean logic
and is very scoring.
Grading: ​Easy

23.SRIMAD BHAGAVAD GITA

It is an excellent course which focuses on inculcating qualities which will
help you in living a good human life. The course content is fairly simple. You
don't need to remember any sholka/mantra. The course focuses on
teachings of Shri Lord Krishna (given to Arjuna). It will be a very efficient
course if you want to know a way to achieve true happiness and inner
peace. It will also introduce you to spiritualism. All lectures must be
attended to grasp the content. Reading of summaries from the internet
only without attending classes will be wasteful as the course is highly
concise whereas the subject Gita is not.
Grading: ​Avg was high(65/100)

24.TECH IN SOCIAL RESEARCH

Lectures are fairly easy. But you need to mug up things before the exam.
Only1 assignment where we have to write a research paper (which is not so
difficult in this case). Other assignments may be included depending upon
the instructor. It introduces you to form and the process of research. It

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 describes in detail ab out various types of research. It is fun if you are a
research-oriented person.
Grading: ​Avg+6 = B

25.PUBLIC POLICY
You will learn about the details of policies, their origins, how they shaped
today's government and how they affect us People generally take it to
understand the things. How actually things happen. But every time the
teacher used to ask the same type of questions who gave this theory. which
year he gave. She could pick any line and ask you to fill the blanks.
Grading: ​Moderate

26.HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT

HRD course seems quite easy. The teacher is nice. You can easily get 20 in 2
quiz.t. The instructor gives the same previous year compre and midsem
paper. But he does strict checking. For getting marks in compre you will
have to understand the course to get above B. Better if you take in 2-2.
Don't need to attend classes apart from the ones in which he conducts
quizzes Compre and midsems are open laptops.
Grading: ​8 people A and A-; 9-60 Rank B

27.PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION
Only people interested in going for civil services can focus on the content.
The overall course content is good though so if you're thinking of a Govt
job, do try.
Grading: ​Strict

28.EFFECTIVE PUBLIC SPEAKING

Extremely good course for people who want to improve their speaking
skills. The instructor is awesome, had many assignments which included
JAM sessions, speeches, GD, debates, and even personal interviews:).
Probably one of the best productive courses in BITS.
Grading: ​Av+5: B

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29.CREATIVE WRITING
Take the course only if interested. Mid-sem and compre include writing
poems, story, articles on your own imagination using a patch of data.
Grading: ​Moderate

30.REPORT WRITE FOR MEDIA

Report write for media has hectic evaluation scheme. Content is very good.
It has 7-8 fun assignments of 55% wtg of course. The instructor is Mr.
G.S.Chauhan, a very helpful professor. Classes are very interactive. You will
eagerly wait for the next class as soon as you complete one.
Grading: ​Tough

31.SHORT FILM AND VIDEO PRODUCTION

This course teaches you the basics involved in making a short film or
documentaries. One will have to do small assignments and complete one
video assignment- a 5-7m film. Take it if you are interested madly in video
production.
Grading: ​Moderate

32.LANGUAGE LAB PRACTICE

It is a Humanities/Open Lab course in English and has 3- hour sessions twice
a week. One of the most SAC courses BITS can offer where you can easily
score an A with least effort. The evaluation components cover the simple
technicalities of the language such as phonology, word spell, and
grammatical correctness. There is no compre, no homework, only
evaluative assignments that are conducted during the class itself. Being a
D2 core course, the number of seats available to other group students
might be less than 10 but it is a CG saver.
Grading: ​Easy

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33.GLOBAL BUSINESS TECH
The course deals with the importance of Technology and Knowledge
Sharing for developed and developing economies, trends in Foreign Direct
Investment, sourcing of R&D projects and Investments, Technology
Intermediation and Innovation etc.
Grading: ​Easy

34.INTRO TO CONFLICT MANAGEMENT

Totally theoretical and textbook based. Extremely lite course. Lenient
grading. 2 assignments and 1 quiz; ALL announced well in advanced.
5-out-of-8 choice based question paper. Write answers at least 2 pages
each.
Grading: ​Easy

35.BUSINESS COMMUNICATION
About the ways and people skills involved in business eg- meetings,
presentations, etc.
Grading: ​Avg B-

36.MUSICOLOGY AN INTRODUCTION
Music and it's philosophy, history of music, different theories regarding the
development of music, music as an exact science (mathematics), musical
terminology, musical forms, and their background, composers, artists and
their contributions, the music of different cultures, music and film world,
music therapy. Emphasis would be laid on research and knowledge gained
through self-experience.
Grading: ​Easy

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37.READING FROM DRAMA
It is one of the best courses if you like reading. There are marks for
attendance. Plays covered are Dr.Faustus, Macbeth, Abhigyana,
Shakuntalam, Mahabhartha. You will enjoy the course if you have done
CalCi.
Grading: ​Easy

38.COMPUTER MEDIATED COMMUNICATION

Nice course. Based on how communication technology advancement has
affected the relations and interactions and discusses other effects on
society. Just attend the classes and you would end up with a good grade.
Grading: ​Moderate

39.DEVELOPMENT ECONOMICS
The course is an introduction to the exciting and challenging subject of
development economics, which draws on several branches of economics in
order to elucidate and understand the development difficulties facing the
economies of world’s poor countries. It would combine description and
analysis with an emphasis on useful theoretical economic models for
understanding this complex phenomenon of economic development.
Grading: ​Moderate

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