Teaching history is quite different to teaching other subjects. The history classroom is utterly different to science classrooms and is even quite different to classrooms in other disciplines of humanities and social sciences.Good history teachers are storytellers as well as instructors.They usually create an argumentative and productive learning environment using textbooks and outside resources including primary and secondary materials, and relevant interactive media.

Seminars and Inter-Departmental Exchange Lectures

To meet this high standard, the faculty members of the Department of History:

• Systematically evaluate student progress, projects and assignments and take remedial classes for the weak students.
• Keep abreast of current and significant historical events and conveniently relate them to topics from the past while taking classes.
• Arrange regular visits to places of historical interest, cultural centres and museums to introduce students to the primary sources of history.
• Organise seminars and inter-departmental exchange lectures as well as invite external experts to talk on a specific theme.
• Compile notes on selected topics, copy and pass them to the students for better understanding of the subject.
• Use charts, posters, timelines, annotated maps, newspaper cuttings, cartoon strips, paintings, photographs, idols of ancient sculptures, and coinages of different ages so that the students become aware of, study and use variety of historical evidences.
• Often screen historical feature films, documentaries and slides in the classroom to augment the consciousness about the many voices of history.
• Utilise smart class room facility for ICT integrated teaching.
• Through chalk and talk method, take regular classes in an interactive way.
• Prepare lesson plans, typed up and circulate them among the students at the outset of the term

The Department of History prides itself on its supportive environment, well-designed infrastructure and research-led teaching programme. The well scheduled courses and classes of the department help students to develop genuine curiosity and advanced skills including critical thinking and writing about history.Apart from classroom based teaching and learning, the student are continuously encouraged to go out of the classroom and do on-site maps, photography, local surveys, questionnaires or interviews. They are expected to prepare scrapbooks, wall charts, posters, timelines, and maps.

Student Participation in Seminar

The students are also motivated to participate in co-curricular and extra-curricular activities like seminars, workshops, projects, debates, cultural activities and sports within and outside the college, which largely equip them to make career choices in diverse fields such as teaching, research, bureaucracy, media, performing arts, corporate service and other fields.

Over the years, the department is arranging seminars, workshops and inter-departmental exchange lectures. These lead to an all-round development of the students. The department regularly invites internationally acclaimed historians for giving lectures with a view to disseminate advanced knowledge in chosen fields of history. Some distinguished speakers who recently visited the department are:

Prof Sekhar Bandyopadhyay at the Departmental Seminar

• Dr DebashisBasu (Well-known Scholar, Kolkata).
• Prof GautamBhadra (Formerly Professor of History, Centre for Studies in Social Sciences, Calcutta).
• Prof BrajadulalChattopadhyaya (Formerly Professor of History, Centre for Historical Studies, School of Social Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi).
• Prof SekharBandyopadhyay (Professor of History, School of History, Philosophy, Political Science and International Relations, Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand).
• Prof DipeshChakrabarty (Lawrence A. Kimpton Distinguished Service Professor of History, South Asian Languages and Civilizations, The University of Chicago, USA).

Departmental Excursion

The department regularly arranges excursions to places of historical interest, cultural centres and museums. It provides an opportunity for discerning minds to engage beyond the usual constructs of classroom teaching. The departmental wall magazine ITIKATHA provides a platform for students to write articles on diverse historical topics and about their experiences in the college.

Faculty Achievements

The faculty members of the department are involved in a wide range of interdisciplinary activities and have earned local and national recognitions. They continuously attend lectures, seminars, workshops and faculty development programmes in order to update themselves. They are closely involved with the University of Calcutta for syllabi structuring and revision, as well as with the University examination process.All the faculty members conduct serious research and publish their findings in national and international journals.

The following table represents the success rate of the honours students in BA final examination in the last five academic years.

UG to PG- 65%, PG to MPhil-3%, Employed-20%, Entrepreneurship-12%