New Delhi: Historian and biographer Ramachandra Guha is set to join Ahmedabad University as the Shrenik Lalbhai chair professor of humanities and director of the Gandhi Winter School at the university’s School of Arts and Sciences.
A private, non-profit university, Ahmedabad University offers undergraduate, graduate and doctoral programs in several disciplines including science, humanities, engineering and management.
At the university, Guha is expected to “help imagine a curriculum that lies at the intersection of history and other streams in the Humanities, as well as explore how history can enrich diverse disciplines, spanning technology, business and even specialisations such as life-sciences, heritage management or environment and energy,” a statement by the university said.
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“Very pleased to share the news that I shall be joining Ahmedabad University as the Shrenik Lalbhai Professor of the Humanities,” Guha tweeted.
“I am absolutely delighted to be joining the faculty of Ahmedabad University. Ahmedabad has a great tradition of public-spirited philanthropy in the sphere of higher education; and Ahmedabad University is a notable renewal and extension of that tradition. I am impressed by the University’s interdisciplinary approach, its mix of sagacious older and superb younger faculty, and its visionary leadership. And I have known and loved Ahmedabad ever since my first visit there forty years ago; to now return, to teach and work in the city where Mahatma Gandhi made his home and nurtured the freedom movement, excites me beyond measure,” Edex Live quoted Guha as saying.
Professor Pankaj Chandra, vice-chancellor of the university, said, “We are delighted that Ram Guha will be part of the evolving story of Ahmedabad University as we establish new standards in Indian higher education. With the interest in liberal education gaining impetus in India, Dr. Guha will bring his interpretation of history including environmental, political, contemporary and even cricket history to develop interesting and powerful programmes and research that stand at the confluence of various disciplines. Equally important, his presence will help the University build our own dialogue around Gandhi,” Professor Chandra said, as reported by Edex Live.
Guha is a well-known Indian academic who has taught at various universities in India and abroad, including Yale University, Stanford University and the Indian Institute of Science. His books include The Unquiet Woods, India after Gandhi, Gandhi Before India, and the latest, Gandhi: the Years That Changed the World.