The Indian Institute of Technology Delhi is an institution of excellence, recognised for the academic calibre and versatility of its educational programme worldwide. The Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, with its excellent faculty in Economics, Literature, Linguistics, Philosophy, Psychology and Sociology, contributes to this excellence. IITs are mandated to pursue teaching and research in science, technology and arts. IIT Delhi regards knowledge of Humanities and Social Sciences as a core value. Inspired by the vision and values, this department offers a wide range of courses to the students of technology, runs a vibrant PhD program, and contributes to expanding the frontiers of knowledge in Humanities and Social Sciences.
IITs are mandated to pursue teaching and research in science, technology and arts. IIT Delhi regards knowledge of Humanities and Social Sciences as a core value.
The Department of Humanities and Social Sciences at IIT Delhi (IITD) is uniquely placed to make a significant contribution to the world of research and education, both because of the nature of the Department and by virtue of its location in one of India's premier science and technology institutions. The hiring of a significant number of top-class faculty members in recent years that reflected and added to the Department's historical strengths has already allowed it to raise its profile further within and outside IITD.
Indeed, the Department is already seen as having a range of exciting scholarly activities, drawing on the multiple disciplines represented in the Department in a way that does not necessarily hew to tradition but is open to new approaches that reflect the evolving nature of many disciplines. It also promotes and supports multidisciplinary work of the kind that is possible only when creative researchers from various disciplines are in close locational and intellectual proximity.
The Department currently has 40 faculty members, loosely organized into - Economics, Linguistics, Literature, Philosophy, Psychology and Sociology. They represent a rather eclectic grouping, with research explorations that often go well beyond the discipline and contribute to the redefining of the discipline and foray into multidisciplinary teaching and research.
To illustrate, we have faculty members who focus on formal linguistics but also those who work on exploring the common foundations of language, emotion, and culture (funded by a major grant from the Department of Science and Technology). We have faculty members who focus on the philosophy of the mind, but also those who are interested in studying the interface between philosophy and technology. And we have faculty members who like to examine the theoretical underpinnings of the linkages between trade and innovation, and those who are interested in the design and analysis of programs to provide public goods.
VISION
Our vision is to:
- continue to build on our history and recent evolution, and, through careful and
strategic growth, - develop an academic entity that is seen as being on the vanguard of research and
training in the Humanities and Social Sciences, that helps make better critical thinkers
of India's brightest young minds, - contribute to the transformation of IITD into a 21st-century science and engineering
education institution, and - work with partners within and outside IITD to address India's developmental challenges.