History

• An updated and varied curriculum caters to the needs of the changing world, such as Historians and Historical Writings, the History of Madras, the Contemporary World, the Ecological History of India, the History of Science and  Technology in Modern India, the History of North-East India, economic history of India, International Relations, etc.
• Comprehensive coverage of Indian History equips students for competitive exams, CTET, NET and SET.
• Diversity of Courses on history of various countries such as History of Europe, History of USA, History of England, History of China and Japan, History of West Asia and History of South East Asia that are relevant for contemporary knowledge of world politics.
• Our unique programme B.A. History (Vocational): Archaeology and Museology provides specialized courses such as History of Technologies in Ancient India, Epigraphy and Numismatics, Techniques of Museum Display and Methods of Museology, etc.
• Innovation based internal continuous assessment component to kindle the creative and innovative genius of the students and to augment their skills.
• Skill Based Training with Project submission offers a Project based learning experience for the students.
• Special Lectures, Endowment Lectures, Seminars/Conferences/Workshops provide the much-needed exposure to the latest developments in the field by eminent scholars.
• Annual Department Tours and Trips enhances the learning experience with field exposure.
• The Service Learning and extension activities provide the students with experiential learning and an opportunity to convert their knowledge into practical experience that benefits the community.

The History Association of the Department of History, founded in 1891, is one of the oldest associations in the country. It is a semi-academic student body, and all Department students are members.

Freshers Meet: The students of the Department welcome the freshers officially in a fun-filled event.

Inaugural of its Activities: The History Association begins its activities with an inaugural in the academic year. An eminent scholar delivers a special lecture.

Special Lectures: The Association arranges special lectures for the students throughout the academic year. One important event is the Madras Day celebrations, which are commemorated with a special lecture and an exhibition.

Istoria: Istoria is the annual student intercollegiate competition organized by the Association. Students from the city colleges compete in various competitions, such as debates, quiz, creative writing, etc.

Annual History Students Conference: Students from our college and outside come and present their research papers on a given theme. It is a forum especially for undergraduate and postgraduate students to present their research papers.

Farewell: The events of the Association end with the farewell day organized for the final-year students.

Dr Chandran Devanesen Endowment Lecture, Dr C. Minakshi Endowment Lecture and Dr C.J. Nirmal Endowment Lecture are annual events. In 2023-24, they were delivered by Prof. N. Rajendran, Former Vice-Chancellor, Alagappa University, Dr V. Venkatraman, Former Principal, Rajapalayam Rajus’ College and Dr M. Lakshmanan, Former Head of the Department, Department of History, Presidency College, Chennai, respectively.

Renowned historians such as Dr. Ramachandra Guha, Prof. Mridula Mukherjee, Prof. Aditya Mukherjee, Prof. Rajan Gurukkal, Dr. Esterine Kire, Prof. R. Mahalakshmi, Prof. K.A. Manikumar were among those who had delivered the lectures earlier.

81st Session of Indian History Congress: The 81st Session of the Indian History Congress was hosted by the Department of History, Madras Christian College, between 27th and 29th December 2022. Previously, the Indian History Congress was held four times in the state of Tamil Nadu, viz., in 1944 at the University of Madras, in 1945 at Annamalai University, in 1984 at Annamalai University and in 1996 at the University of Madras. Hon’ble Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, Thiru M.K. Stalin, inaugurated the 81 st Session of the Congress. Thiru Dr. K. Ponmudi, Hon’ble Minister for Higher Education, and Thiru Thangam Thenarasu, Hon’ble Minister for Industries, Tamil Official Language and Tamil Culture and Archaeology, graced the occasion. Prominent historian and office bearers of the Indian History Congress, Prof. Kesavan Veluthat, Prof. Shireen Moosvi, Prof Dr. Mahalakshmi, Dr. Burton Cletus, Dr. P. Subbarayalu, and Prof. Bodh Prakash were present. Renowned historians, professors, and research scholars from across India attended the event. More than 1000 research papers were presented and an estimated 1500 delegates participated in the session, which was divided into six sections viz. Ancient Indian History, Medieval Indian History, Modern Indian History, Contemporary India, Archaeology and Countries other than India. Out of six special panels, Madras Christian College organized two special panels: Archaeology and Cultural Heritage of Tamil Nadu and Discourse on Dravidian Studies.

Special Lectures/Conferences/Seminars and Workshops

Almost every year the Department organizes special lectures, conferences, seminars and workshops for the benefit of students. Even during lockdowns, the Department organized a series of seven International Webinar Series and three national webinars under the title Azadi Ka Amrith Mahatsov commemorating the 75 years of India’s independence. A national skill development programme on Paleography was organized in the online mode in 2021.

The recent events are the Special Lecture by Kim Yongjun of the Korea University commemorating the Centenary of the Declaration of the Harappan Civlization, Seminar on Contemporary Polity, Society and Culture – commemorating Prof. M.S.S Pandian’s contributions; and Workshop on Stone Tool Knapping.

Exhibitions: Under the banner of Vestiges of Madras, the Department regularly organizes exhibitions commemorating Madras Day. The exhibits would consist of Archaeological exhibits, coins, stamps and exhibits from other partners.

Excavation Training and Field Visits: As a part of experiential learning the Department of History organizes practical training for vocational students by taking them to the excavation sites and giving them hands-on experience. Recently, the students participated in the Vadakkupattu excavation, which was conducted by the Archaeological Survey of India. The five-days training in excavation was instrumental in gaining experience on a variety of in archaeological excavation and exploration. Students benefitted by learning basic cleaning of the site to laying down trench to recording of evidence. The students also visited the Chettimedu excavation site near Chengelpet which was excavated by the Department of Ancient Indian History of the University of Madras.

Pyrsos
Pyrsos is the Department of History Bi-annual Newsletter, which is a platform especially for students to express themselves through articles, sketches, paintings etc.

The Department has many prizes and scholarships that are awarded to students annually. There are prizes, merit scholarships, means scholarships and merit cum means scholarships.

PRIZES

(Prizes shall be either awarded individually or shared among students)

SCHOLARSHIPS

(Scholarships shall be awarded either individually or shared among students based on merit & need)