“Civic Virtue and the Pandemic” – A Critical Inquiry through Research Methods
(A Two-Phased Research Workshop)
12 June 2021 & 26 June, 2021
An Initiative by the Department of Political Science, Tetso College.
Coordinators: Dr Sabur Ali & Dr V Vijaya Chamundeswari
Objectives:
1. To debate on the relevance of civic virtue during the times of chaos and crisis in the context of the pandemic.
2. To introduce students to the world of critical inquiry.
3. To provide a platform for collaborative learning from scholars and intellectuals.
Concept Note:
Civic virtue is part of ancient Greek philosophy and later championed by liberal thinkers. It deals with the effective functioning of civil and political order, helping in the preservation of traditional ideals. How can one define Civic virtue? It depends on the political systems, types of public good and people’s demand of what kind of good. Today, there is visible change to this definition of civic virtue. This may be due to the decline in civility among citizens in relation to their engagements with society. The changing role of the state and increase in market control leads to shifts in citizens’ loyalties and values. In the early stages of the formation of the state, civic virtue meant mandating citizens pay taxes which later on extended to citizen participation. Today, when the world is ravaged by the pandemic, what is the role of civic virtue? Is it just limited to the contours of citizenship duties or does it go beyond that? How the notions of active participation, trustworthiness and reciprocity can be acquired during pandemic? These questions will be debated and discussed in this workshop using research tools.
Phase – I Session 1
Order of programme
Chair: Ms N Phewang Konyak, MA Political Science
Date: 12 June 2021 Time: 9:00 AM to 10:30 AM
Guest of Honour: Dr S Elika Assumi, Dean of School of Social sciences and Humanities, Tetso College.
1. Significance of research methods in social sciences. ( Mr Bharat N, faculty of Journalism and Mass Communication, North Eastern Hill University)
2. Civic virtue in Political Thought (Dr. Vijaya Chamundeswari, Department of Political Science, Tetso College)
3. Politicization of Civic virtue (Dr Sabur Ali M, Department of Political Science, Tetso College)
Break: 10:30 AM to 10: 45 AM
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Phase – I Session 2
Duration: 10:45 AM- 12:00 PM
Chair: Dr Sabur Ali
Panel discussion by
“Civic Virtue: theory and Practice in Western Liberal Democracies”
Shiva Rajendran, Masters in International Security, Paris and Master of Law, Georgetown University,Washington.
“Civic Virtue and public good”
Dr Babu G, Assistant Professor, Department of Public Administration, Mizoram University.
Concluding Remarks: Ms Sulito Shohe, MA Political Science
