Riddhi Bhandari

Pedagogy of care can be conceptualized as a framework for teaching and mentoring students where care and empathy are extended to both students and faculty, and where conversations on disciplinary professionalism and integrity coexist alongside the increasing demand for a skill-based, job-market centered educational training. In the current higher-ed context, pedagogy of care advocates for reflexive care for faculty, who are increasingly placed in the position of caregiver for students. This project is centered on the Indian experience–it focuses on higher-ed institutions in India, including private and public universities, that increasingly cater to interdisciplinary students, where courses on anthropology and sociology are offered with an eye on skill-development of research methods and critical thinking, and that employ a significant number of ad-hoc and short-term faculty. A symposium was organized to bring together early-to-mid career Indian academics and was held in New Delhi, May 17-19, 2024. It was divided into four thematic sessions (experiences of teaching in India academia, politics of teaching, teaching as care-work, and disciplinary reconfigurations) and one keynote dialogue where the speakers deliberated on the past, present, and future of Indian academia, drawing from their own experiences and those of the speakers.