Departments - Kannada University, Hampi

Department of Anthropology

Department of Development Studies

Department of Development Studies (DDS) is a research department in the faculty of Social Science in Kannada University. With the intention of making the University more relevant to the local civil society (Civil Society of Hyderabad Karnataka) the DDS was established on the 1st March 1996. It is (University and the DDS) located near the well-known historical heritage - Hampi. DDS lays emphasis on multidisciplinary perspectives both in defining the thrust areas and also in opting methodologies of inquiry.

Department of Tribal Studies

The objective of the Department is to conduct an extensive research into the lives of the Tribes in Karnataka. The Department apart from conducting ethnographic, field work based documentation and analysis of the socio-economic life of the tribes, records and publishes their knowledge and literature which is available only in the oral form. The Department has published a series of oral epics thus collected, which has won the appreciation of the academic world.

Department of Epigraphy

Epigraphy is the main source for the reconstruction of History and culture. Without the source of Epigraphy the reconstructing of the history cannot be completed. The Department of Epigraphy has shouldered the responsibility of publishing the inscriptions with particular reference to North Karnataka and Karnataka in general. Inscriptions are not only for the source of history, but also useful to know the languages, scripts, tax, administration-local self government religious and social life during the early medieval period.

Department of Ancient History and Archaeology

Department of History

Department of History conducts research on the history of Karnataka. The department has brought out a comprehensive history of Karnataka in seven volumes and an Encyclopedia of History in Kannada. It has also come out with a series on various social movements of post-reunification of Karnataka. Apart from research it also conducts teaching and guidance for research programs.

Department of Folklore Studies

Folklore today has developed into a highly specialized area of research. The Department of Folklore has taken up projects of complication of both oral and written texts and interpretation of the same from an interdisciplinary perspective. The department is functioning with the intention of finding and disseminating knowledge, which are unrecognized or hitherto marginalized (what can be called as desi, local knowledge). Field work, compilation, Analysis, Dialogue with the scholars in the field are the methods adopting to achieve the objective of the department.

Department of Music and Dance

The Department offers training in traditional and classical music both Hindustani and Karnataka style in Gurukula model of teaching. The Department three-year undergraduate course. The Department imparts skills to students through lectures/teaching/ learning, practical demonstration by the faculty, and also by the professionals in the field, hands-on training, discussion etc. The students of the department have given several performances all over Karnataka and have won accolades. The Department regularly organizes programs.

Department of Sculpture and Paintings

The Department imparts training in Sculpture and Painting to students. The department is running a two year foundation course and three-year undergraduate course in both the art-disciplines. The department inculcate skills in students through practical classes held by renowned teachers who are also well known professionals in the field.

Department of Women Studies

The department started functioning as Department of Women's studies since 1999 with the faculty who were specilized in women's studies. The department undertakes examination and rewriting of existing knowledge in all the disciplines from the point of view of feminism, as part of it rewriting of history of Kannada literature is taken up in a big way. Apart from examining existing knowledge the projects related to gender studies are also taken up in a major way.

Department of Manuscriptology

Since its inception in 1996, the department is making efforts to collect all kinds of manuscripts and protect them to know our past. The activity involves four stages: => Collecting the Manuscripts => Editing => Studying and => Publishing.

Department of Translation Studies

Department of Translations has set itself three objectives for its functioning: research, training/teaching and actual translation projects. Several research projects related to translation, semiotics and intercultural studies have been taken up like Colonialism and Translation, Cultural aspects of Translation in both pre-colonial and post-colonial period, Kerala and Kannada culture, Marathi and Kannada culture.

Department of Dravidian Studies

The Department was functioning as Department of Foreign and Other Indian Languages earlier and since 1998-99 the Department is functioning under the present name. The objective of the Department is to carry out comparative research in the languages, cultures of South India. It also to foster comradeship among South India cultures. The focus of the Department is on Malayalam, Tulu, Tamil and Telugu.

Department of Kannada Language Studies

The Department undertakes systematic study of Kannada language. The Department has udertaken projects like study of the dialects of Kannada language, preparing language registers of certain professions, which are under erasure in the context of new technological developments like agriculture, blacksmiths, weaving, etc., preparing Encyclopedia of Language in Kannada, preparing standard transliteration forms for English words in Kannada.

Department of Kannada Literature

The focus of the department is to take up systematic study of Kannada Lliterature in the sense of creative writing and also in the sense of all texts in Kannada both oral and written. The texts (both written and oral) are placed in the larger matrix of culture to research on various issues related to history, society, polity. The literary texts are read and interpreted in the light of recent theories so as to re-read them from the context of the present.