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Rationale_and_ScopeThe_M.Phil_in_Comparative_Politics_and_Political_Theory_would_encourage_research_scholars_to_interrogate_mainstream_disciplinary_practices_and_contribute_towards_making_the_corpus_of_political_thought_and_practice_truly_global.The_rationale_of_the_programme_is_to_put_theories_of_the_'political'_in_comparison_within_hitherto_unfamiliar_frames_of_reference,_both_from_the_global_South,_as_well_as_from_'Western'_philosophy_and_theory._We_expect_'theory'_to_be_grounded,_and_to_be_produced_from_within_the_location_being_studied,_and_hence,_much_work_might_involve_the_use_of_research_methods_across_disciplines_–_ethnography,_archival_research,_visual_culture._Critique_for_us_would_imply_also_development_of_alternative_arguments.The_study_of_political_systems_has_for_long_relied_on_three_broad_types_of_analytical_tools_-_structural_functionalism_of_systems_theory;_political-economic_interpretations_of_state_and_society;_and_the_theory_of_the_third_world_system_and_its_dependency_on_first_world_developmental_model._But_as_the_Western_hegemony_in_intellectual_tools_gets_questioned,_the_presumed_universality_of_its_theories_too_has_been_facing_the_challenge_of_'diversality'_–_Walter_Mignolo's_term_expressing_the_universality_of_diversity._The_critique_of_the_foundational_significance_of_western_theory_has_drawn_its_sustenance_from_the_ontological_engagement_with_the_diversity_of_knowledge_worlds_and_the_distinctive_political_thinking_evident_in_its_divergent_manifestations,_especially_in_the_global_South. _Our_scope_of_'comparison'_therefore_would_be_wide_enough_to_include_theories_emerging_from_disparate_experiences_across_the_globe_and_not_from_Euro-American_traditions_alone.The_programme_will_aim_at_engaging_with_the_world_of_political_concepts_and_practices_in_comparative_perspectives._Courses_would_focus_on_thought_from_the_Global_South_as_well_as_Indian_thinking_in_particular,_comparative_understanding_of_nationalism_as_theory_and_practice;_and_thinking_beyond_the_rational_in_politics._The_Research_Methods_course_would_strive_to_offer_students_tools_of_critical_comparison,_and_practical_training_in_doing_research._The_Seminar_Course_would_train_students_in_writing_skills,_and_help_them_to_finalize_their_research_topic_by_the_end_of_the_second_semester. Compulsory_coursesCP_601_Research_MethodsCP_602_Seminar_Course Optional_CoursesCP_651N_Comparing_the_Political:_Concepts_and_Practices – Dr_Mollica_DastiderCP_652_Counter-hegemonic_Thought_in_the_Global_South – Prof_Nivedita_Menon/Prof_PK_DattaCP_653_Theorizing_Politics_beyond_the_Rational – Dr_Mohinder_SinghCP_659_New_Perspectives_in_Nationalism – Dr._Ravi_Rameshchandra_ShuklaCP_655N_Political_Economy_of_the_Modern_Prison – Dr._Jyoti_Bhosale