The study of humanities and social sciences is not only for those with academic inclinations but also for those who have an interest in public policy, learning about society, understanding social, political and economic issues and so on. Concepts from social sciences and the humanities do not just train minds for academic pursuits, but help to understand the world around them better.
Which is why we, in The Hindu, try to add conceptual analysis as part of our offerings on explanatory journalism in these pages on Text & Context. But there are dedicated websites today that feature academics writing for a general audience, essentially opinion and analysis provided by those employed in institutions such as universities, that are melded with news analysis and research reports.
The Conversation, for e.g., is a good resource of such work — what began in Australia in 2011 has now spread to other international editions in Africa, Canada, France, the U.K. and the U.S. A not-for-profit network of media outlets, The Conversation serves the purpose of publishing news and research reports that are composed mostly by academicians and researchers, under a Creative Commons Licence, allowing reuse without modification. The website played a vital role in bringing out research reports during the COVID-19 pandemic.
In India, long standing journals such as the Economic and Political Weekly (EPW) have long straddled the space between academic publishing and writing in public interest. The unique journal/magazine features commentaries on popular news subjects besides peer reviewed research articles published from across the social sciences and humanities spectrum. What began as the Economic Weekly in 1949 and was rechristened as the EPW in 1966 continues to remain a leading port of call for society scientists across disciplines in India.
But what has set EPW, brought out by the Sameeksha Trust, apart from other distinguished journals published in India is the fact that it has allowed for conversations on matters of public interest between different representatives of civil society — activists, academicians, government officials, students, and intellectuals while being a peer-reviewed publication of academic standing as well.
In recent years, since the Internet boom, there have been similar initiatives to bring academic expertise to journalism and in popular mediums. Websites such as Ideas for India — an economics and policy portal — utilise the writings of social scientists to target a wide audience beyond policymakers and researchers.
Then, there is The India Forum, published by the Vichar Trust, which has featured articles on contemporary issues by academic writers but written for a general audience in an engaging manner. The website has featured a diversity of themes related to public interest - from the economy to climate change to health to technology, society, gender, history, law among others. It includes several formats of articles including explainers and critical commentaries and has also provided a forum for post-graduate students of social science to weigh in on issues of public import.
This is not an exhaustive list of websites that attest to serious and scholar-driven journalism in an accessible way on the Internet. But for those keen on looking for outlets other than the mainstream media (and the press) to be educated on issues related to public interest, the aforementioned websites are a good starting point.
