Faculty Spotlight #1 : Prof. Rohith Jyothish

Writer; Tamanna Yadav

This is a part of the Bullein’s ‘Faculty Spotlight series- an initiative to familiarize the student body with faculty members across the school. Team Bulletin is excited to share the first edition ft. Professor Rohith Jyothish.

Hi, I am Rohith Jyothish. I am an assistant professor at the Jindal School of International Affairs. My background is in political economy, and I teach subjects like Political Economy of Development, Environment and Energy Economics, among others.

Q: What was your thought process like while selecting the courses you offer?

Well, three of the subjects I offer are core subjects for undergraduate students in political science. So, at most, what I try to do is offer a diversity of viewpoints in each of the courses .One elective that I offer as of now is environment and energy economics. As the subject says, it is quite important these days, but I try to offer it in such a way that it is accessible for both undergraduate as well as masters students, and it is from a much more pragmatic policy perspective rather than a lot of theory.

Q: What core themes do your courses cover, and who is it for?

Yes, for the three core courses obviously are undergraduate students in political science, that is, electoral politics and analysis, political economy of development, as well as principles of economics. What students will notice is that when they take my courses, my approach is significantly different in each. So, for instance, in principles of economics, it will be a heterodox approach, meaning that there will be a lot of critique of mainstream economics, but with a diversity of perspective even within the critique.

Q: Could you describe the takeaways from your courses in a few short phrases?

So, for political economy of development, for instance, I cover history of development from the experiences of multiple regions across the world, with the prominent theme being that there is no single story in development; there are, in fact, many combinations of state markets, many different kinds of histories of protests, colonialism, and even belief in modernization that have led to development in different parts of the world.

Q: What are some tips you’d like to share with students who want to enroll in your course?

I would say, keep an open mind. My belief in the classroom is that whatever reading I have prescribed, my job as an instructor is to defend the reading. As a student, you should absolutely be able to challenge it, but I will continue defending the reading and not my own opinion. You will rarely hear me say my own opinion. Of course, sometimes I do it as equipped but mostly my job is to defend the textbook, and I would expect you to respect the textbook but then be able to offer a robust critique of it.

You can contact Prof Jyothish on;

Outlook: rjyothish@jgu.edu.in

LinkedIn: http://linkedin.com/in/rohith-jyothish-06b293198