Humanities Unplugged
Humanities Unplugged
Unlock Humanities' power! See how culture, media, and tech shape us. Boost critical thinking, media literacy, and careers.
Course Instructor
Prof.Merin Simi Raj
Duration
8 Weeks
Course Fee
500
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About The Course
Humanities Unplugged, an 8-week course by Prof.Merin Simi Raj (IITMadras), provides an academic and professional introduction to Humanities, by exploring how culture, media, and technology shape our understanding of the world. The course is designed to demonstrate how our identities are shaped by storytelling, how technology is changing the way we learn, think, and remember, and how creative expression can lead to social change. Through interactive activities and practical examples, it helps students develop critical thinking, gain deeper insights, and augment media literacy skills that connect personal experience with broader social and career contexts. Overall, it shows how Humanities can promote both awareness and opportunity in today’s digital and fast-changing world through exciting career possibilities, from journalism and education to AI ethics and digital storytelling.
Course Instructor
Prof.Merin Simi Raj
Associate Professor, IITMadras
Merin Simi Raj is Associate Professor (English) in the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, IIT Madras. She is the faculty coordinator of the Centre for Memory Studies and the co-founder and chairperson of the Indian Network for Memory Studies (INMS), the first national network in Asia under the aegis of the international Memory Studies Association (MSA). She is trained in Digital Humanities at the University of Oxford. She researches in memory studies, historiography studies, Anglo-Indian studies, and digital humanities. She co-edited the volume Anglo-Indian Identity: Past and Present, in India and the Diaspora (Palgrave Macmillan, 2021) and Memory Studies in India: Texts and Contexts (Brill, 2025).
Content Overview
Course Duration: 8 Weeks
Week 1: What Are the Humanities? Why Do They Matter?
- What do the Humanities study?
- How Humanities help us make sense of the world
- Activities: Humanities Bingo – A game-based intro to famous works (books, films, art)
- Outcome: Understand that Humanities are all around us — in books, films, culture, and personal stories.
Week 2: Humanities in Everyday Life
- Pop culture, memes, movies, songs as cultural texts
- Understanding symbols, storytelling, and emotion in everyday things
- Activities: Meme Decoder Challenge & Play cultural detective
- Outcome: Learn to “read” the world through images, jokes, and music.
Week 3: Storytelling: My Identity, My Story
- What makes you, YOU?
- Exploring culture, memory, and voice
- Activities: Memory Mapping, One-Minute Video
- Outcome: Reflect on personal experiences and show how our personal stories are also connected to larger ideas like history, community, and identity.
Week 4: From Scrolls to Screens – The Evolution of Humanities
- Oral to digital, Printing press and modernity, human stories in the age of interactive screens
- Humanities meets technology
- Activities: From cave-art to virtual games, from epic to emojis
Week 5: Digital Selves and Media Literacy
- How digital media shapes opinion and identity
- Understanding bias, algorithms, and influence
- Ad Dissection: Choose a social media ad — What does it sell? What feelings does it use?
- Outcome: Build media awareness and sharpen online critical thinking, which is an important skill set in Humanities education
Week 6: Humanities and Social Change
- Power of storytelling in social movements
- When words and art make a difference
- Outcome: Understand how the Humanities have historically contributed to and continue to inspire social change
- Outcome: Understand how creative expressions shape public thought and policy
Week 7: Humanities in the Real World
- Real people, real paths — where Humanities takes you
- Activities: Virtual Career Wall
- Outcome: Connect studies with future possibilities and real-life stories — how Humanities education can help transform interests and hobbies into potential career choices
Week 8: Pathways and Portfolios
- Courses, scholarships, and universities in India and abroad
- Building a personal academic/career map
- Interview Project: Interaction with scholars/students
- Talk to someone (friend, relative, teacher) about how Humanities affects their work or life
- Activities: Create Your Path – Design a flowchart or map of where you want to go (e.g., “From Film Buff to Screenwriter”)
- Outcome: A sense of direction and practical possibilities ahead
Live Sessions: Weekly live interactive sessions on Saturdays
Course Eligibity
Students from partnered schools in any stream of Class X, XI and XII
Assessment Layout
Assignments: The course includes the release of 4 bi-weekly online assignments (every alternate week). Students need to attempt at least 3 of these assignments and must achieve a minimum score of 40 marks in each to be eligible for the certificate.
Take-Home Project: An optional project consisting of questions that cover all the topics from the theory videos, accompanied by a small project report.
Final Exam: An optional online final exam designed to assess the knowledge gained throughout the course, which can only be attempted after completing and submitting the required assignments and the take-home project.
Certificate Acquisition
Participation Certificate - Check Sample Certificate
To receive this participation certificate, a student must pass 3 out of 4 assignments with an average score of at least 40 marks.Completion Certificate - Check Sample Certificate
To receive this completion certificate, a student must fulfill the following criteria:
- A student must pass 3 out of 4 assignments with an average score of at least 40 marks.
- Submission of the take-home project is mandatory for the student.
- Once the above two conditions are satisfied, the student should attempt the final exam and must receive a minimum score of 40 marks.