Kavita S. Jerath
Science, Technology and Modernity
An Interdisciplinary Approach
1st ed. 2021
With contributions by Kiran Govind Kushal and Samreen Khan
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Kavita S. Jerath
Associate Professor, Department of General Science, Birla Institute of Technology & Science, Pilani - Dubai Campus, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
ISBN 978-3-030-80464-0 e-ISBN 978-3-030-80465-7
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-80465-7
Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021
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I dedicate this book to my daughter Reetika Jerath Bhalla, without whose relentless effort, this book would not have become a reality. Having been teaching physics for nearly 30 years of my life, my daughter encouraged me to step out of my comfort zone. She motivated me to teach my students something different about life and not just a plethora of formulae. According to Reetika, life cannot merely be measured by calculators and factual theory. As she reinforced time and again philosophy is where all was born, she assisted me in designing a new humanities course and opened my eyes to what I was missing.
She gave me a sense of perspective which I was excited to share with my students. Philosophy helps us in answering questions without a right or wrong answer, something different from what I am used to. From then on, my journey began. It was not before long that I was ecstatic to write this book, and today, it is a reality.
I truly praise my daughter for always being a silver lining in every cloud and making me realize this dream. This book is an interdisciplinary combination of science, philosophy, modernity, and technology. Philosophy often understood as the science of sciences is the self-awareness of the sciences and the source from which all the sciences derive their perspective and methodological tenets.
Stemming from the famous Greek philosophy of Athens in the 5th century BC, my book attempts to chart the progression of science, modernity, and technology in our current generation and its future.
Perhaps, I can call philosophy the glue that binds all scientific discourses. I have genuinely enjoyed writing this book and encourage all my readers to take away something to think about.
Foreword
I am very pleased to introduce Dr. Kavita Jeraths ground-breaking book, Science, Technology and Modernity: An Interdisciplinary Approach.
It is a well-known fact that, in recent years, there has been a movement away from rigidly ordered academic structures and hyper-specialization. The trend now is towards a more interdisciplinary approach to education. A liberal arts and science education is linked to modernization, the flexibility and innovation that is necessary nowadays for employability.
I have known Dr. Jerath for almost 30 years, from the time we set out as young lecturers at a College in Sharjah, U.A.E., where she taught physics and I taught the English language. Although Dr. Jerath and I come from different fields, she from science and technology and I from the liberal arts, we have always met on common ground, where she would constantly sound me out on all the various theories and hypotheses that are usually termed humanities. Through this long association, I can vouch safe that Dr. Jerath possesses exemplary research skills and has always tried to better herself at her job and become a more efficient teacher.
When Dr. Jerath took up the teaching of this inter-disciplinary subject, it was because she felt there was a gap in the students education that had to be filled. Through the course of teaching, she felt that students needed a specific syllabus to meet their needs. Science, Technology and Modernity is the result of her research and vast teaching experience, and covers the gap, especially in the cross-cultural context. I have no hesitation in saying that this book is one a kind, focusing on student-centered learning and encouraging critical thinking and open communication, all requirements of gainful employability in the twenty-first century.
I therefore recommend this book very highly to both students as well as teachers who struggle to find material that covers all these aspects in one comprehensive text. I have no doubt that Science, Technology and Modernity: An Interdisciplinary Approach by Dr. Kavita Jerath would fulfill all needs.
Padmini B. Sankar
Author: The Mother of all Parties
The Family from Padma Vilas
Website: www.padminisankaar.com
Preface
Science, Technology and Modernity is a very dynamic, interdisciplinary field, rapidly becoming well established globally. It is a result of interaction of work by sociologists, historians, philosophers, and scientists studying the processes and outcome of different sciences, including medical science and technology. Because it is interdisciplinary, the field is extraordinarily diverse and innovative in its approach examining the repercussions of science & technology its findings, and debates on almost every aspect of the modern world. Actually, there is no shortage of published information about this subject so long as what you are really interested in is society. If thats the case, scores of journals are available to you.
What is missing from the publishing landscape is the relation between science, technology, and modernity, and that is what is creating a psychological anxiety, cultural fascination, and scientific and economic opportunity. This is the gap my proposed book will fill. Science, Technology and Modernity is well timed for two reasons: because no book does currently exist and because we are in the resurgence of a single book which covers all the topics under its purview. Most of the books that are written are on science and technology, culture, and society (e.g.,