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Janani Ramanathan

Ramanathan, Janani

Ramanathan, Janani

Trustee, World Academy of Art & Science; Senior Research Analyst, The Mother‘s Service Society; Board of Directors, World University Consortium

Job Title

Trustee, World Academy of Art & Science; Senior Research Analyst, The Mother‘s Service Society; Board of Directors, World University Consortium

Janani Ramanathan is a Senior Research Analyst at The Mother's Service Society Pondicherry, India. She has been involved in research in social science for 15 years. At present, her focus is primarily on literature and literary analysis. Literature, apart from having an aesthetic value, provides unique insight into the process of evolution that governs the advance of society, civilization and culture. A study of world literature can be a powerful complement to objective analysis of external institutions and events. Harish's work attempts to highlight the importance of literature and its study in contributing to our deeper understanding of life. She is currently engaged in a multi-year, in-depth exploration of the relationship between literature, psychology, history and social development, which examines the relationship between the characters and events depicted in Jane Austen’s Pride & Prejudice and the changing human values and social behaviors of English society during and immediately after the French Revolution. This project is part of her larger career goal to evolve new criteria for literary criticism based on an understanding of the process of social evolution.

ARTICLES BY THIS AUTHOR

Origins and Pathways for the Future of the World Academy of Art & Science Strategic Perspectives and Opportunities   ( Human Security )
Get Full Text in PDF Abstract The purpose of this paper is to lay the foundation for development of a new strategic plan for the work of the Academy to 2030. Its aim is to invite suggestions from WAAS members and partners regarding priorities for future work. It traces the origins and historical development of the Academy leading up to the present and provides an overview of recent activities and emerging opportunities aligned to its mission which were presented at a meeting of the Board of...
Paradigm Change to Human Security   ( Human Security ), ( New Paradigm ), ( Peace and Security )
Get Full Text in PDF Abstract * The global challenges confronting humanity are interlinked and interdependent. They are all global in nature, and none of them can be addressed successfully by individual nations acting on their own. In order to effectively navigate the closely interconnected world that we live in and address its challenges, we need new levels of organization and strategy, and the development of strong and more effective multilateral institutions than we have at present. One of...
Education for Human Security Policy Brief   ( Human Security ), ( Education )
Get Full Text in PDF Executive Summary  This brief identifies critical issues and corresponding policies for effectively introducing the UN concept of human security into the curriculum of global mainstream higher education. Human Security is a comprehensive framework developed by the United Nations for achieving the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals. It links them all together into an integrated framework. In order to achieve the goals of Agenda 2030, a dramatic increase is urgently...
A Renewed Non-Aligned Movement   ( War in Ukraine ), ( Peace and Security )
Get Full Text in PDF Abstract As the Russia-Ukraine war continues spreading human misery in its wake, more and more countries are being impacted directly or indirectly by it, bringing the world perilously close to a 1960s like Cold War scenario. As the world becomes divided once again, it is time for the Non-Aligned Movement to take its place in the world again. The Movement was founded to replace division, distrust and the threat of war with world unity, peace and development. A renewed and...
Systemic Change through a new Paradigm in Global Education
Get Full Text in PDF Education is positively correlated with every metric of human welfare and wellbeing. Higher levels of employment, productivity, income, equity, health, environmental awareness, cultural integration, civic consciousness, and societal participation go with higher levels of education. Education is one of the greatest organisations humanity has developed. It encapsulates all the knowledge we possess and presents it to our children so they can acquire in a period of 12-15 years...
A New Paradigm in Global Higher Education for Sustainable Development and Human Security   ( Transdisciplinary theory ), ( Social Science )
Get Full Text in PDF Abstract Every institution of higher education and every government is trying to overcome the problems it faces and improve the reach, relevance, financial viability and effectivity of education. But no one is thinking globally for solutions that will be optimal from the perspective of humanity as a whole. The enormous challenges we face in education today can best be solved only by including system-wide action at the global level. A new paradigm needs to be...
Catalytic Strategies for Socially Transformative Leadership: Leadership Principles, Strategies and Examples   ( International Organizations ), ( New Paradigm )
Get Full Text in PDF Abstract Transformative leadership is the process of consciously accelerating the evolution of global society. This paper provides an overview of initial research findings of the project on Global Leadership in the 21st century (GL21) initiated by WAAS in collaboration with the United Nations Office at Geneva, preparatory to a major conference at UNOG on October 27-28, 2020. The objective of GL21 is to identify fundamental principles of social transformation that can...
All the Education We Need   ( Education ), ( Mind, Thinking & Creativity )
 Get Full Text in PDF Abstract Moving from scarcity of knowledge and lack of access to information to an overabundance of data comes with a downside. It is difficult to establish the veracity and impartiality of information today. With increasing freedom for everyone to make themselves heard, personal opinions, prejudices, even falsehood come to be alongside facts. In such a scenario, it is crucial to educate youth to understand the mind, its faculties, limitations and untapped...
The Significant Individual, Values and Social Evolution:* How one man changed the world   ( Individuality ), ( Social Science )
 Get Full Text in PDF Abstract Great achievements of the past hold invaluable lessons for the future. Often we deify the leader and celebrate the outcome, but overlook the underlying principles they reflect. The American Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 60s is a testimony to the combined power of an idea, the catalytic role of dedicated individuals and the power of token actions in extreme circumstances. The idea of non-violence and civil disobedience propounded by Thoreau and...
Literature as a Key to Understanding People, Society and Life   ( Individuality ), ( Literature )
 Get Full Text in PDF Abstract This article uses Jane Austen’s 19th century novel Pride and Prejudice to illustrate the power of literature as a source of knowledge that transcends the insights of history, sociology, psychology, philosophy and conventional literary criticism. Pride and Prejudice shows how England avoided a French Revolution of its own. The story depicts the process of social integration that resulted in the harmonious integration of different classes in the country....
Building that Bridge over the Skills Gap   ( Education ), ( Employment ), ( New Economics ), ( Knowledge, Science & Values )
 Get Full Text in PDF Abstract Employers worldwide are seeking and failing to find in new recruits many skills that are critical for success. Skills that enable employees to work as part of a team, communicate effectively, take decisions, lead, adapt to change and solve problems creatively are not often found in fresh graduates. Education does not impart these skills as efficiently as it does academic knowledge and subject-specific skills. A change in the pedagogy and content of...
Human Connectivity: The Key to Progress   ( Knowledge, Science & Values )
 Get Full Text in PDF Abstract Progress results from human interaction. Advances in knowledge, transportation, communication, technology and industry have aided in social development only to the extent that they have brought greater numbers of people closer. It is only human ingenuity that has achieved. Historically, every event that marks a step forward in social evolution coincides with a discovery, invention or organizational innovation that brings people closer in contact. When two...
Mind, Thinking and Creativity   ( Education ), ( Transdisciplinary theory ), ( Mind, Thinking & Creativity ), ( Social Science ), ( Knowledge, Science & Values )
 Get Full Text in PDF Abstract Global civilization is the product of diverse cultures, each contributing a unique perspective arising from the development of different mental faculties and powers of mind. The momentous achievements of modern science are the result of the cumulative development of mind’s capacity for analytic thinking, mathematical rendering and experimental validation. The near-exclusive preoccupation with analysis, universal laws, mechanism, materialism, and objective...
Report on Future Education Symposium   ( Education ), ( New Paradigm )
 Get Full Text in PDF Abstract Higher education has continuously evolved in its purpose and methods. As the demands on education have become increasingly complex today, it becomes essential to determine the needs of the future, and evolve a system of education that equips youth to face the challenges that the 21st century will bring, and scale its yet unseen peaks. The following paper draws its inspiration from the recent WAAS-WUC course on ‘Future Education’ in Dubrovnik, Croatia that...
Contextual Education   ( Education ), ( Knowledge, Science & Values )
 Get Full Text in PDF Abstract When the knowledge gained over centuries has to be presented to students through a 12-15 year study, it has to be abridged and organized elaborately. This process of encapsulating all knowledge into an educational course often results in fragmentation of knowledge and a mental divorce from life. Life knowledge that is reduced to objective principles may be intelligible to the intellect, but is incomprehensible to the imagination, creativity and emotional...
Leadership for a New Paradigm in Human Development   ( Knowledge, Science & Values )
 Get Full Text in PDF Abstract Everyone takes decisions and initiatives. Leaders take charge and initiate changes. Transformational leaders take responsibility for all and, guided by positive values, lead society into the future. These men and women of profound vision give expression to the subconscious aspirations of society that are striving to awaken, and act as a catalyst for their realization. Empathy, compassion, humility, emotional and social intelligence, and effective decision-...
Society and Social Power   ( Transdisciplinary theory ), ( New Paradigm ), ( Social Science ), ( Knowledge, Science & Values )
 Get Full Text in PDF Abstract Society is the source of immense power. Over the past few centuries humanity has record­ed phenomenal growth in its collective capacity for accomplishment, as reflected in the 12-fold growth in global per capita income since 1800. The remarkable achievements in living standards, longevity, science, technology, industry, education, democracy, human rights, peace and global governance are the result of the exponential development of the capacity of society...
Reflections on the Future of Global Higher Education - WAAS Conference Report   ( Education )
 Get Full Text in PDF Abstract Education is the most important catalyst of social evolution. Today higher education is in the early stages of a revolutionary transition that will have immense impact on the future of global society. This article presents an overview of perspectives explored at the World Academy's Forum on Global Higher Education conducted at the University of California at Berkeley on October 2-3, 2013. It examines issues resulting from rapid changes in educational...
Online Education: A Revolution in the Making   ( Education )
 Get Full Text in PDF Abstract Internet and Communication Technologies are transforming education, taking it out of the traditional classroom and making it open, affordable and dynamic. Universities, publishers, corporates and individual lecturers are creating online courses. A course consists of video lectures, electronic study notes, online tests and assignments. Anyone who wishes to learn may enroll in these courses, take the lessons, complete the tests and assignments, and receive a...