History

The Department has been organizing several programmes since its inception. Seminars, Conferences, Extension Lectures, Career Orientation Programmes, Exhibitions and Public Outreach Programmes are regularly organized. One of the landmarks in the history of the Department was the hosting of the Indian History Congress in 2008. Around 1000 delegates from all over India attended the 3-day programme. V.S. Achuthanandan, the Chief Minister of Kerala, inaugurated the Congress. Prominent historians from India and outside attended the programme.

The Department of History was established in July 2007, as Department of History &Heritage Studies, with Dr. C. Balan as the Course Director. Two year MA and PhD programmes were commissioned. The Department focused on Heritage Studies, included courses like Cultural Heritage of Kerala, Art and Architecture, History of Science and Technology, Museology and Archaeology, and organized various programmes which catered to the promotion and popularization of cultural History. In 2018 June, the Department was re-designated as Department of History and the course structure was reorganized on a par with the programmes of other universities inside and outside Kerala.

Until 2015, Course Directors were appointed on deputation/contract basis. The first permanent appointment of a teaching faculty in the Department was made in 2015; Dr. Manjula Poyil was the first permanent faculty member of the Department. Thereafter the post of Course Director was replaced with the Head of the Department.

The Department was located first in a rented building at Kannur on the Yogasala Road from where it was shifted to Dharmasala and later to Mangattuparamba Campus in December 2015.

In association with the 60th anniversary of the formation of the state of Kerala, E.K. Nayanar Chair for Parliamentary Affairs organized a two-days’ national seminar on “Parliamentary Democracy in India: Threats and Challenges” on 30-31 October 2017, co-ordinated by Dr.Manjula Poyil, HoD, History. Sri Pinarayi Vijayan (Chief Minister of Kerala) inaugurated the programme. Sri Ramachandran Kadannappally (Minister for Ports and Museums), Sri. E. Chandrasekharan (Minister for Revenue), Smt. P.K. Sreemathi (M.P, Kannur Loksabha Constitency), Sri. P.K. Ragesh (M.P, Rajyasabha) and Sri. Pannyan Ravindran (Former M.P, Loksabha) attended the programme. Smt. Teesta Setalvad (Civil Rights Activist, Mumbai), Dr. A.K. Ramakrishnan (Professor, JNU, New Delhi), Dr. J. Prabhash (Former PVC, Kerala University), Dr. V.J. Vincent (Political Correspondent, Speaker, Kerala Assembly), Dr. K.N. Ganesh (Former HoD, History, Calicut University), Dr. K.K.N. Kurup (Former V.C, Calicut University) and Dr. Venkatesh Athreya (Noted Economist) addressed the seminar.

One day seminar on Moyarath Sankaran: Life, Memory and Narratives was organized on 10th April, 2018. The seminar was inaugurated by Prof.Gopinath Ravindran, Vice Chancellor, Kannur University. Dr.Manjula Poyil, Head, Dept of History, and Co-ordinator of the seminar, welcomed the gathering. Dr.K.N Ganesh, (Former Head, Department of History, Calicut University) delivered the Moyarath Memorial lecture. Dr.M.R. Manmathan (Asso. Professor, Farook College), Dr.C. Balan, (Former Course Director, Department of History), Kaviyoor Rajagopal (District President, Library Council, Kannur), and K. Balakrishnan (Chief Correspondent Mathrubhumi, Kannur), addressed the audience.

The Departments of History, Anthropology and Rural and Tribal Sociology, Kannur University, jointly organized a three day national seminar on Agrarian and Tribal Movements in North Malabar: Interdisciplinary Perspectives and Discourses on 5-7 February 2019. Prof.Gopinath Ravindran, Vice Chancellor, Kannur University presided over the seminar, Sri.Prakash Karat inaugurated the seminar. Prof.Sucheta Mahajan (Professor, J.N.U, New Delhi), Dr.V.J.Varghese (HCU, Hyderbad), Dr.V.Sivadasan (writer & political leader), M.Geethandan (Convenor, Bhoo Adhikara Smaraka Kshema Samiti), E.A Sankaran (Advisor, State Scheduled Tribe Department), Dr.Dinesan Cheruvat (Director, NIFAM, Kochi) and Babu Kambrath (Renowned Documentary Director) addressed the seminar gathering. The seminar honoured Veteran participant of Kavumbayi Struggle E.K Narayanan Nambiar and Kaipad farmer Meenakshi Ummathiriyan.

The Department signed an MOU with Humanities Center for Advanced Studies, University of Erfurt, Germany, for Student/Faculty Exchange Programme in March 2019. Prof.Susanne Rau,Professor, University of Erfurt visited the Department and delivered lecture on Religion, Trade and Urbanization, Insights and Questions from an Indo-European Perspective on 8/4/2019, Another Student Exchange Programme is going to be launched in November 2019 with Università "G. d'Annunzio" di Chieti-Pescara (UdA), Italy.