📄 Abstract
Interdisciplinary approaches have become central to contemporary knowledge production in the arts, humanities and social sciences, especially in response to complex socio‑cultural and technological transformations. Digital Humanities (DH) exemplifies this trend by integrating methods, tools and epistemologies from computer science, information science and traditional humanities disciplines. In the Indian context, DH has emerged slowly but visibly, shaped by local institutional histories, infrastructural constraints and contested understandings of what counts as “digital” and “humanities.” This paper examines DH initiatives in Indian higher education as a case of interdisciplinarity in practice, focusing on how these projects reconfigure research, pedagogy, and academic labour in the arts, humanities, and social sciences. Drawing on a qualitative review of scholarly literature, policy documents and case studies of selected Indian DH projects such as Shodhganga and Project Madurai, the study analyses the conceptual foundations, perceived benefits, and key challenges of interdisciplinary DH work. The paper adopts a desk-based qualitative research design, using thematic analysis to organise insights around three core dimensions: epistemic integration, institutional structures and labour practices. Findings suggest that DH in India enhances the explanatory power and social relevance of humanities research through methodological pluralism and collaborative practices, but fragile institutional ecosystems simultaneously constrain it, uneven recognition of digital labour and persistent disciplinary hierarchies. The paper argues that a more reflexive, critically interdisciplinary DH praxis—one that foregrounds questions of power, labour, language and access—is essential if Indian higher education is to harness the full potential of interdisciplinarity in the arts, humanities and social sciences.
📚 How to Cite:
Muskan Sethi, Simran Phutela , INTERDISCIPLINARY APPROACHES IN ARTS, HUMANITIES AND SOCIAL SCIENCES: A STUDY OF DIGITAL HUMANITIES INITIATIVES IN INDIAN HIGHER EDUCATION , Volume 13 , Issue 6, June 2026, EPRA International Journal of Environmental Economics, Commerce and Educational Management(ECEM) , Pages: 303 - 308 , DOI: https://doi.org/10.36713/epra28438