The School of Humanities and Social Sciences (SHSS) strives to work in furtherance of the overall mission and vision of North South University. At SHSS, we want to impart a well-rounded, high-quality education to all our students, enshrining the liberal arts ethos of North South University. It has been a cliché that a student lives in an ever-changing world in which they need to think laterally and solve new challenges. To ensure that our students are able to attain these goals, SHSS teaches a diverse range of units as part of all the undergraduate courses of North South University, focusing on the individual, the society, and the globe, such as understanding the human person, society, institutions, law, policy, ethics, and governance. Our research-active faculty members strive to imbue a culture of cutting-edge, research-informed teaching. Our academic departments actively engage in organizing various academic dialogues and programmes with a diverse range of stakeholders. On behalf of my colleagues, I welcome you to our vibrant SHSS.
Prof. Md. Rizwanul Islam
Professor of Law, & Dean, School of Humanities & Social Sciences
Ph.D., Macquarie University, Australia
LL.M. (IP & IT Law), National University of Singapore
LL.B. (Honours), University of Dhaka
The School of Humanities and Social Sciences (SHSS) consists of four academic Departments: the Department of English and Modern Languages, the Department of Law, the Department of History and Philosophy, and the Department of Political Science and Sociology. At SHSS, we are committed to high-quality teaching, research, and service to the community. We maintain a close rapport with various stakeholders from home and abroad, both within and outside the academia. We regularly organise seminars and webinars involving academics, industry leaders, and policymakers. Our highly skilled graduates are serving society in various roles. Our committed administrative staff are always ready to help our students.
Rizwan currently serves as the Dean of the School of Humanities and Social Sciences. Before joining the Department of Law of North South University, Rizwan was a full-time Associate Professor at the School of Law of BRAC University. Before that, he was a full-time Assistant Professor at the School of Law of BRAC University, a Lecturer at the Faculty of Law, Northern University Bangladesh and a casual Lecturer at the Department of Business Law, Macquarie University. He was a recipient of the Macquarie University Research Excellence Scholarship. Rizwan received the Macquarie University Faculty of Arts Higher Degree Research Award for Best Candidate Publications twice. He has many books, monograph, journal articles, and book chapters published in reputed outlets such as Brill, Cambridge University Press, Hart, and Oxford University Press etc. Rizwan also regularly writes columns on a wide range of national and international legal and non-legal issues for widely-circulated national and international newspapers such as the Diplomat, Straits Times, Bangkok Post, Business Times, New Straits Times, Economic Times and Daily Star. Rizwan acted as a Consultant and Fellow in projects funded by the International Labour Organization, World Bank, and United Nations Development Programme. He was awarded the President’s Gold Medal for his paper titled ‘Judges as Legislators: Benevolent Exercise of Powers by the Higher Judiciary in Bangladesh with not so Benevolent Consequences)’ as the Best Research Article in the subject category of Arts, Humanities, Education, and Law of the year 2016. Rizwan received the Silver Medalist Research Excellence Award 2022 from the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, North South University. He also received Research Award 2021 by the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, North South University, for outstanding performance in research during 2018-2020. In March 2021, he was elected as a Co-Chair of the Teaching International Law Interest Group of the American Society of International Law.
‘The Security Code for This Century: Priorities for a New Era’ by Major General A N M Muniruzzaman (Retd.), President of Bangladesh Institute of Peace and Security Studies (BIPSS) on 17 July 2025
‘Reflections on the Foreign Policy of a Small Country: The Case of Singapore’ by His Excellency Mitchell Lee, Chargé d’Affaires, Singapore High Commission in Dhaka, on 26 May 2025
'Bangladesh Facing US Reciprocal Tariffs: Challenge or Opportunity' by Dr. Fahmida Khatun, Executive Director, Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) on 21 April 2025.
‘Bangladesh in the Indo-Pacific Era’ by Ambassador (rtd.) M. Humayun Kabir, on 25 February 2025
'Resetting Bangladesh Foreign Policy: Geopolitical Complexities and National Interest' by Professor Ataur Rahman, former Professor, University of Dhaka & former President, Bangladesh Political Science Association on 4 December 2024
Afsana Pervin
Secretary to the Dean, SHSS
Email:afsana.pervin@northsouth.edu
Ext. 1816
Cross-Culture Currents: Modernist Conceptions of Time, Space, and Identity in Woolf and Tagore, by Kishore Dhar, graduate student of the Department of English & Modern Languages
Jawaharlal Nehru University’s 2016 Azadi Movement: A Critical Discourse Analysis of The Times Now, India Today and The Zee News, by Taslima Tariq, graduate student of the Department of History and Philosophy
Legal Reforms in Bangladesh’s Capital Market to Enhance Foreign Investment: A Comparative Study of Investor Protection Mechanisms in the USA, by Kirti Mohan Paul, graduate student of the Department of Law
Smart Pre-payment Electrical metering System: Chaos & Challenges, by Md. Fazlul Karim, graduate student of South Asian Institute of Policy & Governance (SIPG).
08 July 2025
Summer 2025.jpg)
'The Eventful March 71: Mohidul Hasan's New Insights' by Shahnewaz Kabir, a graduate student of MA in History & Asian Studies (MAHAS) on 05 December 2024
Summer 2024
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Papers were presented by Lubaba Sadat, Tanya Shakur, and Sharmin Jahan, undergraduate students of SHSS, North South University on 27 February 2025 at the Undergraduate Colloquium Series, Spring 2025.
Moderator:
Dr. Nazia Manzoor, Assistant Professor & Chair, Department of English & Modern Languages, North South University.
Professor Matiangai Sirleaf
Nathan Patz Professor of Law of University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law & University of Maryland School of Medicine
29 May 2025
The Moon and Sixpence by Somerset Maugham: The Passion for Self-realization and its Unsuspected Triggers
Speaker:
Prof Farooq M. Sheikh, Professor of Management and Director, IRC, North South University
Moderator:
Prof. Halimur R. Khan, Department of English and Modern Languages and Director, IQAC, North South University.
23 July 2025
Spivak on ‘the Burden of English’ and the Situation of ‘the Implied Reader’: A Philosopher’s Interrogation
Speaker:
Dr. Norman K. Swazo, Professor of Philosophy and Director of the Office of Research, North South University.
Moderator:
Dr. Nazia Manzoor, Assistant Professor and Chair at the Department of English and Modern Languages, North South University.
23 June 2025
Non-Enforceable but Binding
Speaker:
Nafiz Ahmed, Lecturer, North South University.
Moderator:
Md Lokman Hussain, Senior Lecturer, North South University.
09 May 2025
The School of Humanities and Social Sciences undertakes a new scholarly initiative with the launch of a new journal -- PAEDEIA: NSU Journal of Humanities, Social Sciences, and Law. The journal aims to publish quality papers representative of contemporary scholarship pursued by the faculty in the various disciplines of the School, including the humanities (literature, modern languages, philosophy), social sciences (anthropology, history, political science, psychology, sociology), and law. As such, the research methods can be diverse, qualitative and quantitative, interdisciplinary, and multidisciplinary, according to the themes engaged.
The Editorial Board consists of the following SHSS faculty:
|
Role |
Name and Faculty Rank |
Represented Discipline |
|
|
Editor-in-Chief |
Dr. Norman K. Swazo, Professor |
Philosophy |
|
|
Managing Editor |
Dr. Nazia Manzoor, Assistant Professor and Chair (DEML) |
English |
|
|
Editor |
Dr. Md. Rizwanul Islam, Professor and Dean |
Law |
|
|
Editor |
Dr. Abu Noman Mohammad Atahar Ali, Professor |
Law |
|
|
Editor |
Dr. Ishtiaque Ahmed, Associate Professor and Chair (Law) |
Law |
|
|
Editor |
Dr. SM Rezwan Ul Alam, Associate Professor |
Media, Communication and Journalism |
|
|
Editor |
Dr. Selim Reza, Associate Professor |
Sociology |
|
|
Editor |
Dr. AQMA Rahman Bhuiyan, Professor |
English |
|
|
Editor |
Dr. Sukanto Roy, Assistant Professor |
English |
|
|
Editor |
Dr. Shakila Nur, Assistant Professor |
English |
|
|
Editor |
Dr. Mahbubur Rahman, Professor and Chair (DHP) |
Political Science |
|
|
Editor |
Dr. Bulbul Siddiqi, Associate Professor |
Anthropology |
|
|
Editor |
Dr. Ishrat Sultana, Assistant Professor |
Sociology |
|
|
Editor |
Dr. Hasan Baniamin, Assistant Professor |
Political Science |
|
|
Editor |
Dr. Saleh Shariar, Assistant Professor |
History |
|
|
Editor |
Dr. Mushfiqul Siraji, Assistant Professor |
Psychology |
|
|
Copy Editor |
Ms. Nafisa Afsara Chowdhury, Lecturer |
English |
|
|
Editorial Assistant |
TBA (an undergraduate student) |
NA |
Prospective authors may please consult the Call for Papers, which contains detailed instructions for authors. The journal will be published annually open access in both print and digital versions. The website for the journal is currently under construction and should be fully operational by April or May 2025.
Ecocide as a Crime in Bangladesh: A Constitutional Obligation or Legal Impossibility?, by Imtrita Hossain Elma, alumna of the Department of Law
Bridging the Gap – From Campus to Career, Syed Shahnawaz Mohsin, alumnus of South Asian Institute of Policy and Governance (SIPG)
Held on 18 June 2025
Moderator:
Dr. Mohammad Shamsuzzaman, Associate Professor, Department of English & Modern Languages, North South University
Summer 2025 
Exploring the Viability of Preprints in the 'Exclusive' Domain of Legal Scholarship, by Sayere Nazabi Sayem, an alumna of the Department of Law, on 23 January 2025
Moderator:
Dr. Ishtiaque Ahmed, Associate Professor & Chair, Department of Law, North South University
Spring 2025
Vision
The vision of The School of Humanities and Social Sciences (SHSS) is to become an excellent center of higher education in humanities and social sciences in the country and the region of South Asia.
Mission
The School of Humanities and Social Sciences sets upon itself the twofold task of (1) providing a broad-based foundational education in the humanities and social sciences to NSU undergraduates, and (2) producing academically sound and professionally competent graduates in specific areas of the humanities and social sciences, such as language, policy-making, law, journalism, and communication.
Our mission is to promote teaching and learning, scholarship and research, implement an innovative academic curriculum, and ensure pedagogical development in its curriculum in disciplines inclusive of English and modern languages, politics, sociology, anthropology, gender, philosophy, history, law, and current affairs. We are committed to creating and sustaining the conditions that will enable our students to experience a formative and transformative educational journey that is intellectually, socially, culturally, and personally rewarding.
The courses offered by the School are designed to show students how human societies—in terms of their structure and dynamics, their capability to respond to crises, their interaction with foreign cultures and citizens’ daily lives—change over time. The goal is to put an understanding of the present society in its global and historical context, to cultivate students’ intellectual curiosity, and to elevate their level of aspirations.
Value Statements
There cannot be a more apt formulation of a set of value statements for the SHSS than those encapsulated in the NSU core value statement itself:
Our students will be:
Our Goals
Our aim is to: