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Sunday, September 25, 2011

National seminar on English Language Education in India: Theory and Practice


The University of Hyderabad, in association with the ELT@I Hyderabad Chapter, is organizing a 3-day national seminar on 'English Language Education in India: Theory and Practice' on 23-25 January 2012.

English is the primary language of education in India today. The demands made on language teachers are steadily increasing, so is the awareness among teachers for the need to improve their own knowledge base, teaching and professional skills. In this context, it is essential to understand the several dimensions of English language education thus gaining a holistic picture and simultaneously becoming aware of the wide range of issues that impact language education. The purpose of this seminar is to look at the political, theoretical and practical aspects of English in India, and the various dimensions of English language education today.

Important Dates:

Last date for submitting abstracts: 10 October 2011
Notification of acceptance or revision: 25 November 2011
Last date for receipt of final abstracts: 10 December 2011
Notification of final acceptance: 20 December 2011
Last date for complete papers: 15 January 2012
Last date for payment of registration fee: 15 January 2012

For more details, please contact: eleuoh@ AT gmail.com

II International Conference on Embracing Glocal English


ELT@I Rajasthan Jaipur Chapter announces its II International Conference on 'Embracing Glocal English' to be held in Jaipur on 4-5 November 2011. Proposals for papers and workshops are invited from scholars/professionals.   

The 'glocal' is but a point at which multiple local, national and global forces converge. The use of English has also undergone change due to this convergence. In other words, English is going 'glocal'. It is going Global while maintaining the local roots.  As such ' glocal English' can be seen as a language that has international status but which also expresses local identities.

The conference seeks to explore the applicability of many Englishes as a workable global solution, at the same time retaining the local/national spirit. The conference proposes to take into consideration the socio-cultural, economic and technological aspects of acquisition of English as a second language.

For more details, please visit: sites.google.com/site/eltairajasthanjaipur

Asha Sundaram
Email: sundaramasha AT yahoo.com

Friday, September 23, 2011

Philosophy and literature Class note- 22nd Sept. 2011.

The class started with the revision of the previous session which was
about the birth of subject.  According to Kant the birth of subject is ‘knowing’, the world is limited and the subject is born in order to transcend it, in this process one goes through  suffering.
In the previous sessions, few questions were  not discussed in the class such as, what is expected of a researcher? What is Art? What is the purpose of art? When did the concept become Art? How did bourgeois society and Capitalism come about? How is art connected to bourgeois society and Capitalism? Therefore these were dealt in the class in a detailed manner. We were also give few tips to  keep in mind while writing a good research; to have clarity, to have thorough knowledge of the area one deals with, to pay close attention to the writing style, to give a brief summary of  every chapter and include what is going  to be explained in the next chapter and  it should have a complete structure etc.
 Art in the beginning was for pleasure, like music and poetry so, when we  go back to the history it is found that  art was developed by humans from the stone age but later  with elaborate and complex works of art, it became  intensely religious and symbolic. In the 4th century Art  was seen with a different view of  great writers like  Plato, Aristotle, Horace and Longinus who taught about the purpose of Art which was then mainly for pleasure. Until 17 th century Art was craft. But with the change of time there came shift in Art too. From the 18th Century  with the arrival of steam engine and industrialisation, people thought Art was something special, it is meant for artists only. Also Capitalist concept of a just society brought about a change in the world of Art which had a different perspective from pleasure to “Art for Art sake”. In the modern and post modern world  Art  is  seen as narrative of endless possibilities. Marx concept of Labour and Marx concept of  Capital greatly influenced the eighteenth century. So it is seen that art can have an impact on a society’s system of values.
The class discussion continued with the 18th century Industrialisation and its impact. Due to the Industrialisation there came a shift in the ritualistic function in the society. Industry means hard work. The Marx concepts of Labour and Capital were of great significance in this period. Who is bourgeois? Bourgeois are those who believe in the ideology of capitalism. Capitalist may or may not be bourgeois. The Idea of Art  for Arts sake   can be connected with  bourgeois, Which  had no social purpose. But  Art  remains always for the public.
 prepared by Gracy Simoon

Thursday, September 22, 2011

Schedule « Bangalore as a Creative City

Schedule « Bangalore as a Creative City

Philosophy and literature Class note- 21st sept. 2011.



The three important works by Kant are- Critique of pure reason, Critique of practical reason and Critique of judgment. He read Newton thoroughly and arrived at the conclusion that it is through reason that one understands the world. Kant’s argument is how do we understand world when we all are made up of same substance i.e. matter. But according to Kant we can understand and know it and that is through the ability to think. This is a particular way to understand the world. Human mind has the faculty of pure reason. He says that we can know the world but it is purely momentarily.

This is because we are matter with consciousness and one can have glimpse into life and world and thus momentarily understanding. This could be a possible reason for the fascination of death. Regarding this, a very interesting analogy was discussed in class, the whole thing was compared to a fish that can take a glimpse of water outside it but that can’t last longer because beyond that the fish can’t survive.

Kant goes on to say that human mind doesn’t have just pure reason but also practical reason and it also has a faculty of judgment and this faculty gives aesthetic vision. Though paradoxically aesthetic pleasure itself is non judgmental. It is a faculty of judgment that never judges.

About the birth of subject, Kant says there is a world to be known, can we transcend the limit of knowing. Now again Kant says that this ‘knowing’ of world is limited so in order to transcend the limit, subject is born. In order to transcend, one has to suffer.
Prepared by Fathima M
Citation
Pinto, Anil. Literature and Philosophy. Christ University. 21 Sept.2011. Lecture.
Zima, Peter. The Philosophy of Modern Literary Theory. New Jersey: The Athlone Press, 1999. Print.

Wednesday, September 21, 2011

Language and Philosophy Class notes Sept 20


Introduction to Philosophy and Literature

Key Questions discussed:
1)      What constitutes philosophy
2)      How philosophy is a product of time and other conditions
Alfred North Whitehead talked about ideas going back and forth and philosophy not having a linear progression.
Thales  (pre Socratic) is considered as the father of philosophy and emphasized that water constitutes life.
Philosophy studies life, cosmos, and human nature. (I’m still not sure how to define it). There was also a debate regarding Western philosophy and if there is an equivalent called “Indian philosophy”. The conclusion reached was that there are Indian systems of though like the Vedantic and the Buddhist systems of thought. However, this doesn’t mean that the Indian counterpart is inferior to western philosophy.
The German philosopher Immanuel Kant’s (1724–1804) major works include
a)      Critique of Pure Reason
b)      Critique of Practical Reason
c)       Critique of Judgment

The class also discussed the contributing factors of Renaissance, the fall of Constantinople, the silk route and how this paved way to the flow of ideas between the West and the Arabs.

Citation
Pinto, Anil. Literature and Philosophy. Christ University. 20th Sept.2011. Lecture.
Zima, Peter. The Philosophy of Modern Literary Theory. New Jersey: The Athlone Press, 1999. Print.

 Prepared By Vijoy