Workshop on Art and Architecture Criticism

The Dept of Media Studies is organizing a four-day Workshop on Art and Architecture Criticism on 16, 17, 18, 19 April 2007. The classes will be held from 9.30 to 1 pm at Christ College. The workshop will be reading, analysis and writing intensive.

Course fee Rs 400. Those who fulfill the all the requirement will be issued certificates at the end of the workshop.

Those who wish to participate in the workshop please mail me at: ajpinto42 at yahoo.co.in

Maximum intake: 15.

Following is the rough syllabus. A detailed syllabus will follow.

Module I

Elements of art and architecture

Analyzing visual material

History of art and architecture through the concept of Beauty

The role of art in society and history

The performance of architecture in society and politics

Module II

Frameworks of criticism

Types of writing

Aspects of journalism

Module III

Field visits to two architecturally rich sites and two art galleries will be a part of the course.

Instructor

Kaiwan Mehta
Architect and Urban Researcher; Research scholar – Centre for the Study of Culture and Society, Bangalore; Senior Lecturer - K Raheja Vidyanidhi Institute of Architecture and Environmental Studies, Mumbai; Assistant Editor - Indian Architect & Builder.

The Ladies have Feeling, so... Shall we leave it to the Experts?

The Ladies have Feeling, so... Shall we leave it to the Experts? (2002)

Arundhati Roy

Contradictions that make India

Lives in many centuries simultaneously

Anarchy in India

Loaded in two convoys pulling opposite each other

Balancing is an art

Being a writer in this country

Development as undeclared war

Rules for writer: No rules. But no excuses for bad art

Art imposes responsibility

Problem of writer – once you see you can’t unsee

Civil society protects a writer

Changing situation for Indian writers – demand by western publishers

Celebrity status can kill the writer

Labeled – because she takes positions

Corporate globalization

Cannot address problems in India

We have excess within us

Way it functions

Govt stand – opposes

Euphemisms – Globalization with human face.

Questions unanswered: Globalization is not panacea

Need to question the World bank projects

Issue of displacement

Anti-poor govt and judiciary

You take part in the issues because you are a human being

Don’t depend on expert

India cannot be forced with globalization. Peoples movements cannot be silenced.

Their battle strategies span the range.

India’s redemption lies in its anarchy

Writers, artists, singers, filmmakers, should make connection and explain complexity of situations to people. – translate

New space. Opportunities for new kind of art.

Need for new kind of politics, of governance, and resistance, of opposition, of forcing accountability, of joining hands,

Only thing worth globalizing is dissent – India’s best export.

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You may find the complete text of the article in the following link
http://www.outlookindia.com/full.asp?fodname=20020114&fname=Arundhati+Roy+%28F%29&sid=1

On the Abolition of English Department

On the Abolition of English Department

Ngugi wa Thiong’o

Comment on HOD’s paper at University of Nairobi.

Issue: Developments in arts faculty and relation to English dept.

1. place of modern languages like French

2. Place of English

3. Emergence of Dept of Linguistics and languages

Suggestion: Dept of Linguistics and Languages closely related to English

Possibility of Dept of African literature and Culture

Important questions raised – values, direction, orientation

The suggestions question the role and status of an English Dept in an African situation and environment. “The English Dept has had a long history at this College and has built up a strong syllabus which by its study of the historic continuity of a single culture throughout the period of emergence of the modern west, makes it an important companion to History and to Philosophy and Religious Studies. However, it is bound to become less ‘British’, more open to other writing in English and also to continental writing, for comparative purposes.”

Assumption: the English tradition and the emergence of the modern west is the central root of our consciousness and cultural heritage. Africa becomes an extension of the west, an attitude.

There is assumed centrality of the dept into which other cultures can be admitted from time to time as fit subjects for study, and other satellite depts can spring depending on time and money. E.g. African writing in English syllabus

Imp question: If there is need for a ‘study of the historic continuity of a single culture’, why can’t this be African? Why can’t African literature be at the centre so that we can view other cultures in relationship to it?

Primacy of English literature and culture is rejected.

The aim- to orientate ourselves towards placing Kenya, East Africa, then Africa in the centre. Rest consider to understand ourselves

Suggestions: Abolish English dept

Begin dept of African literature and language.

Duty of literature dept: to illuminate the spirit animating a people, show how it meets challenges, innovate possible areas of development and involvement

Sources of influence

1. English French, Portuguese
2. Swahili, Arabic, and Asian
3. African tradition – stuff gown on, base

Oral Tradition

Living littered tradition- can be found in political rallies, churches and night clubs.

Art forms are interlinked in traditional practice are interlinked.

social purpose of tale, dance, song, myth

Dance – symbolic expression system of social reality reflecting and influencing cultural and personality systems of which it is a part

Oral tradition comments on society

Multidisciplinary approach to oral literature: Literature, music, Linguistics, Sociology, Anthropology, History, Psychology, Religion, Philosophy,

Study can give fresh approaches

Oral tradition can supplement Modern African Literature.

Conclusion

Question of literary excellence

Abolish English dept and establish Dept of African literature and language.

Establish centrality of Africa

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Photo taken from

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ngugi_wa_Thiong'o

Minute on Indian Education

Minute on Indian Education (1835)

Thomas B Macaulay

Why English and only English

• Need to educate people cannot be done by mother tongue.
• A foreign language
• English is the best: It’s preeminent, abounds with works of imagination equal to Greek
• Best vehicles of ethical and political instruction
• Just and lively representations of human life and nature
• Has profound speculations on metaphysics, morals, government, jurisprudence, trade,
• Correct and full info on every experimental science to preserve health, increase comfort or expand the intellect.
• Ready access to intellectual wealth.
• Great literature
• In India English- language of the ruling class, spoken by higher mass of natives at seat of power
• Likely to become language of commerce throughout the seas of the East
• Language of two rising European communities – Australia and S Africa – becoming more imp and closer to Indian Empire
• Intrinsic value of literature + context make English the best choice

What to teach?

• In a language that does not have contemporary knowledge?
• Science, Philosophy, History as against problematic astronomy, history, geography

Justification – Two examples

1. Revival of learning in the West. Because they opened to sth external they grew to be equal. (Doubts about Sanskrit)
2. Russia- change in 120 years from barbarism.

The Solution

· Impossible to educate all with limited means

· Therefore, create interpreters between us and the masses “a class of persons, Indian in blood and colour, but English in taste, in opinions, in morals and in intellect (emphasis mine).

· That class will refine and enrich vernaculars with terms of science borrowed from the Western nomenclature and make vernaculars fit to convey knowledge to masses

PS: Please go through the following link on Macaulay. Extremely fascinating. I strongly recommend that you go though it to understand Macaulay. If you manage to go through the link, please post your comments in the posting.

http://www.languageinindia.com/april2003/macaulay.html

Intership briefing

There is a meeting of all the IFEP students on Wednesday 28 at 11 am in IFEP classroom.

Agenda: Internship briefing by Abhaya and the dept.


PS: Teju, I havent received the corrected ids of the bouncing mails!

Minor Thesis/ viva IFEP

Spoke to Solomon about the minor theses. He was very impressed and spoke very highly about the class. Some of the works theses were just amazing. I personally felt we were wasting our time given your abilities. I think you need to be challenged far beyond. What we now do must be child play for you.

Teaching, learning Engslish

I attended a seminar on General English teaching at Loyola College on 15 and 16 March.

I wish to present some of the points that came up in the seminar. Here they are. Of course, I have left out all those boring, clichéd ideas which I do not approve of myself.

• Different colleges need to come together to create Collaborative content creation on the net which could be used depending on their needs. A common pool of resources.
• One size does not fit all. A common curriculum may not meet the needs and learning abilities of all the students
• Need to localizing institutional curriculum (One person passingly mentioned it but no one seemed to understand either. Looked as if everyone thought there was one great way of teaching English and developing curriculum that will fit all the institutions across the country.
• Analyzing perceived and real needs of students and society
• The term Language lab is changed to ‘Multimedia Resource Centre’ or ‘Language Resource Centre’ in some colleges. I think the shift is important p
• Peer learning needs to be stressed as it can be far more effective in classroom pedagogy.
• Is there a possibility to fall back upon pre British ways of teaching? Example Persian, Prakrit were taught before the British brought English education. (This was sth new to me. Although I am not sure if there were such systems in India, because universal education was never there in India before the British came. However, I strongly feel we need to make inquiries into it. I met the person who made the comment. But he did not give me any reference to pursue this point. I have email to him. But doubt if will reply. The comment was made by one Prof Elango
• Why has India not evolved any new theory after 60 years of teaching English in Independent India?
• We need to shift from native speakers framework of teaching English to globally intelligible English
• Can Language teaching be shifted to subject teachers. Because, the students get far more exposure and their profession specific language exposure from their subject teachers than us. Can we co opt other subject teachers to teach English? (I know it sounds like a death knell to us language teachers. But I feel it’s worth engaging.)
• Most UK-originating classroom methodologies fail as they evolve from a particular classroom situation. E.g. Pair work does not work in India. It evolved in British lower classes where only two students sit on row. (My own experiments in my previous college have shown it is possible. But need to make major modifications. But I agree, direct implementation as well modified implementation are difficult.
• Why should we depend completely on teacher and material. Can’t we make students learn on their own and from their peers.
• Even the Cambridge Business English Certificate programmes do not meet industry needs. This was told by a person who is one of the three organizers of this exam for Cambridge University in India. Shocking. The English corporate world uses and what the Cambridge BEC certificate demands have huge gap between them
• In its language text books Oriental Longman keeps 80% of the old curriculum and methodology and adds 20% new.
• From the Corporate interaction session I came to know that they also expect skill like thinking differently, contextual thinking etc. And not just communicative skills.
  

My thoughts

• In assessment we need to ensure as much transparency as possible if not objectivity. As it is not possible to be completely objective.
• We need to look at new themes for perspectives.
• Need to integrate some more objectives into our curriculum design like- building self confidence, community outlook, critical thinking, creativity, communication, decision making, team work, negotiation, collaborative learning.
• Tamilnadu needs or experience at best can be applied only to Tamilnadu as long it caters to Tamilians and cannot be generalized.
• I find we need to engage with Vellore Institute of Technology experiments.
• Corporate needs and social needs are not different.
• Autonomy has brought up need for continuous updating and emphasis on research. How do we balance between clerical needs of the subject with our and subject related intellectual needs?
• Arent’ the needs we thought while framing the syllabus assumed needs? What is the basis of such needs? Shouldn’t we need to do structured research?
• Where should our dept go from where we are now?
• I think we now need to prepare ourselves to developing e and digital content. The shift also needs to made to customized learning.
• I realized that our dept is far ahead of all prominent instutions in Tamilnadu namely Loyola, WCC, MCC, St Joseph’s Trichy, Lady Vaishav, etc in conceptual framework, classroom pedagogy, use of ICT. One of the major problems for these intuitions is their own past baggage which does not allow to see or think beyond and pushes them into binary debates which does not take them anywhere.

II FEP Summer interniship

(The note was prepared by Abhaya. I have made slight modifications to it.)

You can do your internship in one of the following fields:

Radio: AIR, FM
Television: CNN-IBN, NDTV, local channels,
Film production units - production side or script writing
Advertising agencies: client servicing or creative dept
Public relations: you get more exposure in a govt organisation like KPTCL, BWSSAB etc. private organisations are not ruled out.
Event management firms

Webportals/e-magazines

If you are going for magazine-print- prefer the design dept - page design - as you have got exposure in newspaper in the last internship

What do you have to keep in mind while working:
Keep every piece of paper you work on
The notes you take down while doing research
Make notes to prepare questionnaires
Any notes taken in a meeting

In some cases the final product may not be given to the intern; explain to your mentor in the organisation that the product/article/script will not be used for any profitable purposes and you need evidence of your work for the report. If not the entire corpus of the work get some samples. Attest those samples - either signature of your mentor or seal of the organisation

IMP: Get a letter from the organisation before you leave.

During research documentation is important:
Books: title of the book, name of the author, name of the publishing place, publishing house, year of the publication
Journals: title of the article, name of the author, title of the journal, volume no, issue no, year
Web: title, author, date of publication, date of access, URL

Collect the diary from the dept. Pay Rs.30 in the office, show the receipt and collect the diary.

Keep in touch with your guide regularly, at least once a week. You have the option of interning at the place of your choice. You need not search only in Bangalore. If you are working outside inform your guide, collect the email id and give yours so that you get reminders.

All the best. Enjoy yourselves.

I FEP Practical Exams

Department of Media Studies

Christ College (Autonomous)

Bangalore

IFEP

Writing Skills

Practical Exam

22 March 2007

9 am to 12.30 pm

Batch I

06D3001- 06D3039

01 pm to 04.30 pm

Batch II

06D3040 – 06D3077

Australian Literature and the Canadian Comparison

I would not be making any posts on "Australian Literature and the Canadian Comparison", as mentioned in the class. However, you may make your posts on this essays on my blog to which I shall respond. You may also share your class notes there, to which also I shall respond.

PostColonial Scramble - Steven Slemon

I would not be making any posts on 'The Postcolonial Scramble" as mentioned in the class. However, you may make your posts on the essays here to which I shall respond. You may also share your class notes there, to which also I shall respond.Publish

'Come Thunder' - Christopher Okigbo

Come Thunder

Christopher Okigbo

The Poet and the Background

A Nigerian poet Christopher Okigbo is an important voice in post-colonial literature as well as twentieth century literature. He has been referred to as an outstanding postcolonial English-language African poet and one of the major modernist writers of the twentieth century. His poetry has a strong influence of modernist European and American poetry, African tribal mythology, and Nigerian music and rhythms. Like most African litterateur, Christopher Okigbo was also a poet activist. Okigbo spent the best years of his life tormenting over the problems within his society and trying to solve them. Through his poetry, he tried to convey his visions of Nigerian society.

Some of the recurring images in Okigbo's poems are dance, thunder, and sound of drums. One can find all these in ‘Come Thunder’ as well. One can also see a vision of a spiritual quest, in his poem/s which takes the poet to the realm of ancient myths and to his spiritual self. Okigbo uses repetition, songlike rhythm and melodious flow of words.

He is also called the poet of destiny

He follows the romantic notion of poetry in that he believes that the poet "is no ordinary mortal but a divinely inspired artist, a possessed performer through whom hidden truths of the spirit are revealed and through whose influence mankind undergoes regeneration and spiritual rebirth. The poet, in the romantic tradition, functions severally as priest, prophet, and legislator for mankind, as a man speaking to other men with a voice of moral authority strengthened by heightened sensibility. He is a man imbued with an understanding and suffering soul, a kind of a god."

His poems also gain importance as prophecy and warning to Nigerians and the misrulers of Nigeria against continued national misdirection.

To understand Okigbo better one needs to locate the poet squarely with all communalistic traditional African poetics, in which aesthetics and social functionality are coordinate components of art. He totally identified with the Nigerian people. Okigbo's project included a sustained critical introspection, and his indignation, a militancy, despair, and ultimate martyrdom do not constitute a pessimistic closure.

The poems which are cut up, divided, brief in their sections, impress from line to line. Structure of his poems also is significant. Lines are repeated and varied throughout several of the poem-sequences.

The poem

The characteristic so Okigbo’s poems discussed in the background section hold good in the case of ‘Come Thunder’ too. The style, tone, and techniques used are much like those found in modernist poets. But the rhythm is essentially non-English. Abundant use of plosive sounds, in words and lines give a pattern to the poem. All this give the poem onomatopoeic effect which is in tune with the main motif of the poem – thunder.

The language is prophetic. It prophesies what is to come. There is warning given perhaps to the rulers of the impending changes or revolution. The revolution that seems to be suggested is one that will make the entire society tremble. The impending revolution should be seen in the backdrop of Nigerian (?) civil war.

One can notice a lot of juxtapositions. To understand the poem read it aloud.

I am aware that I have not substantiated my points with quotations from the poem. I leave t hem to you to do. You may comment here on the poem or on my post I shall respond to all your comments. I do it order to make it interactive and allow you to explore the poem. This is my reading of the poem. You may challenge it.

Try and see how this is a postcolonial poem? How it incorporates some of the issues I mentioned in the section on background.

Reference:

“Christopher Okigbo (1932-1967).” 2000. 19 Mar. 2007 <http://www.kirjasto.sci.fi/okigbo.htm>

“Christopher Okigbo: The Fallen Bard.” 19 Mar. 2007

“Christopher Okigbo.” 10 March 2007. 19 Mar. 2007 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christopher_Okigbo>

“The Complete Review's Review Complete Review.” 2005. 19 Mar. 2007

Communicative English Syllabus from June 2007

ISem
Introduction to Mass Communication
Computer and Communication

II Sem
Applied Phonetics & Communication Skills
Introduction to Writing Skills

III Sem
Writing for the Media – Print
Creative Writing

IV Sem
Broadcasting Media – Radio
Basic Photography

V Sem
Media laws and Ethics
Films and Television

VI Sem
Advertising
Public Relations

Philosophers' pose!

Group photo taken after the last Certificate course in Philosophy Class on 10 March 2007 at Christ College Bangalore. The two-month long course had 36 participants enthusiastically participating. Prof Sundar Sarukkai of National institute of Advanced Studies, (NIAS) was the course instructor.

II Opt Eng essays

I had promised to make postings on two of the essays and also a poem if it's not dealt with in the class. Since my copy of the essays is in the college, I am unable to get make a post. Will do it may be tomorrow or within a few days.