National Seminar on Gendering Indian Narratives

UGC National Seminar on “Gendering Indian Narratives”

by Department of English, Kakatiya University, Warangal, AP

(March 22 & 23, 2010)

Theme

Women have been subjected to oppression for centuries in the patriarchal society. Aristotle distinguishes women on account of "a certain lack of qualities." St Thomas Aquinas calls woman an “imperfect man”. Philosophers like St Thomas Aquinas, Rousseau, Hegel, Nietzsche, and Sartre have also considered women morally inferior. Feminism emerged as an organised movement for women's rights and interests, and the political, economic and social equality of sexes in the male-dominated society. Feminist criticism is concerned with “woman as the producer of textual meanings with the history, themes, genres and structures of literature by women.” It is an attempt to revalue the literature of the past from a gender perspective. Feminist criticism is regarded as deconstructive in spirit and method in as much as it aims at a revisionist reading of literary history and typology. Simon de Beauvoir’s The Second Sex (1949) has provided the theoretical foundation for feminist criticism by pointing out the basic asymmetry between the terms 'masculine' and 'feminine'. Man as viewed as ‘One’, while woman, the ‘Other’. One is not born a woman, but rather becomes a woman.

Feminism has assumed various forms. Political Feminism can be seen in the works of Kate Millett, Germaine Greer, Mary Ellmann, Shulamith Firestone and Michele Barrett. It finds the “sexual politics” in "acting out the roles in the unequal relation of domination and subordination." Millett traces “politics” in the mechanisms that establish the male hegemony and female subjugation and insist on raising women's political awareness of this injustice. Gynocriticism can be seen in the works of Elaine Showalter, Virginia Woolf, and Mary Ellmann. It concerns itself with developing a specifically female framework for dealing with works written by women, in all aspects of their production, motivation, analysis, and interpretation, and in all literary forms, including journals and letters. French feminist criticism can be seen in the works of Jacques Lacan, Juliet Mitchell, Julia Kristeva, Helene Cixous. The common radical claim of French theorists has been that all western languages are utterly and irredeemably male-engendered, male-constituted, and male-dominated. Discourse, Lacan proposes, is “phallogocentric”; that is, centred and organized throughout by implicit recourse to the phallus(used in a symbolic rather than a literal sense) both as its supposed “logos”, or ground, and as its prime signifier and power-source. The basic problem of the French theorists is to establish the very possibility of a woman’s language that will not go into the groove of the phallogocentric language and become subservient to it. Thus the question of gender has become more prominent in theoretical debates. In spite of their aversion for male theories, the Feminists have not been able to be completely independent of them. Feminists want to wrest their share of discursive power from men. The Feminist criticism, however, exudes confidence in the words of Showalter that it is "not visiting. It is here to stay, and we must make it a permanent home". It is, however, felt by critics like Raman Selden that Gender criticism "will never be able to resort to a universally accepted body of theory." It is hoped that the enterprise of Feminist criticism should not be confined to women alone, but it should be shared by men as well.

Susie Tharu & K. Lalitha’s Women Writing in India in 2 volumes broke a new ground by exploring women’s writing in 13 languages covering a period from 600 BC to the early 20^th c. These writings from Therigatha (songs of Buddist Nuns, 6^th c) to the most recent work illuminate the lives of women over two and a half millenia of Indian History and extend our understanding of gender issues. Representation of women in ancient and medieval classics like The Ramayana, The Mahabharatha, Abhignana Sakuntalam, Silappadikaram, Swapna Vasavadutta, Mrichakatikam, Kadambari etc need to be reexamined from a fresh perspective.

Gender issues have attracted greater attention in the recenst Indian literature/fiction written in English and regional languages. They acquired greater focus in the hands of recent fiction writers. Though many of these writers have refused to be branded as feminists, one can discern feminist postures implicitly, if not explicitly, in their writings. Issues of gender involving male and female roles, and their interconnection with narrative and space have come to the fore. Gender is invariably linked to class, culture, caste and identity. While defining the role of man/woman vis-a-vis family and society at personal, social, political and economical levels, the writers are not impervious to western, European feminist theories. Man-Woman relationship is revalued from a gender perspective to expose the ideological implications. Gender is viewed as a cultural construct, while sex is biological. Mention may be made of writers like R K Narayan, Raja Rao, Anand, Malgonkar, Amitav Ghosh, Vikram Seth, David Davidar, Jai Nimbkar, Anita Desai, Kamala Markandaya, Ruth Prawer Jabhwala, Nayantara Sahgal, Bharati Mukherjee, Anita Desai, Shashi Deshpande, Uma Vasudev, Githa Hariharan, Shobha De, Arundhati Roy, Manju Kapoor, Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni, Gita Mehta, Dina Mehta, Meera Syal and Kiran Desai.

Indian women in the past were denied opportunities available in the society. The traditional values, and early marriage system in Hindus and purdah system in Muslims confined them within the limits of the home. She has no identity other than her family. Thanks to the reform movements by social reformers like Raja Ram Mohan Roy, women were educated. The educated women became conscious of the injustice inflicted upon them by the patriarchy and started protesting against it. When the Freedom Struggle started men and women came together to fight against the British Raj, and gradually the issue of gender discrimination began dissolving. Post-Independence India witnessed a significant change as constitutional provisions were provided to offer woman equal rights and privileges in society which have “tremendously influenced her outlook on conjugal relationship and attitude towards marriage” (Promilla Kapur 1976). In such a transitional phase, the clash between tradition and modernity often resulted in conflict and frustration. A new generation of women novelists emerged in the recent past embracing the changed values. They portrayed women with a voice of their own, a voice that had been suppressed for centuries. Endowed with a capacity to make free choice, these women not depend on the choice of the male. Santosh Gupta points out that “women writers have eloquently voiced women’s side of life – the experiences of man’s ‘other’, society’s marginalized and silenced half. Breaking off from the traditional male-dominated novels that focussed on public subjects and public space, women’s novels have brought to center-stage the ignored and unexpressed lives that have been on the periphery of male lives” (23). They throw deep insights into the female psyche and present a full range of feminine experience. Women have consolidated their position by shedding their servility towards their husbands. An effort to re-define the man-woman relationships can be seen in the novels of Bharati Mukherjee, Nayantara Sahgal, Uma Vasudev, Arundhati Roy, Githa Hariharan, Shashi Deshpande, Shobha De and others. The word ‘New Woman’ has come to signify an awakened woman trying to assert her rights as a human being and determined to fight for equal treatment with man. “An interesting aspect of the modern Indian enlightenment has been the creative release of the feminine sensibility” (A.V. Krishna Rao 50).

The recent Indian women novelists have reflected variously on the gender issues through their powerful portrayal of man-woman relationships in their writing. To mention a few novels– Kamala Markandaya’s Two Virgins (1973) Anita Desai’s Fasting, Feasting (1999), Nayantara Sahgal’s The Day in Shadow (1971), Shashi Deshpande’s That Long Silence (1988), The Binding Vine (1993), A Matter of Time (1996), Moving On (2004), Shobha De’s Socialite Evenings (1989), Uncertain Liaisons (1993), Githa Hariharan’s The Thousand Faces of Night (1992), When Dreams Travel (1999), Jai Nimbkar’s Temporary Answers (1974), A Joint Venture (1988), Bharathi Mukherjee’s Jasmine (1989), Desirable Daughters (2003), Uma Vasudev’s The Song of Anasuya (1978), Arundhati Roy’s The God of Small Things (1997), Rama Mehta’s Inside the Haveli (1977), Namita Gokhale’s Paro: Dreams of Passions (1984), Anjana Appachana’s Listening Now (1998), Indu K. Mallah’s Shadows in Dream-Time (1990), Manju Kapoor’s Difficult Daughters (1998), Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni’s Sister of My Heart (1999), The Vine of Desire (2002), Shauna Singh Baldwin’s What the Body Remembers (1999). Women in these novels “question, analyse and try to open out the gender roles, male power and relationships that are important to all men and women” (Gupta 35).

The male discourse focuses on gender issues from a masculine perspective. Mention may be made of novels like Narayan’s The Dark Room, Raja Rao’s The Serpent and the Rope, Anand’s The Old Woman and The Cow, Malgonkar’s The Princes, Jai Nimbkar’s Final Solutions and Joint Venture, David Davidar’s House of Blue Mangoes, Amitav Ghosh’s The Glass Palace, The Hungry Tide, Rohinton Mistry’s Such a Long Journey, Vikram Seth’s The Suitable Boy etc There is a need to examine whether women are portrayed in their sexually defined stereotypical roles as mothers, good submissive wives or bad dominating wives, seductresses, betrayers etc. or reflect women’s real experiences and real worlds.

The present seminar seeks to re-value the Indian narratives from the gender perspective. It addresses itself to the following issues:

1. Woman in Indian culture and society

2. Women’s portrayal in the ancient and medieval Indian Narratives

3. Gender theories: East & West

4. Issues of Gender vis-a-vis Caste, Class, Culture and Identity.

5. Feminism as a social movement and its influence on literature

6. Gender theories vis-a-vis Indian literatures in English

7. Ideological base of Male discourse

8. Strategies of protest by women against male domination.

9. Feminist discourse and its influence on women’s emancipation

10. Gendered Language

11. Any other topic that has a bearing on the theme of the Seminar.

The Seminar, it is hoped, would contribute to the understanding of seminal issues related to the issues of gender and its re-presentation in Indian narratives in English and regional languages.

For Details, contact:

Prof G Damodar

Director of the Seminar

Head, Department of English

Kakatiya University

WARANGAL 506009 AP

Emails: dekuhead@gmail.com / gdamodar@gmail.com

Cell: 098491-42641

International Seminar on Technology Enhanced Language Learning: The Way Forward - A Report

Following is the report of the International Seminar on Technology Enhanced Language Learning: The Way Forward organised by District Centre for English, Thrissure, Kerala on 10, 11 and 12 February 2010. Jijo KP helped me in the preparation of this report. I am grateful for his assistance.

Day One

1. Therambil Ramakrishnan, MLA, Thrissur: While requested the teachers to adopt technology emphasised on taking to technology with a pinch of salt.

2. APM Mohammad Hanish, IAS, Director of Public Instructions, Kerala, in his presidential address emphasised on the centrality of the human teacher in the process of ICT education.

3. Kapil Kapoor, JNU – Key note address.

Prof. Kapur mapped the changes that are taking place in our educational system due to ICT and drew our attention to the assumptions behind those shifts. He found shifts in existing social organisation in terms of rejection of authority, ability and move from object to subject or learner-centeredness. The shift, he said, is proposed with the assumption that the students are passive and non-interactive in the ‘traditional’ classrooms and that control is not necessary in terms of grading and that we should move to uncontrolled exposure from selective exposure. Prof. Kapur’s lecture invited us to interrogate the shifts and the assumptions seriously so that a more constructive pedagogy and curriculum can be evolved in the post-ICT period.

4. SDhanavel, Anna University, Chennai, in his presentation sharing his experience in Anna University stressed on the importance of using home grown low-cost models for pedagogy and to resist the manipulation of the education by the market.

5. Kirsten Anderson, USA, introduced using of theatre in teaching language to beginners of English Language Learning among Dalits and using DVD short films using folk materials. She also looked at English as a matter of social intervention.

6. Steven Herder spoke about using different ICT tools for two purposes, 1) professional development of the teacher, whereby the teacher can connect to the teaching community on line and grow interacting with them, 2) to enable the students to learn language better and with more excitement.

7. RJ Kalpana, Chennai: presented a paper on the use of blogs as a cost effective and innovative way of engaging with student’s learning.

8. Sunder Singh, Karunya University, Coimbatore : Drew attention to the widening gap between the digital natives and digital immigrants and the danger of a teacher becoming a technological administrator and supervisor.

9. James Simpson, University of Leeds, UK – in his online presentation drew attention to the shift in the nature of language and communication used online.

Day Two

10. Kamala, LFC, Guruvayoor, said that ICTs have been changing the way writing has been in practice for a long time.

11. Devaki Reddy, IIT, Chennai, spoke about using the internet resources for better language learning especially collocation and diction. She spoke of the need of teachers becoming facilitators in the process of language developments by students using online resources so that they can become independent in their learning.

12. Anil Pinto, Christ University, Bangalore – A different socio-political condition has emerged due to ICT – the digital condition. And elaborated on the need to carefull rethinking curriculum, pedagogy, testing and evaluation so that we are able to have a less violent society facilitated by ICT.

13. KJ Varghese, Christ College, Kerala, spoke of using learning through Mlearning or mobile phone enabled learning. He shared the software and hardware and strategies required for this.

14. Kalyan Chattopadhaya, Leeds University, UK, spoke on the use of chat and the different linguistic and social dimensions emerging in interactions over the cyberspace.

15. Presentation on language lab by Orell Techno Systems – demonstrated the possiblites of using language lab to enhance language learning differently. Questions of Indian English, need to subscribe to international standards were raised in this session.

16. Prabodh Chandra Nayar, Kerala University spoke on the need to give a gradual exposure to language syntactic structures.

17. K Elango, Anna University, Chennai, in his workshop demonstrated how to use material and methods in language teaching and more importantly use the exiting media to encourage students to write nad publish

18. Thiru, Teledata, Chennai, demonstrated on how to transfer administrative work to computer and showed how electronic modules can be used to enable enhanced learning.

Day Three

19. ME Premanand, MC College, Calicut, traced the history of infographics and showed how to use them for enhanced language learning.

20. P Bhaskaran Nair, Pondicherry University – need to think the language and social system in the context of the changing socio-political conditions. His presentation reflected the need to seriously look at the theories of language and language acquisition seriously and look at the new evolving pedagogies and philosophies of second language acquisition suspiciously.

21. Anwar Sadat, Director, IT@School, Kerala, mapped the history of in Kerala from IT to ICT enabled learning and the kind of strategies used to make the transitions.

22. Sijo and Jaimon, Kerala in the presentation showed the possibility of taking ICT to the secondary classroom through their experiments with podcasting.

23. Maya Pandit - Pro VC EFL University, Hyderabad, spoke on the present condition of education and ICT penetration in India and ways in which EFL is engaging with such a scenario.

24. Michael Warren Sonneleitner, spoke and views on Gandhi on technology and their relevance today. He also made a case study of privatized education in the US and its disastrous outcomes in the US.

Summary: All presentations brought out the narrative of crisis. But the location of crisis by one group was placed in existing ‘traditional’ pedagogies the other placed it in the way new technological or social developments. The answer to the crisis by the first group was to shift to ICT as a pedagogic method or end in itself. The second group has two answers, one, to continue using the existing methods which are sufficient to address the language learning needs; two suspect the existing and proposed ICT based pedagogies and think of a pedagogy which is more in sync with the cultural, social and political needs of the community which is learning English as the second language.

Reports on the Seminar: (Please click on the headlines for the full reports)

ELTI may be set up in Thrissur

‘Use technology to enhance classroom experience’

‘Gandhi wanted people to control technology’

A Response to Zizek' s Talk, Kochi Life

Whither Left

What I gained from the seminar is not easily quantifiable and I am not attempting to make an audit of it. What is given here is my reflection on a thread of discussion initiated by Zizek, the living Patriarch of Marxism presently.

Whither Left, a seminar conducted by Kochi Life (8-9, Jan, 2010)brought a new lease of energy to the think tanks of the Marxist elites. Zizek, probably the latest scholar of the leftist bandwagon put on a garb of an activist rather than a scholar in the discussions although scholarship was not in wanting in the deliberations. Zizek’s plea was to return ad fontes of the pure Marxist theories.

The practicality of the argument was in doubt ever since the attempt to establish communism by a revolution of the proletariat. The government that emerged did not quiet establish communism but only oligarchy of the party heavyweights. These are the old criticisms that Catholic Church levelled against Marxism in Rerum Novarum. Marxian theory was not any way the beginning of communist experiments. It is the early Christianity which tried that experiment and miserably failed over the span of perhaps one year and one chapter. Ref. Acts of the Apostles Chapter 4 and 5. The failure has happened to early Church and the later theoretical Marxists equally.

Why this failure of communism? A few thoughts are in place while thinking of this failure.

Primarily, that the left do not take into account the human being in action and considers only the human being in thought. The human being in action is a particular person with a name, an identity and a certain place in the web of social relationships. Marxism is almost afraid to consider the individual in the particular identity and gives him the garb of a proletariat or capitalist, devoid of any particularities. This abstract man of the class could be killed or saved because the action is occult, literary and abstract. From the abstract, the particular is non sequitur, in this case especially. The annihilation of one class is achieved only by a particular person of the communist ideology hating a person of the capitalist mental frame. This hatred even if it is christened in Marxist or any other ideological registries will have the same psychological contends of enmity. This hatred should remain as a permanent state of mind until a classless society is established. Fortunately, the human kind tends to slip away from a permanent state of mind such as hatred and regret hating others unless one is a mentally deranged. Hatred, murder, blood and gory excite even a deranged mind only temporarily. Expecting to keep such derangement as permanent state of mind is perhaps a little short of derangement itself.

Secondly, Marxism has an unspecified assumption that there is an extremely bad humankind, which is the capitalist and another benevolent proletariat who, for the time being engages in violence, at the end of the revolution and establishment of the classless society, can turn out to be altruistic to the once capitalist. A theory based on such an unscientific assumption is to be read as a fiction or as theory? This still baffles me. Utopia does better than this theory in all counts.

But the final object of Marxism has a lasting value, an ideal. Capitalism has no ideology and works by the natural inclinations of the human kind. It promotes the welfare of the self and not of the neighbour. It is based on the biological drive for self preservation. What Marxism proposes is an epikeic philosophy of the Bible although its means are objectionable. One has to overcome the self-preservation drive to take care of the neighbour. In spite of all the Christian orthodoxy the gospel still remains largely unpracticed. Even so is Marxism.

Now what is wrong with the Marxists In India?

The distance between the theory and praxis is at the centre of its failure. At this juncture of rethinking Marxism the analysis should focus on the praxis and not theory. Unfortunately, Zizek has gone the theoretical way. The return to the theory will again nullify the value of experience. The experience of applied communism was not available to Marx. Now, when it is available, that experience should dialogue with the theoretical Marxism, to make itself relevant. The experience of Marxism is different in India and Russia or elsewhere and therefore theorisation should be qualified by the area of its practice. The need for this qualified regional perspective of Marxism cannot be overemphasised. As an example the praxis of Marxism in India could be taken into consideration.

The radical ideology of Marxism, in India’s case, slipped into the framework of Democracy. Marxist parties have been ideology-lead political movements which provided alternatives for the capitalist parties in Kerala, West Bengal and Tripura. But Marxism failed in identifying the right capitalist and directed the hatred to the middle and lower class peasants. In the experience of Kerala, having the labour force turned against its own class whose surplus profit is only the owner’s unaccounted labour, the petty farmers found it totally unprofitable to maintain their self-reliant agricultural processes. Thus when agriculture became unprofitable the petty farmers laid their land unutilised which the real capitalist grabbed later. By the time the party heavyweights who had argued for overthrowing the capitalist, mellowed down their theoretical orthodoxy and colluded with the neo capitalists forcing the petty farmers to run away from their land or to other ways of sustenance. Most of them having found a job outside Kerala and in many cases outside India, this class of the petty farmers manage to live a decent life. But the fall out of this unreflected Marxism is the conversion of the agricultural land into other purposes making the state largely depend on other states for food grains.

If communism is harping on rejuvenation at the global financial crisis on the basis of its near-victory during the depression in 1930ies, it is playing the wrong fiddle. Marxism is still not reflecting and theorising on the ground realities of its existence. This refusal to dialogue with the ground realities is making it more and more fossilised in the academic circles. If China has introduced theoretical Marxism in its curriculum, I am afraid communism is slowly migrating to universities absolutely insulated from praxis. Its total fall is not distant now.

Jijo K.P.

The Tejeshwar Singh Memorial Fellowships

SAGE invites applications for the award of
THE TEJESHWAR SINGH MEMORIAL FELLOWSHIPS FOR 2010
in
SOCIAL SCIENCES,
BUSINESS & MANAGEMENT
and
MEDIA & COMMUNICATION STUDIES

SAGE instituted THE TEJESHWAR SINGH MEMORIAL FELLOWSHIPS in 2009 to honour Tejeshwar Singh, Managing Director of SAGE India for 25 years and doyen of the publishing industry in South Asia.

ADDITIONAL FELLOWSHIP IN 2010: SAGE is pleased to announce the addition of a third fellowship in the SOCIAL SCIENCES in 2010. Proposals in the areas of social justice--including individual rights, changing lifestyles and the significance of an expanded educated class would be preferred. Preference will be given to proposals that are interdisciplinary in scope. For the purposes of this award social sciences comprise economics, economic and social history, political science, psychology, sociology and social anthropology.

PRESIDING PANEL: Rolf Lynton, T N Madan, Surendra Munshi, Bhikhu Parekh, T V Rao, Jagdish Sheth, Arvind Singhal, Sanjay Subrahmanyam and Romila Thapar.

DURATION: One year with a stipend of Rs 50,000 a month. Rs 50,000 can be claimed for travel during the tenure of the fellowship. There are no restrictions of theme or ideology but the work must contribute to an understanding or an advancement of the subject in South Asia. The principal brief to the fellows is to author a book on their chosen subject of research at the end of the fellowship. The book may be published by the scholar's choice of publisher with due acknowledgement to the Tejeshwar Singh Memorial Fellowships for supporting the research.

ELIGIBILITY: Open to nationals of South Asian (SAARC) countries, including those currently resident overseas. Candidates must be below 40 years of age on 1 April 2010.

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES: Applicants are invited to submit their curriculum vitae, a research proposal and a 5000 word sample of their writing. The last date for receipt of applications is 31 March 2010.

AWARD OF FELLOWSHIP: The applications for each fellowship will be vetted by a jury of four experts including one representative of SAGE. The award of the fellowships will be announced in June 2010.

All applications should be addressed to:
Ms Smrithi Sudhakaran
Public Relations Executive
SAGE Publications India Pvt Ltd
B-1/I-1, Mohan Cooperative Industrial Estate
Mathura Road, Post Bag 7, New Delhi 110 044
T: 91 (11) 4053 9222; ext: 256; F: 91 (11) 4053 9234
e-mail: smrithi.sudhakaran@sagepub.in

MPhil/SEMESTER-II/LINGUISTICS

Language and Linguistics

The first session of Semester II/ (Elective)Linguistics was lead by Mr. Anil Pinto. It was an overview of the course contents and a cursory look at the history of language and Linguistics. He shared following with us:

• In 1786 Sir William Jones an Englishman ,scholar of Sanskrit established the similarity among languages- Greek, Celtic, Sanskrit which were later grouped under one family named as Indo- European Languages, followed by grouping of other languages under different families.
• In 1913 Swiss linguist Ferdinand Saussure 's book Cours de Linguistique Generale created history as it was the first time language was subjected to methodological systematic study. The methodological structural principles given by him are: Langue and Parole( Language structure vs speaking in language), Arbitrariness of the Sign (Signifier and Signified), Diachronic and Synchronic Study of the Language ( the study of evolution of the language over different periods' of linguistic system and study of language in a point in time).
• In America ,Bloomfield further expanded the structural study of language and termed it as "Descriptive Linguistics,based on the principle of behaviourism i.e Stimulus....Response, in his book, 'Language' (1933).
• Chomsky, world famous linguist stated that language is not genetically acquired but language acquisition is a function of a device present in our brain . He called it LAD (Language Acquisition Device). He founded the concept of Universal Grammar.

Discussion:

Language is a dynamic process, it undergoes changes with time and changes in socio-political system. Mr. Pinto attributed divine quality to it by explaining the omniscient, omnipotent aspect of language.( Do we see another new theory of Divine Principles of language coming to occupy place in language history, Mr. Pinto?)

Language has immense power to create. Ancient Hindu Vedas declare that the Universe was created with the sound of " AUM".Humboldt has gone to the extent of saying " Man is a man through the use of language alone".

All India Conference: Literature In English Language Teaching

The Regional Institute of English, South India, Bengaluru will hold an All India Seminar from 1 - 3 March, 2010 on the theme Literature in English Language Teaching

Teachers, teacher educators, researchers and others who are interested in English anguage education are requested to send in the abstracts of the papers they wish to present at the seminar, on or before 10 February, 2010. Acceptance of the abstracts will be intimated to the presenters by 15 February, 2010. Complete papers should reach us by 26 February, 2010.

Theme

Literature in English Language Teaching

Sub-themes
Place of Literature in the Language Classroom
Trends in Language and Literature Teaching
Literature and Language Curriculum
Assessment of Literary and Language Competence - Issues and Implications Selection of Texts - Challenges before the Curriculum Developer Using Technology to Teach Language through Literature
Translation as a Tool for Language Learning and Teaching
Literature for Creative Writing
Literature-based Tasks for Language Acquisition
Language, Literature and Culture
Literature in ESP Context
Abstracts and papers may kindly be mailed to elt@riesi.co.in and the hardcopies may be sent to:

The Coordinator
All India Seminar 2010
Regional Institute of English, South India
Jnanabharathi Campus, Bengaluru - 560 056

Note: Abstracts must be written in 200 - 250 words. The writers may also make a mention of the mode of presentation and the equipment required for the same

Registration Fee for the Seminar:
Three days: Rs 500
One day: Rs 300
Accomodation fee: Rs 200 per day

Ravinarayan Chakrakodi
Email: ravirie@gmail.com

Sudhamshu needs help

Dear people, warm greetings to you!

Our Sudhamshu is leaving Christ to work on his Phd. Yup, an irreparable loss for the department. And hope he comes back.

Just when he was doing the last minute work to leave from here, he came to know that five of the books that he had borrowed from the library are yet to be returned. And he doesn't have them. Most probably, and quite typically, he has lent it to others and hasn't kept track.

For someone like Sudhamshu, who believes in an open society, this could be a testing moment.

Most of those books are foreign publications and each easily costs Rs. 1, 500 and above, working to a total of some Rs. 9,000 and odd.

In case, you are any of your friends do have any of the following books, please get back to Sudhamshu or Anil or me.

Postcolonialism - an Historical Introduction - Young Robert C J
Asian Cinemas: A Reader and Guide - Eleftheriotis Dimitris
Solitude of Emperors - david Dadvidar
Film Studies Reader - Hollows, Joanne

And please do spread the message to other friends who might have borrowed it from him.

Thank you!

National Conference on New Perspectives in Non-Native Literatures in English

CALL FOR PAPERS

Department of English, Maulana Azad National Urdu University, Hyderabad is organising a two-day National Conference on New Perspectives in Non-Native Literatures in English on 23rd and 24th March 2010

Objectives:
The arrival and recognition of non-native English literatures in the English world is undoubtedly keyed to the references of social, economical, political, artistic and global dominance and aspiration of non-native English critics, scholars and students. The genesis of the manufacturing of literature in English in almost all parts of the non-native English world can be greatly attributed to the unending popularity of English in addition to its expressive flexibility which fascinates even its vociferous opponents.

The National Conference New Perspectives in Non-Native Literatures in English is the second conference that the Department of English is hosting.

In this conference the endeavor will be to discover new perspectives and challenges which pave way to identify the untrammeled and new areas of trends in creative writing and new research in English Studies. Additionall y, the Conference aims at facilitating an accord and understanding between literatures in other languages and their manifestation in English so that students and scholars around the world develop a literary intelligence which, while honoring linguistic excellence, also successfully de-recognizes linguistic barriers.

The theme and sub-themes of this conference succinctly mirror the objectives of this Conference which are necessitated by research activism in the Department of English. It is positively held that the conference shall be effectively helpful to research scholars and supervisors who are looking out for new fields and disciplines to proactively carry out their study and make some contributions to the fields of English Studies.

Additionally, an apprehension amongst the literature scholars and teachers particularly in India is that language teaching/teachers are given prominence over literature teaching/teachers. The reason of such apprehension lies in assuming that literature is there only for reading and teaching; and it is connected with only universities and institutions. It is high time that such apprehensions are eradicated. This Conference will also hold deliberations on various available areas and opportunities for literature scholars.

Theme
New Perspectives in Non-Native Literatures in English

Sub Themes
1) New Areas of Research in English Studies
2) Comparative Study of Urdu and English Literatures
3) Translated Literatures
4) The Death of Post-Colonialism
5) Stereotyping of Literature
7) The Politics of Literature
8) Muslim Literatures in English
9) Author Translator Issues
10) Guided Research in Literature
11) Indian Literatures in English
12) World Literatures in English
15) The Death of Theory in Present Literatures
16) Regional & Cultural Identity, Globalization and Literature
17) Teaching Literature
18) Affinities between Cultures in Literature
19) Multiculturalism
20) Literature, Plagiarism and Entertainment Industry
21) Digital Story-Telling

Call for Papers
Scholars and researchers can present papers on any topic or related topic listed above. Those s who wish to present their papers are required to submit the abstract electronically at englishconference2@gmail.com in about 250 words before 28th February 2010. On 10th March 2010 they would be informed about the acceptance or rejection of the paper. In case of acceptance, the candidates are required to electronically submit the full paper at englishconference2@gmail.com by 20th March 2010. No paper should exceed 2000 words. The candidates are required to bring along with them in the Conference at least four sets and a soft copy of their paper. The paper must be written in MLA style sheet.

Please send your completed application form with a DD or cheque of Rs. 500 payable to:
Professor Amina Kishore
Head, Department of English,
MANUU, Gachibowli, Hyderabad
TA/DA will not be provided
Closing date for receipt of application: 10th March 2010
Registration can be done electronically at englishconference2@gmail.com

MPhil - Research Methods in English Studies Course Plan

Course Introduction: This course will hone the reading writing and textual analytical skills of the participants. While the first module will be lecture oriented. Module two and three will take the workshop mode involving intensive reading and writing exercises. Module four will be in a seminar mode. Only a select essays will taken for the seminar.

Course Objectives

• To introduce the participants to the various research methods in English Studies.
• To equip students with the skill of textual analysis
• To hone research writing skills
• To expose students to the theories of reading authorship

Session 1 : Archival Methods (Anil)

Session 2 : Oral History as a Research Method (Varghese)

Session 3 : Visual Methodologies (Debasmita)

Session 4 : Discourse Analysis (Sumeela)

Session 5 : Ethnographic Methods (Varghese)

Session 6 : Quantitative methods for text studies (Shaheen)

Session 7 : Textual analysis as a research method (Meenaa)

Session 8 : Interviewing (Sumeela)

Session 9 : Elements of Literary Works; Understanding a Literary Text

Session 10 : Interpreting and Analyzing a Literary Text

Session 11 : Exposition

Session 12 : Compare and contrast

Session 13 : Cause and effect; argument

Session 14 : Barthes - Work to Text (Shahin)

Session 15 : Barthes: Death of the Author(Shahin)

Session 16 : Foucault - What Is an Author? (Debasmita)

Session 17 : White -The Historical Text as Literary Artefact (Varghese)

Session 18 : Jameson - Preface, and On Interpretation (Anil)

Session 19 : Jameson - Metacommentary (Meenaa)

Session 20 : Jameson - The Ideology of the Text (Sumeela)

Note:

• Each session is of two hours duration.
• Sessions 1 to 8. Will be seminar based. Research Methods for English Studies edited by Gabriele Griffin will be the textbook.
• Sessions 9 to 13 will draw upon the work of MAR Habib in research writing. The sessions will follow workshop methodology
• Sessions 14 to 20 will also be seminar based. The texts will be made available in the beginning of the course.

CIA I - Four short research papers of not less than 750 words each using exposition, compare and contrast, cause and effect, and argument as styles of writing. Date for submission: By 22 March 2010. Based on Sessions 1 to 13.

CIA II - Presentation and report based on sessions 1 to 8

CIA III – Presentation and report based on sessions 14 to 20

Note: The reports should summarise the presentation and discussion in respective seminars. The reports should strictly adhere to standard academic writing formats. The reports should reach me within a week from the date of presentation. I will respond to them within a week's time.

Bibliography

Griffin, Gabriele. ed. Research Methods for English Studies. Edinburgh: Edinburgh UP, 2005. Print.

MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers. 7^th ed. New Delhi: East-West Press, 2009. Print, Web.

MLA Style Manual and Guide to Scholarly Publishing. 3rd ed. New York: MLA, 2008. Print.

Somekh, Bridget and Cathy Lewin. eds. Research Methods in Social Sciences. New Delhi: Sage/Vistaar, 2005. Print.

The Chicago Manual of Style 15th ed. Chicago: U of Chicago P, 2003. Print, Web.

The Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association. 5th ed. Washington: Amer. Psychological Assn. 2001. Print.

Raymond Williams: Keywords

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Lecture on Henrik Iben's 'A Doll's House'

Henrik Ibsen was a major 19th century Norwegian playwright, director and poet. His works shaped the modern theatre. Ibsen’s plays were considered scandalous to many of his era. One could characterize rebellious sprit and unforgiving scrutiny through his writings. A Doll’s house is a scathing criticism of the acceptance of the traditional roles of men and women in Victorian marriage. This play is also an important work of the naturalist movement, in which real events (day to day conversations) and situations are depicted on stage in a departure from previous forms as romanticism.
Mr. Pinto’s advise\observation to us was that, “We always try to place or accommodate new objects\ideas to the existing framework (which we already know). Hence, we should try to move away from what we already know and explore new possibility to fit new objects\ideas.” Similarly with Ibsen’s ‘A Doll’s House’, people could not place his works in the existing framework thus giving rise to modern theatre. This play rocked the stages of Europe when it premiered. Nora’s rejection of marriage and motherhood scandalized the contemporary audiences. Self-liberation was reflected through this play. Many could not accept ‘A Doll’s House’ till as late as 1940’s. In fact, the first German productions of the play in the 1880s used an altered ending, written by Ibsen at the request of the producers. In this ending, Nora is led to her children after having argued with Torvald. Seeing them, she collapses, and the curtain is brought down. 1970 onwards there was a shift in the theatre itself to performance studies. Accordingly, ‘A Doll’s House’ was also studied upon and perceived differently. It went back to anthropology and ethnographic studies were conducted on actors who have portrayed the role of Nora, which is one of the most challenging role in the world of theatre.

Review of the Presentations and Discussions on History and Cultural Studies

The study of history and culture are the two sides of one coin. They complement each other. The culture of a society or a nation is very much influenced by its history. So the manner of interpreting history is very important. So the presentations and discussions on history and culture raised different questions and problematized the understanding of history. What are the parameters used to analysis the history? How does the imperialism influence the history? Whether the past is fixed or not?

The first presentation was based on the article, “Postcoloniality and the Artifice of History: Who Speaks for "Indian" Pasts?” by Dipesh Chakrabarty. It problematized the idea of “Indians” representing themselves in history. In the academic discourse of history “Europe” remains the sovereign, theoretical subject of all histories. All other histories, Indian, Chinese, Kenyan etc., tend to become variations on a master narrative that could be call the history of Europe. In this sense, Indian history itself is in a position of subalternity. Europe works as a silent referent in historical knowledge itself becomes obvious in a highly ordinary way. There are at least two everyday symptoms of the subalternity of non-Western, third-world histories.
Third-world historians feel a need to refer to works in European history; historians of Europe do not feel any need to reciprocate.

The dominance of Europe as the subject of all histories is a part of a much more profound theoretical condition under which historical knowledge is produced in the third world. Our footnotes bear rich testimony to the insights we have derived from their knowledge and creativity.

For generations now, philosophers and thinkers shaping the nature of social science have produced theories embracing the entirety of humanity. These theories have been produced in relative and sometimes absolute ignorance of the majority of humankind i.e., those in non-Western cultures. The everyday paradox of third-world social science is that the third world intellectuals use these theories eminently useful in understanding their societies.

For example, following the western methodology of writing history on the basis of historical transition, the Indian history is also written. To prove this the writer takes Sumit Sarkar’s Modern India (regarded as one of the best textbooks on Indian history written primarily for Indian universities). The text opens with “The sixty years or so that lie between the foundation of the Indian National Congress in 1885 and the achievement of independence in August 1947 witnessed perhaps the greatest transition in our country’s long history. A transition, however, which in many ways remains grievously incomplete, and it is with this central ambiguity that it seems most convenient to begin our survey.”

Now the question arises, what kind of a transition was it remained? Answer is grievously incomplete. The study of such a failed history creates a lackness, absence or incompleteness. This history lead us to the British conquer and to the medieval period. This led to modernity. The terms have changed with time. The medieval was once called despotic and the modern is the rule of law. For example, Alexander Dow’s History of Hindostan, (1770) says: “this fundamental jurisprudence was the rule of law that contrasted with a past rule that was arbitrary and despotic ...Despotism was the opposite of English constitutional government.”
In the nineteenth and twentieth century’s, generations of elite Indian nationalists found Indian history between the two poles: despotic-constitutional, medieval-modern, feudal-capitalist. Within this narrative shared between imperialist and nationalist imaginations, the Indian was always a figure of lack. There was always the theme of inadequacy or failure.
This discussion led to Provincializing Europe. Here Chakrabarty is not dealing with "the region of the world we call 'Europe,'" but rather the "imaginary figure [of Europe] that remains deeply embedded in clichéd and shorthand forms in some everyday habits of thought." European thought is no longer the sole property of Europeans and can be used by postcolonialists to good effect, when revised for local conditions.

The Second presentation was based on the article “The Many worlds of Indian History” by Sumit Sarkar. It explores the idea of Indian History, its limitations and the development of history in the late colonial and contemporary times .Finally, the article concludes with a discussion on the how the gap between the writings of elite people on history and the teaching done by primary school teachers can be bridged in the academic arena. . In this article Sumit Sarkar first describes how Indian history failed to project reality. Our historigraphical essays tend to become bibliographies, surveys of trends or movements within the academic guild. Through the Ramjanmabhumi issue in Ayodhya, he gives a clear idea about how history is created because of faith and academic knowledge is sidelined. This, however, was very far from being a simple triumph of age-old popular faith over the alienated rationalism of secular intellectuals. Scholars and researchers have limited role here.

Sumit Sarkar says in his essay that the main aim of teaching history is limited to stimulating patriotism among students and to build in a quiz culture where the students should have by-hearted knowledge of various dates and events. Thereby we fail to imbibe in ourselves questioning attitudes and the ability of critical evaluation.

Impact and impositions of Western English education has affected Indian history. Two major changes occurred because of the influence of Western English education. British rule brought a notion of time as linear abstract and measurable. The other major change was they divided period into three phases. This led to the four yougas being replaced by three phases (i.e., Ancient, Medieval, and Modern Schema).

The focus of this essay, however, is not the history of India. Rather, the purpose of this piece is to explore very schematically some of the issues and examples for the abandonment of history and show what is the present stage of our history and how it can be effectively produced in future in the academic arena. Sumit Sarkar argues that the shift from late colonial history has produced one-sided accounts that artificially separate from pure history. As a result, the main essence/aim of Indian history and its basic purposes has been neglected altogether.
In the third part Sumit Sarkar compares two periods in Indian History i.e. late colonial Indian history and contemporary history. He says that, hierarchical division is more visible in late colonial period opportunities, for any kind of education was more restricted and therefore education and research was not sharp in the late colonial period. But in contemporary times, research and education has grown considerably. In late colonial period, absence of internal hierarchization is more visible. Sumit Sakar gives the example of Sir Jadunath Sarkar whose formal degrees were in English, and till retirement he combined research with the teaching of history.

In contemporary India very significant shifts in basic approaches and choice of research question has taken place. In 1950 the themes like social formation, debates about the existence and nature of Indian Feudalism, the possibilities of capital development in pre-colonial time were focused on, but in late colonial period the primary focus was on information about kings, dynasties or conquests. In 1960-1970 there were major changes happening in history. Firstly, there was the emergence of the Left. Secondly, the lower cast became more powerful due to peasant revolution. Thirdly, women participated in revolutionary activities. Sumit Sarkar says that, due to these changes Subaltern Studies and Women history came into existence. Meanwhile, there was a spate of research publications on tribal peasant and labour movements, as well as a few pioneering, sympathetic studies of lower-caste initiatives in large part independent of, or even hostile to, mainstream nationalism. The hierarchical divisions between scholars at research institute, university teachers, and those working in undergraduate colleges are visibly deepening in contemporary times. Sumit Sarkar gives the example of Ekalavya volunteer group who tried to bridge the gap between the primary school teachers and the elite researchers through teaching-cum-research seminar. They encouraged classroom discussion and creative assimilation.

Other questions that came up for discussion were, on Gramsci’s notion on common sense? How do the social and the political get connected to the education about which Sumit Sarkar has discussed in the later part of his essay? What does Partha Chatterjee say about the adoption of modern principle of European history in India?

For the further discussions the class invited Dr.Vageshwari SP, Christ University. She initiated the discussion on systematic breaking down of history. The problem in the study discourse is that we consider history as fixed not dynamic. We are not questioning the history. In India, the study of history is based on the methodology of imperialism and Geometry which provides a defined way of studying history.

The theory of relativity challenged the undisputable absolute truth of the past. Study of history is a truth making process.

One of the problems is how to convert the cultural practices to academic. Here many times form takes over content and we fail to bring up tools for the analysis.
Rewriting history is always a part of society. Here, why the history is rewritten is important, not what is rewritten. What is the agenda behind it?

The syllabus of the history in higher education should be re-worked. It should be based on facts as well as issue based.

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English Education and Cultural Hegemony in India

Report of Literary Theory and Cultural Studies

The topic which my group took for cultural studies paper presentation was literary theory and cultural studies. In this major topic we focused on two essays, one is Gouary Viswanathan’s Introduction to Masks Conquests and Susie Tharu’s and K Lalita’s Empire, Nation, and the Literary Text. Through these essays we are tried to focus how literary studies and cultural studies are related.

Gouari Viswanathan in her essay talks about the introduction, and development of English education in India. In the essay the author says that the colonial rulers introduced English education as a weapon for the domination over colonized, India.

Using the story of Bangalore Nagaratnamma’s reprinting of the eighteenth century Telugu text Radhika Santwanam by Muddupalani, Sisie Taru and Lalita introduce the rationale behind the effort to collect the materials which have been seised by the people who have power. The main intention of the writers is to show how power controlled the literary work and how the literary production was always subject to gender, class, empire, and nation prejudices.

Presentations and classroom discussions on Literary and Cultural Studies were on the second week of November. For the general discussion of the module our group called Ms. Sreelatha from English and Media Studies Department. The main questions and arguments which came during discussions were, how is the notion of discipline linked with cultu re andhow language works within the discipline of cultural studies. The main argument which Ms Sreelatha proposed was, when we discuss literary studies with cultural studies, first we need to discuss with literature. Another question which came was, how culture is portrayed in literature. Other questions that came up for discussion were, is epistemological basis necessary to begin a study? Is cultural Studies having a philosophical basis? How discussion in literature and literary studies slips into question of language, identity, nation etc… andwhy Indianness? In attempting an answer one needs to acknowledge that, Cultural studies inculcates a questioning attitude which is absent in many other disciplines. Does learning a literature from a culture means one is influenced by that particular culture? The main argument for this question was based on the presumption that one culture being influenced by another and that it is not just an individual influence. Cultural influences are not very obvious. It’s in the psyche. Why should there be a division on national cultures? What is the problem in learning national cultures?

The final argument about the discipline and literature came was, we are still following the traditions of colonial rulers and what we are trying to do is just imitate them because the rules are not changing. To change this we need to raise questions and theoretical discussions which will help to create our own cultural basis in literature and in the discipline of English Studies.

Discussion on Philosophy and cultural Studies II MA English

Report of the Presentation on Philosophy and Cultural Studies

For the module on Philosophy and Cultural Studies, two seminal works were discussed in the class; 1) Structure, Sign and Play in the Discourse of Human Sciences by Derrida and 2) Can the Subaltern Speak by Gayathri Spivak. This report is based on the presentation on the second text and the subsequent discussion on it in the II MA English Literature with Communication Studies as well as the lecture of Mr. Sunder Sarukkai on Experience and Cognition based on his article, Dalit Experience and Theory.

Gayathri Spivak’s essay problematises three central theories of experience; 1) the postcolonial theories, 2) the subaltern concern and 3) the subalternised woman. She argues that the intellectuals are complicit in silencing the experiences of the colonised, the subaltern and the woman by appropriating their experiences inaccurately in the narratives. She questions the authority of the intellectuals to speak of the experience of these oppressed. Theorisation on the subaltern experience is palimpsestic in nature because even as the intellectual tries to construct a history/experience of the subaltern, the authentic history/experience undergoes erasure. The intellectual’s attempts to essentialise the subaltern experience actually cancels out the multifarious entity of the subaltern experience. She argues that the intellectual should constantly question one’s own ground of argument. All the subalterns, be it the postcolonial countries or the women who belong to innumerable backgrounds and conditions, cannot be put under one monolithic categorisation. Citing a couple examples of women suicide in India during the colonial period she argues how the British understanding legal explanations under the pretext of supporting women’s cause, overlooked the actual reasons for their suicide. What then is the intellectual capable of theorising? The possibility is to form a strategic solidarity with the subalterns for the sake of an argumentative support and buying their own space in the debate all the while being aware of the intellectual’s shaky ground on which one stands to argue. This she calls strategic essentialism.

The crux of the argument is, that the personal lived experience cannot be in any way generalised. The humans are in need of an unmediated channel to share one another’s experience in totem. However the unmediated experience does not take place and what is transferred to others is only partial and makes the other incapable of making the experience for theorising.

Establishing the relationship between culture and philosophy is fundamental in proceeding any further on this module. Sarukkai considered experience as the basic stratum of culture while an argument was brought to establish culture as the substratum of philosophy or the latter as the product of culture. Further arguments are required to establish both the syllogisms. For example, is it possible for anyone to have an experience outside one’s culture? Or, is culture the common fund of experiences of a group of people? As the understanding goes now the linear progression of experience-culture-philosophy is the paradigm to work with.

The question on the emergence of different philosophies at different historical junctures deserves an attention. How will one account for the emergence of Platonian idealism and Aristotelian empiricism as the product of the Greek culture while the existentialists and phenomenologists appeared only hundreds of years later in another culture. A vague attempt at answering this question was that a certain political climate is responsible for the emergence of certain types of philosophies. It was monarchy that gave conducive atmosphere for philosophies that were centred around the analysis of matter and the world. With the emergence of democracy and other people-participative forms of government the discussion on the subject of experience shifted to the human person, the meaning of his existence and experience and thereby giving rise to the existentialist philosophies. The emergence of the nihilist philosphies can be attributed to the disillusionment caused by the world wars. Going into the depth of this argument one finds that the mode of exercising power influences heavily if not being the deciding factor on the emergence of different philosophies.

This further shifted the questions on the difference between what is generalisation and essentialisation. They are to be differentiated as two different logical procedures of argument. In the process of essentialisation a general principle is arrived at by observing the experiences of A, B , C and so on. The generalisation is the reverse process of applying a principle or a personal experience as a general principle to a larger category without actually observing all of them. The former is called induction and the latter deduction.

Sarukkai explores the quintessential difference between the subjective lived experience and the mediated experience. The mediated experience has primarily a certain freedom to choose to undergo or not a certain experience, secondly one has the freedom to leave from the experience if it is not satisfactory and thirdly he has the freedom to modify that experience.

While exploring the lines of argument of Sarukkai and Spivak the philosophies could be accused of complicity in essentialising the diverse human experiences. The question itself is heavily loaded with the nuances of the individualistic turn the capitalistic philosophy of the west has taken. This question arises only when individual is possible despite the social. But the society has not been always so. In the earlier cultures which privileged the social over the individual, the subjective experiences do not take significant discussions at all. When the society is essential to make the individual possible the focus of the discussion can centre only on the society. Society being a common institution, the individual variances are shed to create minimum common identities or the essential. To treat such essentialisation as a malady could arise from subaltern, post colonial or postsructuralist perspectives in social sciences. But natural or physical sciences cannot be held accountable for such essentialsiation. If these sciences fail to draw similarities and essentialise the nature of human bodies, every body has to become a ground of experiment at the cost of its life. The question then extends to what can be essentialised and what cannot be on the basis of empirical proofs.. Such normative approaches are still unacceptable to a postcolonial reading. The arguments go in infinite regression ad infinitum.