INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON UNDERSTANDING & INTERROGATING "FOURTH WORLD LITERATURES"

DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH
ACHARYA NAGARJUNA UNIVERSITY
Nagarjuna Nagar
Guntur
Andhra Pradesh
India – 522 510

INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON

UNDERSTANDING & INTERROGATING
"FOURTH WORLD LITERATURES"

7-9 SEPTEMBER 2009

Deadline for Abstracts: 10. 08. 2009

The Conference will cover the following areas: Native American Studies, Native Canadian Studies,Aboriginal Australian, Dalit, African & South African Studies. The term 'Fourth World' was coined by George Manuel and M. Posluns in The Fourth World: an Indian Reality (1974). This was further analysed in political terms by Noel Dyck in Indigenous Peoples and the Nation State: 'Fourth World' Politics in Canada, Australia and Norway (1992). The emergence of Native literatures such as Native American, Native Canadian, Aboriginal Australian, Maori New Zealandian and Dalit literature of India demands a scholarly probe into the evolution and consolidation of Fourth World people in socio, economic, political, literary and cultural aspects of life. The objective of the conference is to introduce and espouse Fourth World Identity that would interrogate the discourse of conventional epistemology. . Abstracts of Papers for presentation focusing on the above areas with inter disciplinary approach exploring diversity, multi culturalism, Inter Culturalism, History, Anthropology, Sociology & Economy of Natives/Aboriginals/Dalits/Africans/South Africans are welcome from colleagues all over the world. Abstracts should meet the approximate word account of 250-300. Abstracts may be submitted by email to the following address: derrida@rediffmail.com or derrida.derrida@gmail.com.
Registration Fee	:	Local Delegates: Rs. 600.
	:	Non Local Delegates: Rs.800
	:	Foreign Delegates: Rs. 5000
The Registration fee covers accommodation, Break fast, Lunch, Dinner, Snacks, Tea/Coffee for three days and the Conference Kit. The registration fee has to be paid through Demand Draft drawn infavour of Dr. Raja Sekhar, director International Conference payable at SBI ( Nagarjuna University Campus Branch No:4793), Nagarjuna Nagar. Guntur. *** Acharya Nagarjuna University is located in between Vijayawada & Guntur, the two popular cities in coastal Andhra Pradesh. The University is 17 K.M. from Vijayawada and 15 K.M. from Guntur. The nearest local airport is in Vijayawada and the International airport is in Hyderabad. The University is surrounded by world famous tourist places like Undavalli caves, Bhavani Island, Durga temple, Krishna barrage in Vijayawada. The world famous Buddhist site Amaravathi is 30 K.M. from Guntur. For mailing abstracts and inquiries: Dr. P. Raja Sekhar, Director, International Conference Dept. of English Acharya Nagarjuna University Guntur. India. 522510 Mobile : + 91 9704464829 Email : derrida.derrida@gmail.com, derrida@rediffmail.com Website: www.fourthworldlitt.in http://www.nagarjunauniversity.ac.in/engseminar.asp

Archive Research Contd....

How do we ensure objectivity in Research?
The Subjectivity/ Objectivity question in Archival Research.
A Work is said to be objective,
if the existing knowledge on the topic is reiterated,
if the new knowledge is expressed in existing modes of academic representation,
if the writing does not refer to subjective experience and the writing subject is seen detached, from the work,
if citations are given, a work is said to be objective.
Interestingly, computer has become a metaphor of objectivity!

Book to read : Derrida, Archival Fever
Cultural studies show that Theory is one way of performance.
The Concept of Archives
Archives do not seem to be part of oriental cultures. The museums are often filled with folklore artifacts and some tribal antiquities. Preserving historical documents have not been taken seriously in India. The very sense of Archive is found in wanting in this region. Looking at this scenario one can say that
The project of modernism is only half built in India.

Do's and don’ts of the archives
1. Unlike novel or poem, for a historian the documents are not intended for the eyes. The content is more important for him/her.
2. Read the archival documents lovingly.
3. You formulate the ideas after reading them not while reading.
4. You critique a text of history on the basis of a larger historical perspective, not on the individual stories written there.
5. The literature guys keep reading things neglected by other disciplines and vice versa. E.g. There is an interest in Shakespeare in other disciplines while in English Department it is les
6. Women studies have used the archival studies seriously. ‘My studies begin” the story of Justice Ranade’s wife is one such.
7. Archives are residues of modernity.
8. Museums and archives are the first building blocks of the nation states. Bombay National Musuem has letters from Afganisthan, Burma, Sri Lanka. The museum was the mark of a territory that belonged to the British. A Nation talks of its area, through its museums.
If there are no museums no nations????
9. Archives and museums are also instruments of totalitarianism. It registers, classifies, archives etc.... events and people. The state can do whatever it wants if the unique Identification Number is implemented on all citizens. This could be sometimes dangerous, threatening the citizens (persons) State is the perpetrator of the largest proportion of violence.
10. Who collects the data in the archives? It is important to ask questions like these? What are the ideological purposes that they serve?
11. It is important not to photocopy but transcript. These documents are precious.
12. Time management: organising
13. Read archival material with the clear idea that there is a lot more than what is available. All that we have got of the Greek literature is only 3-4 percent of the total. The great idea of the Greeks is formed from this small percentage. Think how much is lost.


The content is the class note of Jijo K.P. on Anil’s Lectures on Archval Research (Part II) for MA English II Yrs. On 30th June.

Video on the 'soul of India'

An amazing video on the 'soul of India'

Dicussion on Theatre

Discussion on Theatre Workshop

(MA II English, 16-17 May)

All the students shared their opinion on the workshop on theatre. Many students opined that the workshop helped them to come out of their inhibitions and stage fright.

Why should we learn acting if we are not interested in the field? Why did we introduce theatre in Literature? These were some of the questions that were discussed in the class on 16^th.

Mr. Pinto counter questioned why this question comes only about theatre studies and not other subjects. He clarified that Drama is a subject proper to English Studies or English Department. And the Department always maintained the opinion that the best way to teach drama is acting it although there are very few who actually try it out. The name is shifted from Drama to Theatre Studies because of its emphasis on practical. So it is important to undergo the process or theatrical workshop.

He also said that experience should be an important aspect of theoretical formulation where possible. English dept had long divorced the performative-experience of theatre from the study of plays.

When Drama/theatre, although originally part of English Department, was losing its significance in the discipline, comparative studies connected it with apparently unconnected discussions. The comparative study itself was a new way of keeping the old colonialism alive in academics.

Mr. Pinto also said that with an interest to make the paper more practical, there was a plan to involve Rangasangkara to teach this paper in the University. This was to fill one of the gaps in Indian universities. as they do not collaborate with actual practitioners of the art like Drama, although they are brought for short term lecturing.

Newer academic spaces also are yet to completely open up to this as they are concerned more with their brand name and identity which could be lost by involving other people regularly in their curriculum, he commented. Some universities are attempting to make innovations in the field of English Studies and Dramatics.

Notes by Jijo, II MA

Articles for reading

Ashis Nandy on Recent developments in Hindutva Politics

I HEP Instructions

Groups for Plays

Group I	Group II	Group III	Group IV
1 5 10 15 20 25 29 33 37	2 7 12 17 22 26 30 34 38	3 8 13 18 23 27 31 35 39	4 9 14 19 24 28 32 36

The presentations should contain

1. Summary

2. Background to the text and author

3. Themes/ arguments

4. Possible Questions

5. Possible language learning through the text