Sunday, December 20, 2015

A.K. Ramanujan National Paper Reading Contest, MSU, Baroda

Dear Sir/ Madam,

The Department of English, The Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda is organizing A.K. Ramanujan National Paper Reading Contest on 12-13th of February 2016.  

This contest is organized every year particularly for the students pursuing their Master of Arts in Literature / Comparative Literature / Cultural Studies / Film Studies /Linguistics from various Indian University Departments. This year the theme of the contest is Theatre in India: Trends, Forms and Movements. 

The abstracts of papers (word limit: 300 words) should reach Mr. Pronoy Singha,Co-convener at (akr.apr.drs@gmail.com) on or  before 7th January 2016.

We request your active participation.

Please find the concept note as  attachment.

Thank you

-
Dr. Anshu Surve
Assistant Professor
Dept. of English, MSU, Baroda 

Convenor 
AKR APR





--
Thanks & Regards:

Abu Saleh
PhD Research Scholar @ Centre for Comparative Literature (CCL)
School of Humanities, University of Hyderabad (UoH), India.
Mobile: +91 94 94 24 26 45

Certificate Video-conferencing Course 'Bodies at Border' in South-Asia and the Americas in collaboration with Cornell University, USA

Applications are invited on plain paper from currently enrolled MA, MPhil, and Ph.D students of the Faculty of Arts, Jadavpur University, for a certificate course on "Bodies at the Border" in South Asia and the Americas being offered by the Centre for Studies in Latin American Literatures and Cultures, housed in the Department of Comparative Literature, Jadavpur University. The course will be conducted in collaboration with Cornell University, and consists of 14 two-hour lecture cum video-conferencing sessions. Candidates may apply with i) a covering letter addressed to Dr. Sucheta Bhattacharya (email: sucheta.bhattacharya@gmail.com) and Sri Parthasarathi Bhaumik (email: bhaumikps@gmail.com), Course Coordinators, "Bodies at the Border", CSLALC, Dept. of Comparative Literature, Jadavpur University, mentioning any previous exposure to Latin American literatures and cultures, and ii) a 500-word statement explaining why s/he wishes to take up the course. The covering letter should also include the name of candidate's department, degree programme in which enrolled, and her/his email address and phone number.  Preference will be given to those who have already done courses related to Latin America. Number of seats: 20. Course fees: Rs 1,200. Last date for applying: 6 January, 2016. List of selected candidates to be put up on the Comparative Literature notice board: 11 January, 2016. Classes begin: 15 January, 2016. Classes will be held once a week, from 6.30 pm to 8.30 pm.


--
Thanks & Regards:

Abu Saleh
PhD Research Scholar @ Centre for Comparative Literature (CCL)
School of Humanities, University of Hyderabad (UoH), India.
Mobile: +91 94 94 24 26 45

Thursday, December 17, 2015

Friday, December 11, 2015

Fwd: ACLA 2016 Undergraduate Panel (Call for Papers)


---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: American Comparative Literature Association <info@acla.org>
Date: Thu, Dec 10, 2015 at 8:59 PM
Subject: ACLA 2016 Undergraduate Panel (Call for Papers)
To: Abu <abusaleh@uohyd.ac.in>


ACLA 2016 Undergraduate Panel (Call for Papers)
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Please circulate to interested undergraduates


ACLA Friend -

Below, please find the Call for Papers for the 2016 ACLA Annual Meeting UNDERGRADUATE PANEL

ACLA 2016
March 17-20, Harvard University

 
CFP: Undergraduate Panel
 
Borders
 
Central to several fields of knowledge, the concept of borders has enjoyed continuous attention since antiquity. The Romans, for instance, had a god named Terminus, whose role was the protection of the Empire's boundary markers. Borders circumscribe, juxtapose, and define (de-finire = to set something apart from the rest by putting borders around it); they can be transgressed, trespassed, negotiated, reestablished. From enclosures in jurisdiction and economy to warfare strategy; from the importing and exporting of goods, theoretical concepts, and artistic trends to translations of texts across languages and cultures; from narrative "omniscience" and the limits of consciousness to waves of migration; from frames in film or paintings to marginalia; from the questioning of disciplinary boundaries to the tension between center and periphery; from journeys across spatial and temporal boundaries to the blurring of the normal/abnormal and human/non-human distinctions —"borders" keep populating and nurturing the literary and artistic imagination.  We welcome proposals (of 250 words or less) for papers that explore the theme of borders in its multiple inflections.
 
Please send your proposals to Henry Bowles (bowles.henry@gmail.com) and Elena Fratto (efratto@fas.harvard.edu) by January 15, 2016 at midnight (Eastern Time).
 
Copyright © 2015 American Comparative Literature Association, All rights reserved.
You are receiving this email because you are or were a member of the American Comparative Literature Association.
Our mailing address is:
American Comparative Literature Association
Dept of Languages, Literatures and Cultures
1620 College St Rm 813A
Columbia, SC 29208

Add us to your address book





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Thursday, December 10, 2015

A National Seminar in Pune.


---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: VINITA BASANTANI <basantanis@rediffmail.com>
Date: Thu, Dec 10, 2015 at 8:52 AM
Subject: National Seminar
To: Abu Saleh <abusalehenglish@gmail.com>

                                                                         NATIONAL SEMINAR
                                                                                   On
                                     "CULTURE AND COMMUNICATION: REFLECTING PARADIGM SHIFTS"             
                                              (Sponsored by Savitribai Phule Pune University, Pune)       
                      (Area: Commerce, Management, Language and Literature in English, Hindi, Marathi)
                                                                on 4th & 5th February, 2016
                                                                       organized by
                                                       JAI HIND EDUCATION TRUST'S
                             MANGHANMAL UDHARAM COLLEGE OF COMMERCE, PIMPRI, PUNE

About the university:
Savitribai Phule Pune University, one of the premier universities in India, is positioned in the North-western part of Pune city. It occupies an area of about 411 acres. It was established on 10th February, 1949 under the Poona University Act. The university houses 46 academic departments. It is popularly known as the 'Oxford of the East'. It has about 307 recognized research institutes and 612 affiliated colleges offering graduate and under-graduate courses. 

About the College:

Established in 1983, Manghanmal Udharam College of Commerce is affiliated to Savitribai Phule Pune University. The only English medium college in the industrial township of Pimpri-Chinchwad, it offers the undergraduate (B. Com, B. B. A. & B. C. A.) and post graduate (M. Com.) courses in Commerce. The college also offers a number of Certificate Courses to undergraduate students. The number of students on Campus is around 1300.

Concept Note:

Culture is the cornerstone of any philosophy and value. It is deeply reflected in the language, literature, values, norms, systems, structures and social mores. One is able to decipher and comprehend this change through literature, communication systems & systems and policies in organizations. This contemporary themed conference aims to expose the participants to the changing paradigms in language, literature, organizations and society through culture.

Sub themes for English, Hindi & Marathi:
1.Influence of Culture on Language 
2.Influence of Culture on Literature 
3.Diaspora & Culture
4.Identity & Culture
5.Race, Ethnicity & Culture
6.Gender Sexuality and culture 
7.Film, media and culture 
8.Culture & Philosophy 
9.Multiculturalism in literature 

Sub themes for Commerce:
1.The impact of Corporate culture on communication 
2.Culture & Systemic changes in modern organisations
3.Culture & value building 
4.Cross-cultural sensitivity
5.Globalisation & Culture
6.Culture & Talent Management 
7.Culture & Employee Engagement 
8.Culture & value building 
9.Culture & structures in organisations 
10.Culture & management hierarchies 

Registration fee:
For teachers & corporates- Rs. 1000/-
For students of Commerce, Management and Literature & Ph. D. Scholars (with papers): Rs. 600/-
For students (without papers): Rs. 300/-
Accommodation: A decent accommodation will be made available from the list of hotels which will be provided soon. Registration charges include study material, breakfast, lunch and evening tea. Since we have kept the fee very low, participants will have to bear the accommodation charges.

Sight seeing: Shrimant Dagdu Sheth Halwai Ganpati Temple, Shaniwar wada sound & light show, Aga Khan Palace, Osho Ashram, Darshan Museum, (Pune) Science Exhibition Center, Mata Vaishno Devi Temple (Pimpri-Chinchwad) are some famous tourist centers.

Conference Publication-
All selected papers will be published in proceedings with ISSN.
Guidelines to authors-
Abstract of not more than 200 words shall be sent latest by 30th December, 2015
Full length paper of around 3000 words shall be sent latest by 15th January, 2016. 
Font: Times New Roman, font size 12, APA format, single spacing. A Copyright form has to be filled along with the full length paper. 

Principal:
Dr. Mrs. Vijayalakshmi Nambiar 

Advisory Board:
Dr. Ashok Chaskar Dr. Sanjay Kaptan
​​​Dr. Avinash Avalgaonkar Dr. B. R. Sangle​​​ Dr. Vitthal Bhalerao
Dr. Arvind Navale 

Coordinators:
Dr. Parveen Prasad (9637423476)
Dr. Vinita Basantani
(9405429484) 
Dr. D. B. Shirode
(9881152573)

-- 
Thanks & Regards:

Abu Saleh
PhD Research Scholar @ Centre for Comparative Literature (CCL)
School of Humanities, University of Hyderabad (UoH), India.
Mobile: +91 94 94 24 26 45

Wednesday, December 9, 2015

Fwd: Update from Rupkatha Journal on Interdisciplinary Studies in Humanities


---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Call for Papers <noreply+feedproxy@google.com>
Date: Wed, Dec 9, 2015 at 12:20 PM
Subject: Update from Rupkatha Journal on Interdisciplinary Studies in Humanities
To: abusalehenglish@gmail.com


Update from Rupkatha Journal on Interdisciplinary Studies in Humanities

Link to Call for Papers

New CFP: Rupkatha Journal for Open Issue

Posted: 08 Dec 2015 11:53 AM PST

New CFP: Vol. 8, No. 1, 2016 for the Open Issue The Rupkatha Journal (www.rupkatha.com) is inviting papers for its Open Issue to be published in March, 2016. Papers can be submitted on any topic on: Interdisciplinary Approaches to Literature and Arts Digital Humanities: Arts, Literature and the Digital Media Cultural Studies Emerging Critical Theories […]
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--
Thanks & Regards:

Abu Saleh
PhD Research Scholar @ Centre for Comparative Literature (CCL)
School of Humanities, University of Hyderabad (UoH), India.
Mobile: +91 94 94 24 26 45

Monday, December 7, 2015

National Seminar on Middle Aesthetics in Indian Cinema in Feb 2016

---------- Forwarded message ----------

Dear all,

The Department of Media & Communication, Central University of Tamil Nadu (CUTN), in association with the Departments of English Studies and Tamil Studies, is organizing a two-day national seminar in tribute to the late South Indian filmmaker K Balachander, on 18th-19th February, 2016, on the University campus at Neelakkudi, Thiruvarur.

The Call for Abstracts is attached herewith. You will find the same on the University website here: http://cutn.ac.in/news_det.php?id=NTk2

The deadline for submission of abstracts in 15 January 2016.

Please share this widely among those working in relevant areas. And consider sending an abstract for the conference.

Thank you and regards




--
Thanks & Regards:

Abu Saleh
PhD Research Scholar @ Centre for Comparative Literature (CCL)
School of Humanities, University of Hyderabad (UoH), India.
Mobile: +91 94 94 24 26 45

Sunday, December 6, 2015

10th December: International Human Rights Day at Hyderabad

Shaheen and Goethe Zentrum invite you to celebrate International Human Rights Day on 10th December with us and express yourself creatively through paints, poems or music. No speeches, no debate, no dialogue. Just cultural intimacy

 

"Expressions: Celebrating Cultural Intimacy and Diversity"

 

 

Venue: Goethe Zentrum, No. 20, Journalist's Colony, Road No. 3, Banjara Hills, Hyderabad, Telangana 500082

 

Date: 10th December 2015; Time: 2.00PM to 8.00PM


Expressions

Celebrating Cultural Intimacy and Diversity

India is a multi-cultural, multi-ethnic, multi-dimensional country, where we can see unity in diversity. Throughout the time, with many of its inner complexities, India has maintained diversity and plurality of its nature. Today, with many related issues coming up, it is very much important to celebrate the diverse nature of the country. It's a high time in the country that like-minded people come forward and form a collective group and will which further work to make people realize and that maintaining peace and harmony in the state is very much necessary for the good health of the county and all of us.


As usual, Art has always been a vehicle of communication and also a form of self-expression which helps us to understand and to reflect on various issues. It's a visually powerful form of expression. Art, poetry, music and related matters carry such a power which can transform the society. We think to maintain diversities; Art as a form for Social Inclusion. On 10th December 2015, the human rights day, we are organizing a cultural day which will highlight Cultural Diversities and how it binds us in our life through different Art forms and different medium i.e. through Music, Painting, Dance, Drama etc. We will be celebrating diversities through different kinds of Expressions which promotes Ideas of Tolerance in the society and country.


As widely discussed and debated, currently freedom of expression and speech is under threat and being suppressed in the country. There are various incidents happening nowadays.Fanaticism is the greatest thorn in the part of cultural intimacy, and there is no better remedy for fanaticism than secular and scientific education. Secularism is not hostile to religion or religiously informed cultural differences, it could help foster cultural intimacy, among India's diverse communities. Today's growing fanaticism is very much disturbing and do not go well with the nature of the county. To keep our spirits on and energize high, we have focused on building peace and healing violence through different Art forms. We have chosen various forms to express our freedom and ethnicity united with diversity. History has shown how creative people express through colors, ragas and words. We, writers, poets, artists, young or old, are conscious and collectively uphold our freedom of expressions. We will be making use of different mediums of expressions. It will also show how Art has no borders and boundaries. This form of peace building helps in transforming one's own personal and political which will further helps in building peace through collective hands.


We request all of you to join and participate in the event. Let us come together and work for a better society and country free of hatred and violence. Let us work and keep the spirit of the country alive for our future generations. Join us with any form of art you are familiar with and invite your friends and like-minded people who can contribute meaningfully for the purpose. We are much sure that if we come together and work, we can do it and make it into reality. Let's dream for a better India. 


--
Thanks & Regards:

Abu Saleh
PhD Research Scholar @ Centre for Comparative Literature (CCL)
School of Humanities, University of Hyderabad (UoH), India.
Mobile: +91 94 94 24 26 45

Thursday, December 3, 2015

HLF 2016: Volunteering Opportunity: Special Event of "Top Ten Books"

Dear All,

HLF is seeking for volunteers. Please find the attached file or visit the website. Please inform others too.


They are also doing a special event called "My Top Ten" where one can suggest books and that will be displayed and discussed.


Thanks.

--
Thanks & Regards:

Abu Saleh
PhD Research Scholar @ Centre for Comparative Literature (CCL)
School of Humanities, University of Hyderabad (UoH), India.
Mobile: +91 94 94 24 26 45

Tuesday, December 1, 2015

Inter American Studies Conference -- Call for Papers

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: IASA Newsletter
Date: Sun, Sep 27, 2015 at 3:25 PM
Subject: Inter American Studies Conference--Call for Papers
To: 


Call for Papers: 
IVth Biennial Conference of the International Association of Inter-American Studies (IAS), the partner organization of IASA
Conference Topic: "Human Rights in the Americas" 
University of California at Santa Barbara, October 4-6, 2016
Deadline for submissions: December 15, 2015
Conference website: http://www.interamericanstudies.net/?page_id=5851

PLEASE NOTE: The IAS has reserved two panels to be declared "sponsored by IASA" for IASA members who wish to submit a panel proposal as representatives of IASA.Submissions of individual papers are of course also warmly welcomed. Presentations can be in English or in Spanish. 


The Americas, as a global and cultural phenomenon, have been at the forefront in the struggle for human rights since their inception into European history in 1492 and the cultural transformations that ensued due to this pivotal and dramatic encounter. As early as the 1500s on the Island of Hispaniola (today Haiti and the Dominican Republic), the Taíno Cacique Hatuey confronted the Spaniards and resisted the enslavement of his people and that of other Africans. The Dominican Friar Antonio de Montesinos likewise criticized the enslavement of the Taíno Amerindian people under Spanish rule and inspired Bartolomé de las Casas to launch his internal critique of the ethics of colonialism even if ultimately the Dominican missionary did not succeed in preventing the progressive, for all practical purposes, enslavement of Indigenous peoples through the infamous encomienda system of forced labor. Nevertheless, five hundred years later, in the context of what international migration scholars have called "The Age of Migration" some consider the social reformer, Las Casas, to be one of the first advocates for universal human rights.

Celebratory narratives erroneously posit that racism has been overcome; that we are living in a 'post-racial society,' and that by now human rights are recognized as self-evident.  It is commonly believed that we live in a post-World War II 'Age of Human Rights' that was articulated in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) in 1948. The history of the Americas, however, equally demonstrates that the 20th and 21st centuries did not invent mass migrations. In the context of the Americas, e.g., just to mention a few, 12 million of enslaved Africans were brought to work on plantations as a result of the slave trade. In addition, approximately half a million Asians from China, Java Sri Lanka and other Asian countries were contracted to work as laborers following the end of Caribbean slavery. Equally devastating for thousands of Indigenous communities across the American hemisphere has been the dispossession of their lands and their relocation in what may be described as forced migrations.

Other events transpiring during the second half of the 19th and beginning of the 20th century, (such as the sociopolitical turmoil produced by the fall of the Ottoman Empire in the Balkan, Middle Eastern, and North African countries), pushed Arabs and Muslims, as well as hundreds of thousands of Arab Jews, Ashkenazim, Mizrahim, and Sephardim Jews to migrate to the American continent in order to escape deteriorating economic circumstances and persecution. Not surprisingly, throughout modern history an unspecified number of millions of Europeans have been migrating to the western hemisphere in search of a better life. And yet, in the context of the globalized neo-liberal economic order of the 21st century, ethnic minorities, old and new, composed of citizens and non-citizens, as well as migrants and refugees searching for new opportunities, or escaping poverty, conflict, persecution or environmental disasters are viewed as anomalies worldwide.

At a neoliberal juncture reminiscent of the European conquest of the American hemisphere and Euro-American imperialism, human rights vocabulary is regularly co-opted and deployed in the name of western civilization and enlightened secular progress or to justify wars.  Euphemistically denominated as "humanitarian interventions,"   these are perceived as the price to pay for the expansion of democracy, and socio-economic equality.

The present transdisciplinary conference seeks to better articulate the complex social processes by which societies in the Americas oppress and occlude difference.  It equally proposes to update our understanding of resistance strategies and the struggles for human rights of Indigenous peoples, peoples of African and Asian ancestries, and other 'peoples of color,' disabled people, whites (e.g., white women sex trade), women, children, LGBTQ, immigrants, Christian and non-Christian communities throughout the American continent taking into consideration issues of race, class, gender and sexuality. We intend to explore, analyze, complicate, reaffirm, contest, interrogate, or redefine western ideas of the subject and the 'human' in human rights at a time when allegedly the legal rights of the above-mentioned constituencies can no longer be denied on the basis of their probable inhumanity.

This cross-disciplinary forum of academic exchange invites contributions from all academic disciplines concerned with human rights in the Americas. Scholars are invited to propose presentations and/or panels on a wide variety of topics including but not limited to those highlighted below.  We plan to publish selected papers from the proceedings.   Please note that the participation of doctoral students is strongly encouraged.

  • Racism, Pigmentocracies, and Politics of Exclusion
  • The War on Terror; the War on Drugs; the War on Fat
  • Black Lives Matter
  • Cultural Genocide
  • Corporate Attempts to Privatize Water
  • The Onslaught on Education and Ethnic Studies
  • Multiculturalism, politics of recognition and cultural classification
  • Migrating Faiths/Religions
  • Environmental destruction, privatization of land, transgenic crops, and the effects of global warming on marginalized communities
  • Education as a human right; health as a human right
  • Negotiations of hegemonic cultural discourses by marginalized communities with Middle Eastern, Asian, Eastern European or non-Christian heritages in the Americas
  • Imperialism and neo-imperialism, colonization and neo-extractivism
  • Social movements, environmental groups, human rights movements, indigenous movements, civil activism, activists
  • Problematization of (white, affluent) Jewishness that seems to preclude the possibility that Jews can be, e.g., Latin American, Arab, Sephardim, Mizrahi, brown, black, poor, women, children, disadvantaged
  • Ecotourism, advertising tourism, colonization of nature, hotel chains, sex tourism, tourist circuits and their racialized nature as global commodities
  • Trade and integration agreements
  • Human rights related to migration and immigration of adults and children
  • Dependence, deterritorialization, and regulation of racialized migrant labor
  • The militarization of the American continent and low intensity war zones
  • The growing gap between the haves and the have-nots throughout the hemisphere, i.e. income inequality
  • The disproportionate number of women (single mothers), people of color, children, the young, and indigenous peoples affected by poverty as they are incorporated into the global workforce as flexible and cheap laborers
  • Neo-colonialism vs. post-colonialism
  • Transnationalism and the issue of borders
  • Labor practices in maquiladoras and other venues such as agriculture

Please send proposals for individual papers or for panels with a chairperson and three to five presentation to Raphaella Nau at (iasucsb2016@chicano.ucsb.edu).

Please include your name, the title of presentation and/or panel, an abstract (200-400 words per presentation) and e-mail addresses.   Presentations can be in English or in Spanish.

The deadline for submissions is December 15, 2015.

For more information please visit our website: 

http://www.interamericanstudies.net/?page_id=5851

Organizing Committee:

Professor María Herrera-Sobek, Co-Chair  (UCSB)

Professor Laura Romo, Co-Chair  (Director of the Chicano Studies Institute) (UCSB)

Professor Francisco Lomelí  (UCSB)

Professor Luz Angélica Kirschner (University of Bielefeld, Germany)

Professor Yolanda Campos García (University of Guadalajara, Mexico)

Staff:  Raphaella Nau, Business Officer UCSB; Heidrun (Heidi) Moertl (Graz, Austria)

Ex-Officio:  Professor Josef Raab:  President of the International Association of Inter-American Studies, University of Duisburg-Essen, Essen, Germany

--
Thanks & Regards:

Abu Saleh
PhD Research Scholar @ Centre for Comparative Literature (CCL)
School of Humanities, University of Hyderabad (UoH), India.
Mobile: +91 94 94 24 26 45

Monday, November 30, 2015

Fwd: FEB 2016 GIAN Programme on Postcolonial World Literature at IITBBS

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Punyashree Panda
Date: Mon, Nov 30, 2015 at 1:08 PM
Subject: FEB 2016 GIAN Programme on Postcolonial World Literature at IITBBS

Dear Sir/Madam,

Greetings!!

I take this opportunity to invite you to participate in the first GIAN programme on Postcolonial Literature at IITBBS scheduled on 15-25 February 2016. Please find attached the brochure for detailed information. Please circulate widely.

Warm regards,

Dr. Punyashree Panda
Course Coordinator
GIAN Programme on Postcolonial Literature
IIT Bhubaneswar

Dr. Punyashree Panda
Assistant Professor of English
School of Humanities, Social Sciences and Management
IIT Bhubaneswar





--
Thanks & Regards:

Abu Saleh
PhD Research Scholar @ Centre for Comparative Literature (CCL)
School of Humanities, University of Hyderabad (UoH), India.
Mobile: +91 94 94 24 26 45

Saturday, November 28, 2015

“Cults and conscience”: An opinion on the opinion of Dr. Vamsee Juluri on Aamir Khan’s speaking on Intolerance in India

On November 27, 2015 The Hindu published an Opinion titled "Cults and conscience" written by Dr. Vamsee Juluri, Professor of Media Studies at the University of San Francisco. The link of the article is: http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/aamir-khans-remarks-cult-and-conscience/article7919970.ece  


As the debate is going on, it was suggested to me by some friend who simply thinks that 'People like Aamir should be thrown out of India'. Since the friend is in 'academics,' he surely needs to defend his arguments with an article like this.


The article looks balanced and rather pleasing majoritarian views. I agree with some points written here but disagree a lot. Few points below


'Amir Khan's recent transformation': The 'recent' needs more explanation and clarity. Aamir has been actively and openly supported Narmada Bachao Andolan, Spoke against Gujarat Riots, Joined Anaa Movement and later as suggested by the writer Satyameva Jayate and so on. He has also been supporter of initiatives like Swaccha Bharat and campaigned for Pulse Polio Doses, Organ Donation and Incredible India.


Regarding their moving out 'Considered' differ a lot with thought, discussed. It has to be analysed in detail.


'Whether there was an act of intolerance against Khan', looks immature. Does everyone need to be attacked, abused, killed to talk something?


'Khan has continued to work freely': Fanah was objected since he spoke against Gujarat Riots. Let Aamir decides how free he feels himself.


'He has not been browbeaten by governments, political parties, nor by citizens': PK was objected by many people, he was abused, trolled as anti-Hindu; criticism and jokes were flowing in social media. Some organisation heads, many politicians including some elected members objected PK and advocated for banning it.


'His selective story-telling in PK': A Media Professor is saying this! His story-telling? Was he the director? Was it his story? Was he the scriptwriter? Was the producer of the film?


Further, 'Intolerance is not just three murders'. We need to understand what 'Intolerance' people are taking about. We can read some letters the writers, filmmakers have written to the President of India, the Govt. There are some open letters by academicians and so on too. We need to think deeper what the people are worried about.


'Polarisation is real?'… Well, people are not fool to do all this, no panic without some reality. If one follows the other side regularly, will find it very clearly and will not question the genuineness of it. Anyway, the real polarisation is somewhere else though where people are being polarised for electoral benefits, for making a Hindu Rastra and so on.


At the beginning as I gave example of my friend there might be many people who are using this article as a counter 'intellectual' argument in the ongoing debate. I think before writing something we should think many other aspects too.


Thanks


--
Thanks & Regards:

Abu Saleh
PhD Research Scholar @ Centre for Comparative Literature (CCL)
School of Humanities, University of Hyderabad (UoH), India.
Mobile: +91 94 94 24 26 45

Tuesday, November 24, 2015

International Seminar on Contemporary Pakistani Fiction in English (Date: 25-27 February, 2016)

International Seminar on Contemporary Pakistani Fiction in English (Date: 25-27 February, 2016)

full name / name of organization: 
Department of English, Gauhati University

The Department of English, Gauhati University, in its series International Seminars on Contemporary South Asian Fictions in English is happy to announce the second conference of the series. This time the focus is on Pakistan: an attempt at mapping its culture, literature, people, politics and conflicts—in short, ensuring comprehensibility from our varied locations and positions. One of the many themes in this seminar will be to consider the issues that concern writers of/from Pakistan and writers from North-Eastern parts of India.


Pakistani English literature refers to English literature that has developed and evolved in Pakistan and abroad, written by Pakistani writers as well as by members of the Pakistani diaspora who write in English. Dr. Alamgir Hashmi introduced the term "Pakistani Literature [originally written] in English" in his "Preface" to his pioneering book Pakistani Literature: The Contemporary English Writers (New York, 1978; Islamabad, 1987) as well as through his other scholarly work and the seminars and courses taught by him in many universities since 1970's. As one of the academic disciplines in the world today, it is now a widely popular field of study.


However, fiction from Pakistan began to receive recognition in the latter part of the 20th century. The early success of Pakistani English poets was followed in fiction by the prose works written by Ahmed Ali and Zulfikar Ghose, and by such figures as Bapsi Sidhwa; in the diaspora, Hanif Kureshi commenced a prolific career with the novel The Buddha of Suburbia (1990), which won the Whitbread Award. In the early years of the 21st century, a number of Pakistani novelists writing in English won or were shortlisted for International awards. Mohsin Hamid's first novel Moth Smoke (2000) won the Betty Trask Award and was a finalist for the PEN/Hemingway Award. The first novel of Mohammed Hanif, A Case of Exploding Mangoes (2008) was shortlisted for the 2008 Guardian First Book Award.


A reading of Pakistani writing in English foregrounds the experience of Partition and the violence in its aftermath. Many states in Northeast did not necessarily agree to the boundary demarcations in the event of the creation of states within the Indian union. In fact many states refused to be a part of the Indian union. This has led to rising discontent among the people leading to violent movements rendering the region strife torn. How do writers articulate violence and angst creatively in their works will be interesting to explore.


Since its inception, following the two nation theory by the then Muslim league led by Jinnah, Pakistan has never emerged clear from the confluence of state, power, nation, democracy and religion. For the writers from Pakistan and those who identify with the country, these issues become blurred in their quest for identity and belongingness as they continue to question the myth of Pakistan's national discourse on the origins of the nation and Jinnah's contribution. These writers are also sensitive to the internal diversities - linguistic, cultural or social in Pakistan. While some like Kamila Shamsie and Mohsin Hamid draw the strength of Pakistan's national democracy from its diversity, others like Bapsi Sidhwa look at the periphery. Some like Moni Mohsin relates in his work to characters from pre-Pakistan land and its community by engaging in a different image of a nation. Others have explored the functions of the nation in everyday life. From Mumtaj Shah Nawaz's early novel The Heart Divided to the post 9/11 Mohsin Hamid's book The Reluctant Fundamentalist there has been a continuous quest for the human element and 'self' in terms of geopolitics, history, culture and language. Now, there are emerging writers like Tehmina Durrani and Fatima Bhutto from elite families like the Durranis and the famous Bhutto Family respectively who have come out with novels like My Feudal Lord and The Shadow of the Crescent Moon expanding the horizons of Pakistani fiction in English.


In the words of Dr Nukhbah Langah, non-fiction, life writing, poetry and drama, the trajectory of Pakistani writing follows similar trajectories as those we see in India. While Urdu theatre, especially activist theatre, has made its mark in the work of groups like Ajoka and Punjab Lok Rehas that drew inspiration from the work of Badal Sircar in India, there have been significant developments in terms of English theatre in the urban centres of the country. Similarly, there has been a spurt in recent years of memoirs, biographies and other writings. However, our seminar would like to focus more on fiction, being the dominant genre in South Asian Literature.


Papers are invited on the following sub-themes but not limited to these:

• Question of Identities
• Violence and the Nation
• Partition and Literature
• Gender, Sexuality and the Body
• Literature, Culture and Religion
• Home and Homelessness
• Sufism
• Postcolonial Feminism
• Post 9/11 writings
• Cityscapes
• Films/Documentaries


Paper presenters are requested to write their papers keeping in mind that they will be allocated a maximum reading time of 20 minutes each followed by 5 minutes of interaction. They must follow the MLA handbook format and are to submit a soft copy of the paper at the time of registration.

A 300-word abstract should be sent to:
anjalidaimari@yahoo.com;
fardina1@yahoo.co.in
Registration
The registration fee for the participants is Rs 2000/- which will take care of Seminar kit and hospitality. Accommodation will be made available on request. The accommodation charge including food would be Rs. 2000/-.
Important Dates:

Last date of submitting abstract (300 words) 30 November 2015
Acceptance to be notified by 15 December 2015
Completed papers to reach the organizers by 30 January 2016

For further details contact:

Anjali Daimari (+91 9678328588)
Farddina Hussain ( +91 7086523744)
Convenors
Department of English
Gauhati University
Guwahati-14

cfp categories: 
cultural_studies_and_historical_approaches
ethnicity_and_national_identity
film_and_television
gender_studies_and_sexuality
international_conferences
postcolonial
travel_writing

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Thanks & Regards:

Abu Saleh
PhD Research Scholar @ Centre for Comparative Literature (CCL)
School of Humanities, University of Hyderabad (UoH), India.
Mobile: +91 94 94 24 26 45