Last Date of Submission: 20 May, 2014

Saturday, April 26, 2014

Centre for the Study of Developing Societies (CSDS), New Delhi: ‘Researching the Contemporary’: Call for Applications

Centre for the Study of Developing Societies (CSDS), New Delhi
'Researching the Contemporary': Call for Applications

The Centre for the Study of Developing Societies (CSDS) invites applications for its two-month Course on 'Researching the Contemporary'.

Further See: http://www.csds.in/events/'researching-contemporary'-call-applications

This is an intensive Course with compulsory readings and class discussions. Course materials will be made available. Participants are expected to write research papers which they will share during the Course. A participation certificate will be awarded upon successful completion.

The Course will be conducted over 8 weeks between 1 July-31 August 2014. Classes will be held at CSDS on week-day afternoons, Tuesday to Thursday, from 2.30-5.30 pm.

Applications are invited from M.Phil/Ph.D students as well as independent researchers. As part of your application please submit your C.V. and a 1000-word description of your research question/topic.

Selected out of station participants shall be provided with round trip travel expenses (3-tier AC) and a stipend of Rs.20,000/-

Deadline: 30 April 2014.

Applications may be sent to: teaching(at)csds.in

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

Mail: abusaleh@uohyd.ac.in Or abusalehenglish@gmail.com

Tuesday, April 22, 2014

A Letter to Mr. Narendra Modi on His Dog-Whistle Politics

Dear Mr. Narendra Modi,

Namaskar! You must be really busy with the election campaigning and would hardly find time to read this. I know that a letter of this sort does not matter to you. Still I thought of repeating to you a few things about India, since you define the contentious issue of secularism as 'India First'.

You must be aware, and I am sure you are, that India is a multilingual, multicultural, and, more importantly, a multi-religious country. Despite occasional skirmishes, people have co-existed largely peacefully and practiced a syncretic culture. And, probably, that's why many Muslims colour themselves on the day of Holi or dance during Pujas. As I come from Bengal, I can say with some certainty that the Durga Puja is very attended by Muslims. Similarly, on the occasion of the Eid, our Hindu friends and neighbours invite themselves to our Muslim homes for partaking delicacies and wishing us. These practices have persisted over the years, as they should in a secular and plural country like India. Despite our differences, Indians are mostly humble, courteous, and respectful towards other religions and customary practices.

That's why it was such a shock to me when in your Rajat Sharma interview (a 'fixed' one, your detractors claim) you said and I interpret that you refuse to wear the Muslim cap mainly because you don't want to be disrespectful to your own religion and traditions. Here, I would not like to go into your party and your party chief's stand on this issue as your views are contradictory to theirs. I understand that only the cap does not symbolise Islam. Also, it's true that the Muslim topi has been misused by opportunistic politicians with impunity. Yet, I am sure you will agree that for many Muslims in the larger Indian-subcontinent, the cap is part of the religio-cultural identity. It's not mandatory that you should wear cap occasionally but nothing will harm if you wear one too. I do agree with those, including Muslims, who question the wisdom of the Maulana, who offered the cap to you. It must have been purely out of courtesy or keeping with the prevailing political practices. I am sure he was not thinking of converting you to Islam. I don't know what you told to the Maulana while rejecting it. However, you made it very clear during the interview that if you had accepted and worn the cap like other leaders or parties, this would have been interpreted as a tokenism for the community.

Even if I accept your logic that wearing the cap would have suggested that you were pandering to the Muslim community as a votebank, Mr. Modi, I don't understand why only a Muslim cap becomes symbol of appeasement for you while you happily wear other cultural and religious symbols. In Assam, you tried the Jaapi; in Tamilnadu, you wore the mund. On various occasions, you wore the Sikh turban in Punjab, and the peacock feather cap, and so on. During your election rallies, you don't hesitate to hold a sword, a bow, a gada, and so on. (Well, it's a different debate altogether that it's often difficult to understand from your rhetoric – hunkaar, vijay, garjan, mahagarjan etc. – if you are an aspirant for the post of Prime Minister in a free country or at war with its citizens.) Then why does only the Muslim cap become a symbol of appeasement for you?

Mr. Modi, may I humbly remind you that you have appeased Muslims in other ways, when you felt the need. Sometimes, quite overtly. Earlier, you have been seen hobnobbing with many maulanas and local leaders. You have sought out the services of the Pathan Brothers (cricketers) to 'impress' Muslims. Your opponents allege that you and your party pay females for wearing burkha during your rallies. Most recently, you had Salman and Salim Khan to endorse you. Did you resort to such stunts because you realized that it's difficult to sell 'developments' alone to Muslims, who valued security to life more?

Mr. Modi, truth be told, you have ushered in a new era of dog-whistle politics in India. As you realize that there is a qualitative difference between 1999 and 2014, you know a blatant communal rhetoric might not go down well even with the majority Hindu community (if there ever were a homogenous Hindu community!). Yet, you would like to appeal to the majority community by subtly indulging in communal polarization. This is dog-whistle politics at its best. Your trusted comrade, Amit Shah, has mastered the art to perfection, managing to get away with a minor reprimand from the Election Commission. Now Pravin Togadia and other fanatics of your party took lead. First by rejecting the cap and, then, by reviving the issue, you have shown your religious intolerance, prejudice, and hatred towards a particular community. Yet, all this has been done with tact and guile, pretending to be a leader, who does not endorse divisiveness.

Finally, I would like to end with one suggestion. If you eventually end up becoming India's Prime Minister, I hope you will not greet your countrymen on the occasions of Diwali, Eid, Good Friday, and so on, because that might appear as appeasement. Also, I hope our friends from other religions, too, will stop greeting us because that would amount to appeasement of one's neighbours and friends. Yes, such blatant appeasement policies of our founding fathers must be discarded for good. Anything for a march toward a New India!

With Regards,

Abu Saleh

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

Mail: abusaleh@uohyd.ac.in Or abusalehenglish@gmail.com

Thursday, April 17, 2014

APPEAL TO INDIAN VOTERS

APPEAL TO INDIAN VOTERS

Dear Fellow-Indians,

The best thing about our country is its cultural diversity, its pluralism – the co-existence of a number of religions and ethnicities over centuries, and hence the blooming of multiple streams of intellectual and artistic thought. And, this has been possible only because Indian society has prided itself on being essentially secular in character, rejecting communal hatred, embracing tolerance.

Today, that very sense of India is vulnerable. The need of the hour is to protect our country's secular foundation. Undoubtedly, corruption and governance are important issues, but we will have to vigilantly work out ways of holding our government accountable to that. However, one thing is clear: India's secular character is not negotiable! Not now, not ever.

As Indian citizens who love our motherland, we appeal to you to vote for the secular party which is most likely to win in your constituency.

Jai Hind!

Yours

Imtiaz Ali (Writer-Director: Highway, Jab We Met)

Vishal Bhardwaj (Writer-Director: Omkara, Maqbool)

Govind Nihalani (Director: Tamas, Ardh Satya)

Saeed Mirza (Director: Albert Pinto Ko Gussa Kyon Aata Hai)

Zoya Akhtar (Writer-Director: Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara)

Anand Patwardhan (Documentary Film-maker: Jai Bhim Comrade)

Vijay Krishna Acharya (Writer-Director: Dhoom 3)

Kabir Khan (Director: Ek Tha Tiger)

Kundan Shah (Director: Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro)

Nandita Das (Director-Actor: Firaaq, Fire)

Hansal Mehta (Director: Shahid)

Anusha Rizvi (Writer-Director: Peepli Live)

Tushar Gandhi (Activist)

Teesta Setalvaad (Activist)

Javed Anand (Activist)

Anjum Rajabali (Writer: Raajneeti, Satyagraha)

Akshat Verma (Writer: Delhi Belly)

Shubha Mudgal (Singer-Musician)

Swara Bhaskar (Actor: Raanjhana, Tanu Weds Manu)

Aditi Rao Hydari (Actor: Murder 3, Rockstar)

Mahesh Bhatt (Director-Producer: Saaraansh, Jannat)

Anil Mehta (Cinematographer: Lagaan, Jab Tak Hai Jaan)

Saket Chaudhary (Writer-Director: Shaadi Ke Side Effects)

Rakesh Sharma (Documentary Film-maker: Final Solution)

Vinay Shukla (Writer-Director: Godmother)

Robin Bhatt (Writer: Chennai Express, Krrish 3)

Aneesh Pradhan (Tabla Maestro)

Sanjay Chhel (Writer: Rangeela, Yes Boss)

Sameer Anjan (Lyricist: Dhoom 3, Kuch Kuch Hota Hai)

Imteyaz Husain (Writer: Parinda)

Rajesh Dubey (TV Writer: Balika Vadhu)

Vinod Ranganath (TV Writer: Shanti, Swaabhiman)

Jalees Sherwani (Lyricist: Dabang)

Danish Javed (Lyricist and Poet)

Amitabh Shukla (Film Editor: Chak De India)

Sukant Panigrahi (Art Director: Dev D)

Surabhi Sharma (Documentary Film-maker)

Mahesh Murthy (Adman-Entrepreneur)

Anusha Khan (Producer)

Bishwadeep Chatterjee (Sound Designer: 3 Idiots)

C.K. Muraleedharan (Cinematographer: Lage Raho Munnabhai)

Dr Manasee Palshikar (Screenwriter-Teacher)

Jyoti Dogra (Actor)

Joy Sengupta (Actor)

Kausar Munir (Lyricist: Dhoom 3)

Manjushree Abhinav (Novelist-Film-maker)

Mazahir Rahim (Screenwriter)

Nishant Radhakrishnan (Film Editor: Satyamev Jayate)

Preety Ali (Producer)

Priyanka Borpujari (Writer)

Rajashree (Writer-Director)

Ruchika Oberoi (Film-maker)

Rukmini Sen (Writer and TV Journalist)

Sameera Iyengar (Theatre activist)

Sharad Tripathi (Screenwriter)

Shivani Tibrewala Chand (Playwright)

Siminatini Dhuru (Activist)

Sona Jain (Film-maker)

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

Mail: abusaleh@uohyd.ac.in Or abusalehenglish@gmail.com

Tuesday, April 15, 2014

eDhvani Issue V: July 2014 CFP: Please Forward, Share and Inform Others

ISSUE V; July, 2014

Gender and Travel: Questioning Categories

Travel especially as a category yields easily or so it seems to the dominant. Our endeavor in this issue of eDhvani is to problematize the idea of travel and analyse it from positions that not only question the leisurely and gendered notions of travel but also reconceptualise the notion of travel in ways that open up the field of enquiry. Beginning with questions of "who travels? To where? How and why? ", eDhvani intends to explore the idea of travel and gender as movement. Gender is now largely understood as performance which is constantly shifting. On similar grounds, can there be a connection made between gender and travel as movement? Can we look at gender itself as travel, as movement?

Travel writing as a genre has defined its boundaries largely within the concept of travelling for pleasure. How do we understand day-to-day experiences of travelling/commuting for work, travelling forced by displacement or even travelling/walking for basic necessities? The existing discourse of travel studies has to be re/read in this light. For example, the colonial travel writings have already been reread as documents that produced and established knowledge on the Orient for colonization. The extension of the boundaries of the genre in this manner would further complicate the study by looking at travel as movement from one space to another not necessitated by one's pleasure or pleasure to 'see/know', but necessitated by compulsion through which people negotiate. Thus, a displaced body as an engendered displacement, constructing gender spatially through body and performance, may link both travel and gender.

eDhvani, in its fifth volume, calls for scholarly papers that discuss and analyze various aspects of gender and travel.

The papers would be peer reviewed and published in the coming issue of eDhvani.

Papers can address but not limit to the following sub-themes:

Alternate travel narratives that would help redefine the boundaries of the genre
Travel narratives as a genre in the various language-literary traditions of India – nature, scope and limitations
Critical reading of travelogues in languages of India with special reference to gender discourses – deconstructing binaries of femininity and masculinity
Narratives that reconstruct notions of travel and connect it to questions of identity – who travels and to where
Travel/Movement as enabling, empowering – following the Ambedkarite notion of movement from the orthodox village to the modern space of the city
Oral narratives of communities which are always on the move.
Texts that question the pleasure/leisure/gendered nature of travel/movement
Exploring questions like religion-spirituality, health-medicine-body-performance, nation building, colonial/post-colonial, domestic/foreign space, work-leisure-displacement etcetera in travel narratives to extend gender debates
Reading travelogues, promotional videos, travel blogs, travel brochures, itineraries, travel support sites, travel guides, etc.

eDhvani also calls for

Interviews with eminent thinkers/writers on their views on travel and gender
Translations of poetry/short writing/short travelogues related to the concept note
Creative writings in the above mentioned areas

Last Date of Submission: 20 May, 2014

Intimation Regarding Acceptance/Rejection & Revision: 15 June, 2014

Final Submission after Editing: 30 June, 2014

Date of Publishing: First Week of July, 2014

Send complete papers/writings/translations to edhvani@uohyd.ac.in by 20th May 2014. The papers should follow the format mentioned in http://edhvani.in/ and please check the website for further details on submission.

See Submission Guidelines for more details…

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

Mail: abusaleh@uohyd.ac.in Or abusalehenglish@gmail.com

http://uohyd.ac.in/images/recruitment/ccl_guest_faculty_010414.pdf

Sunday, April 6, 2014

CCL invites for Guest Faculty...

Centre for Comparative Literature
needs Guest Faculty

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

Mail: abusaleh@uohyd.ac.in Or abusalehenglish@gmail.com

http://profiles.uohyd.ac.in/raw-con-2014 * www.ccluoh.in

Saturday, April 5, 2014

Researchers at Work Conference (RAW CON 2014)

Centre for Comparative Literature

School of Humanities, University of Hyderabad, India

Researchers at Work Conference (RAW.CON 2014)

“Literature and Culture; Expanding Horizons: New Paradigms of Knowledge Production”

10 - 12 September, 2014

Hyderabad, India

RAW.CON or Researchers at Work Conference, in its fourth year, from the Centre for Comparative Literature, School of Humanities, University of Hyderabad, is a research initiative which broadly focuses on Literary and Cultural Studies. In the previous years, this conference looked at various issues of literatures, cultures and modernities. This year it proposes to explore new frontiers of knowledge production so as to understand how they contribute to research and analyses.

The idea of knowledge has been questioned profoundly from different positions, especially in a world where politics of identity asserts itself through various domains and what has been privileged as knowledge is called into question. Over time, knowledge has undergone major conceptual changes with various interventions and expansions. In addition, knowledge production in the recent times has altered its production, dissemination and reception in drastic ways. The everyday social, political and cultural identities are highly mediated by technologies. This mediation manifests itself in a broad range of circulatory practices which both dissolve and expand spatial, temporal and social boundaries, offering us new ways to represent the world. Knowledge production in contemporary world of ‘New Media’ visualizes identities through social networks and enlarges the concept of culture as a sphere of acceptance. The altered space and time juxtapose the material and the digital places, producing new forms of the ‘social’, while simultaneously renegotiating the political and social logics of local/global or private/public. It also augments the understanding of Culture and Literature as engaged in gaining historical knowledge to interpret contemporary situations.

Keeping all these as backdrop, RAW.CON 2014 calls for papers that connect new forms of knowledge, from all domains of literature and culture including ones that are mediated and facilitated by newer technologies, newer media, and newer modes of production. Terrains of textual making generating newer understandings through gender and queer, resistance literatures, texts through translation, dalit and minority writing, tribal literature, and, their possible interface with the available forms of technology will be focused upon.

Hence, RAW.CON 2014 seeks to raise questions such as how does ‘new media’ trigger and create new social phenomena. It intends to interpret the new-now that is mediated. What are the altered modes of communication, collaboration, and consumption of knowledge. How does it structure new forms of expression while transforming knowledge production and dissemination?

Abstracts are invited, but not limited to, the following areas:

* Historiography of Digitization

* Knowledge in Digital Domains

* Newspaper and Publishing

* Television, Advertisement, Photography

* Video as Text and Narrative

* Media, Intermedia and Interart

* Archiving Folk Art and Forms

* Translation and Knowledge Networks

* Sports and Performance Studies

* Gender and Sexuality

* Language and Ideology

* Margins and Popular Culture

* Dalit, Tribal, Minority Discourses

* Virtual Activism and Resistance

* New and Emerging Areas and Forms of Literatures

Last date for submission of abstracts : 30 June 2014

Intimation of selection : 15 July 2014

Submission of full papers : 31 August 2014

Abstract should be emailed to: raw.con2014@uohyd.ac.in

Further, please visit: http://profiles.uohyd.ac.in/raw-con-2014 or www.ccluoh.in

The conference is exclusively for full time or independent ‘research scholars’, thus graduate, post-graduate students, senior teachers are humbly requested not to apply.

Abstracts should be around 250-300 words in Microsoft word (.docx) format. No way it should cross 300 words. Please write your full name, institution, contact details and current programme/year/semester of research in the body of the mail.

Papers will be screened through blind peer review process. Authors will be intimated accordingly.

The conference committee may think of separate sessions to accommodate short films, documentaries, digital documentation and archival work in these areas by researchers. Proposals are invited and are subject to the approval of the advisory committee.

Shared accommodation and food will be arranged for outstation participants. The conference committee will think of a limited number of minimum travel allowances depending upon the availability of funds.

Once the conference over, we hope to publish selected papers either in hard or e-book format.

If the outstation participants are interested, the conference committee may arrange a city tour on Saturday, 13^th September, 2014 to the few important places in Hyderabad.

raw.con2014@uohyd.ac.in * 040-2313-3350

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

Mail: abusaleh@uohyd.ac.in Or abusalehenglish@gmail.com

Thursday, April 3, 2014

National Seminar on "Can Dalit Literature be a Core/Compulsory Course in Literature Departments?": In Honour of Prof. M. Sridhar

SEMINAR SCHEDULE

Department of English

University of Hyderabad

National Seminar on

“Can Dalit Literature be a Core/Compulsory Course in Literature Departments?”: In Honour of Prof. M. Sridhar

School of Humanities’ Auditorium

University of Hyderabad

3^rd April, 2014

DAY 1

INAUGURAL SESSION: (9:30 -11:00)

Chief Guest: Prof. Ramakrishna Ramaswamy, Vice-Chancellor

Chair: Prof. Amitabha Das Gupta, Dean School of Humanities

Seminar Coordinator: Dr. D. Murali Manohar, Head, Department of English

Guest of Honour: Prof. M. Sridhar, Former Professor, Dept. of English, HCU

Keynote Speaker: Prof. T. Nageswara Rao, Dean, School of English Literary Studies, EFLU

TEA BREAK (11:00 – 11:30)

SESSION 1 (11:30 – 1:00)

CHAIR: Prof. T. Tirupathi Kumar, EFLU

K. Suneetha Rani: Teaching Dalit Literature as an Optional Course: Issues of Politics and Pedagogy

J. Bheemaiah: Texts and Context: Can’t Dalit Literature Merit a Core Course?

Suresh Kurapati: The challenges of teaching Dalit literature in MA English Programme as a core course

LUNCH (1:00-2:30)

SESSION 2 (2:30 – 4:00)

CHAIR: Dr. Siddharth Satpathy, HCU

Panchanan Dalai: The ‘Other’ University Wits: Taking Dalit Literature to the Students’ Desks

D.Murali Manohar: Designing a Core/Compulsory course on “Dalit Literature” in English Departments across the Country: A Model Proposal

Subba Raju: Dalit literature as a Core Course: A Few Insights

Followed by Tea & Film

SEMINAR SCHEDULE

Department of English

University of Hyderabad

National Seminar on

“Can Dalit Literature be a Core/Compulsory Course in Literature Departments?” In Honour of Prof. M. Sridhar

School of Humanities’ Auditorium

University of Hyderabad

4^th April, 2014

DAY 2

SESSION 1 (9:30 -11:00)

CHAIR: Dr. J. Bheemaiah

B. Tharakeswar: Teaching Dalit Literature in the Departments of Kannada and English: Questions of Representation, Resistance, Appropriation

Darla Venkateswara Rao: Dalit Literature as an Optional Course in Telugu Department: Need for Transformation into a Core Course

Dodda Seshu Babu: Why can’t Dalit Literature be Core Subject in the Hindi Department?

TEA BREAK (11:00 – 11:30)

SESSION 2 (11:30 – 1:00)

CHAIR: Prof. K. Suneetha Rani

Gogu Shyamala: Using Pristine Dalit Indigenous Community Resources to New Paths…

G.V. Ratnakar: Dalit Literature is growing in Research

K. Babu Shankar Rao: Difference: An Essential Criterion for Inclusion

LUNCH (1:00-2:30)

SESSION 3 (2:30 – 4:00)

CHAIR: Dr. Soumya Decchamma, HCU

Shivaram Padikkal: Some Moments in the History of Dalit Literature in Kannada

Vinodini: Telugu Dalit Literature

Omprakash Kamble: Emergence of a Radical Dalit Voice as a Critical Discourse in Post-Ambedkarite Maharashtra: A Debate Comparing Mainstream Marathi and Dalit Literature in Asmitadarsha (1970)

VALEDICTORY SESSION (4:00p.m)

Valedictory Speaker: Prof. Alladi Uma, (Former Professor, Dept. of English, HCU)

Followed by Tea and Film Show

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

Mail: abusaleh@uohyd.ac.in Or abusalehenglish@gmail.com

Wednesday, April 2, 2014

Shakespeare: A 450th Birthday Symposium - In Memory of Professor S. Nagarajan

Dept. of English

Shakespeare: A 450^th Birthday Symposium

– In Memory of Professor S. Nagarajan –

ASIHSS Hall, Dept. of English

7 April 2014

Shakespeare, W. (1564-2014)

9.30 AM-10 AM Inaugural

10.15 AM-11.15 AM: Leela Prasad, Duke U: “ ‘Speak what we feel, not what we ought to say’: Cordelia's Salt in Indian Oral Tradition”

11.15 AM -12.15 PM: K. Narayana Chandran, UoH: “Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Black Bard”

12.15 PM-1 .15 PM: Samson Thomas, EFLU: “The Shakespearian Rag in a Wagnerian Tune: Reading Shakespeare Tragedies in the Light of Nietzsche's Theory of the Tragic"

2.30 PM-3.30 PM: Tutun Mukherjee, UoH: “Shakespeare as 'Global Capital'”

3.45 PM -4.45 PM: T. Sriraman, EFLU (Retd): “Contemporizing Julius Caesar”

4.45 PM -5.45 PM: Pramod K. Nayar, UoH: “Branding Bill: The Shakespearean Commons”

Anna Kurian

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

Mail: abusaleh@uohyd.ac.in Or abusalehenglish@gmail.com