COLLEGE EVENTS
2014-2015
Farewell to the Class of 2014
The Department bid adieu to the class of 2014 on April 22, 2014. The theme of the farewell this year, "The Carnivalesque", made it possible for the seniors to let their imaginations run free while designing their costumes. The seniors were given a warm goodbye through a video prepared by the juniors which showed teachers giving them advice on their future life and nostalgic as well as funny renditions of the juniors singing along to different songs. The seniors were also presented with hand-made bookmarks inscribed with a word which truly described them. Apart from the presentation of these mementos, the juniors also sang and dance for their seniors in addition to reciting Roald Dahl's poetry. The farewell was thus an occasion for celebration, goodbyes and promises of meeting again.
The Department bid adieu to the class of 2014 on April 22, 2014. The theme of the farewell this year, "The Carnivalesque", made it possible for the seniors to let their imaginations run free while designing their costumes. The seniors were given a warm goodbye through a video prepared by the juniors which showed teachers giving them advice on their future life and nostalgic as well as funny renditions of the juniors singing along to different songs. The seniors were also presented with hand-made bookmarks inscribed with a word which truly described them. Apart from the presentation of these mementos, the juniors also sang and dance for their seniors in addition to reciting Roald Dahl's poetry. The farewell was thus an occasion for celebration, goodbyes and promises of meeting again.
2013-2014
Farewell to the Class of 2013
The Department bid adieu to the class of 2013 at the end of April. The theme of the farewell, "Lights, Camera, Axiom," assured plenty of theatricality on the part of the audience that was not already provided by the literary Bollywood play. Dressed for the part, as literary characters on screen, the seniors shared their favorite quotes, recalled old memories and shared jokes. One of the highlights of the program, the video of the teachers and juniors singing along to the song "Anytime at all" by The Beatles, was an affirmation of the close bond that the English Department shares.
Talks and Lectures
In August a talk on ‘Manto’s Works: An Interface of Psychology and Literature’ by Dr. Deepti Sachdev of Ambedkar University was organized in collaboration with the Psychology Department. Dr. Sachdev took up Manto’s works as an illustration of the interface of psychology and literature as apertures into human subjectivity.
Also in August, Assistant Professor Kanav Gupta provided the second year students with a comprehensive background to Renaissance humanism. He introduced Neo-Platonism and explored the tension between matter and the idea, the sexual and the sacral in Renaissance philosophy and art.
Assistant Professor Karuna Rajeev held a talk on Research Methodology, the MLA format and its application for all the students of the Department, which was useful and instructive especially for those working on research papers.
In September a talk and an interactive session with reputed author and poet, Jeet Thayil was organized. Author of the bestselling novel “Narcopolis” and of multiple critically acclaimed poetry collections, Thayil spoke on contemporary Indian poets and performance poetry.
Assistant Professor Dr. Sandhya Nambiar gave a lecture introducing Marxism to the third year students. She charted the beginnings of Marxism with Karl Marx and “The Communist Manifesto” and it’s development by theorists like Althusser, Gramsci, Luckacs and others and introduced the basic terminology.
Dr. Brinda Bose of the Department of English, Delhi University gave a talk on ‘Who’s Afraid Of A Modernist Feminist’. The interactive session began with Dr. Bose quoting Virginia Woolf-- "For most of history, Anonymous was a woman”. She went on to talk about the modernist feminist figure of the twentieth century and of men’s opposition and reactions to women’s emancipation.
Assistant Professor Sameer Chopra gave a talk on Shakespeare and Machiavelli. He provided a deeper understanding of Machiavelli as it was put in the context of Shakespeare's “1 Henry IV” and “2 Henry IV” The talk also elucidated how Machiavelli's ideas are in existence even today by linking him with modern politics.
Aimed at exploring the madness inherent in poetry, a talk on ‘Poetic Utterances, Luminous Arithmetics’ by Dr. Prasanta Chakravarty, of the Department of English, Delhi University, was held in October. Discussions on whether the utterly literal can become magical engaged the audience as students exchanged their ideas and spoke about what poetry meant to them.
At the end of October, Dr. Rose A. Sackefiyo, Associate Professor of English at Winston Salem State University presented a series of talks on issues and questions of African and African-American literature and culture and situated them in the broader socio-political dynamics of gender, religion and identity in the post-colonial context. Dr. Sackefiyo, gave talks on 'Celebrating an Icon: The Legacy of Chinua Achebe', ‘The Goddess in West African Religion', ‘Writing Back: Feminist Perspectives in African and African American Literature'.
In January, an interactive session with DSC Prize shortlisted authors Benyamin and Anand was organized. The authors, along with their respective translators, read from their novels and answered questions from the audience.
Academic Congress
Under the umbrella of the college-wide academic congress titled “GenderKnowledge”, the Department organized a number of sessions in February.
A pre-congress session titled “Perspectives In Art” provided an insight into how different perspectives operate within the same art forms and how art produces a variety of responses in audiences. Gautami Reddy, Natalia Khanijo and Adrita Mukherjee under the moderation of Assistant Professor Jonathan Koshy discussed the evolution of Impressionism and Expressionism and presented a series of paintings and photographs to emphasize the fact that the art and perception of art is entirely subjective.
A talk on the “One Dimensional Woman and the Feminization of Labour” by Dr. Nandini Chandra of the Department of English, Delhi University was held. Aimed at giving a new perspective to feminism, Dr. Chandra’s arguments about feminism chiefly revolved around the topics- ‘the feminization of work’ and ‘the labourization of women’ and the way capitalist culture has affected feminism.
During the session ‘A Raag of One’s Own: The Complex Play of Gendered Identities in Hindustani Classical Music’ second-year students from the English Department, under the moderation of Assistant Professor Kanav Gupta, presented papers on Hindustani music aesthetics, specifically for women artists, in the 19th century and the evolving position of ‘singing women’ in a seemingly unbiased cultural sphere through the analysis of two primary texts, The Music Room by Namita Devidayal, and Raga ‘n Josh by Sheila Dhar.
During the congress, the Department presented a session on “'Outing' Possibilities, Disrupting Heteronormativities: Alternate Sexualities and Contemporary Indian Cinemas.” Students presented papers on topics like homosexuality in Indian advertisements, the portrayal of 'transgenders' on Indian television, transexuality in Bollywood, parental figures in homosexual/homoerotic situations in Bollywood and homosexuality as a social taboo. The session was chaired by Dr. Akhil Katyal of Shiv Nadar University and included discussions on on gender, sexuality and visual culture.
Other Events
Many movies were screened through the first semester to bring out the different adaptations a text can have and to explore various other issues centering on the courses of study. Some of the movies screened were Hamlet, Mean Girls, The Wife of Bath, Romeo + Juliet, Sita Sings The Blues and To Russia With Love.
In the second semester, as part of the Academic Congress session on Alternate Sexualities, several movies were screened on the subject of homosexuality. These movies initiated severe debate and deliberation towards the socio-political antagonism towards homosexuals. The screenings included Boys Don’t Cry, Milk and Blue is the Warmest Color.
In association with the Quiz Society, a literary quiz was organized in September. The event was a tremendous success with participation from several other departments of the college. A short skit, Martial Law: The Liberation and Deliberation of Penelope was performed, written and directed by the first years in February during the assembly. The performance was well attended and enjoyed immensely by students and teachers alike.
A large number of students from all three years attended the Jaipur Literature Festival in January 2014 providing them with newer ways of engaging with literary texts, authors, and the literary canons outside the confines of academia and the syllabus.
Shyamolie Singh from the Department won the prestigious DSC Prize Essay Contest in January. Shyamolie, a second year student, topped the competition with her on the “Emergence and growth of South Asian literature in the last decade”.
A major initiative of the Department was the establishment of the official department journal, Jabberwock. The journal publishes student papers and creative pieces. It also has a digital incarnation - JabberwockOnline – that publishes less academically inclined material. Jabberwock was previously student-funded and is now being published by the college.
Students also actively contributed to the College Magazine.
The Department bid adieu to the class of 2013 at the end of April. The theme of the farewell, "Lights, Camera, Axiom," assured plenty of theatricality on the part of the audience that was not already provided by the literary Bollywood play. Dressed for the part, as literary characters on screen, the seniors shared their favorite quotes, recalled old memories and shared jokes. One of the highlights of the program, the video of the teachers and juniors singing along to the song "Anytime at all" by The Beatles, was an affirmation of the close bond that the English Department shares.
Talks and Lectures
In August a talk on ‘Manto’s Works: An Interface of Psychology and Literature’ by Dr. Deepti Sachdev of Ambedkar University was organized in collaboration with the Psychology Department. Dr. Sachdev took up Manto’s works as an illustration of the interface of psychology and literature as apertures into human subjectivity.
Also in August, Assistant Professor Kanav Gupta provided the second year students with a comprehensive background to Renaissance humanism. He introduced Neo-Platonism and explored the tension between matter and the idea, the sexual and the sacral in Renaissance philosophy and art.
Assistant Professor Karuna Rajeev held a talk on Research Methodology, the MLA format and its application for all the students of the Department, which was useful and instructive especially for those working on research papers.
In September a talk and an interactive session with reputed author and poet, Jeet Thayil was organized. Author of the bestselling novel “Narcopolis” and of multiple critically acclaimed poetry collections, Thayil spoke on contemporary Indian poets and performance poetry.
Assistant Professor Dr. Sandhya Nambiar gave a lecture introducing Marxism to the third year students. She charted the beginnings of Marxism with Karl Marx and “The Communist Manifesto” and it’s development by theorists like Althusser, Gramsci, Luckacs and others and introduced the basic terminology.
Dr. Brinda Bose of the Department of English, Delhi University gave a talk on ‘Who’s Afraid Of A Modernist Feminist’. The interactive session began with Dr. Bose quoting Virginia Woolf-- "For most of history, Anonymous was a woman”. She went on to talk about the modernist feminist figure of the twentieth century and of men’s opposition and reactions to women’s emancipation.
Assistant Professor Sameer Chopra gave a talk on Shakespeare and Machiavelli. He provided a deeper understanding of Machiavelli as it was put in the context of Shakespeare's “1 Henry IV” and “2 Henry IV” The talk also elucidated how Machiavelli's ideas are in existence even today by linking him with modern politics.
Aimed at exploring the madness inherent in poetry, a talk on ‘Poetic Utterances, Luminous Arithmetics’ by Dr. Prasanta Chakravarty, of the Department of English, Delhi University, was held in October. Discussions on whether the utterly literal can become magical engaged the audience as students exchanged their ideas and spoke about what poetry meant to them.
At the end of October, Dr. Rose A. Sackefiyo, Associate Professor of English at Winston Salem State University presented a series of talks on issues and questions of African and African-American literature and culture and situated them in the broader socio-political dynamics of gender, religion and identity in the post-colonial context. Dr. Sackefiyo, gave talks on 'Celebrating an Icon: The Legacy of Chinua Achebe', ‘The Goddess in West African Religion', ‘Writing Back: Feminist Perspectives in African and African American Literature'.
In January, an interactive session with DSC Prize shortlisted authors Benyamin and Anand was organized. The authors, along with their respective translators, read from their novels and answered questions from the audience.
Academic Congress
Under the umbrella of the college-wide academic congress titled “GenderKnowledge”, the Department organized a number of sessions in February.
A pre-congress session titled “Perspectives In Art” provided an insight into how different perspectives operate within the same art forms and how art produces a variety of responses in audiences. Gautami Reddy, Natalia Khanijo and Adrita Mukherjee under the moderation of Assistant Professor Jonathan Koshy discussed the evolution of Impressionism and Expressionism and presented a series of paintings and photographs to emphasize the fact that the art and perception of art is entirely subjective.
A talk on the “One Dimensional Woman and the Feminization of Labour” by Dr. Nandini Chandra of the Department of English, Delhi University was held. Aimed at giving a new perspective to feminism, Dr. Chandra’s arguments about feminism chiefly revolved around the topics- ‘the feminization of work’ and ‘the labourization of women’ and the way capitalist culture has affected feminism.
During the session ‘A Raag of One’s Own: The Complex Play of Gendered Identities in Hindustani Classical Music’ second-year students from the English Department, under the moderation of Assistant Professor Kanav Gupta, presented papers on Hindustani music aesthetics, specifically for women artists, in the 19th century and the evolving position of ‘singing women’ in a seemingly unbiased cultural sphere through the analysis of two primary texts, The Music Room by Namita Devidayal, and Raga ‘n Josh by Sheila Dhar.
During the congress, the Department presented a session on “'Outing' Possibilities, Disrupting Heteronormativities: Alternate Sexualities and Contemporary Indian Cinemas.” Students presented papers on topics like homosexuality in Indian advertisements, the portrayal of 'transgenders' on Indian television, transexuality in Bollywood, parental figures in homosexual/homoerotic situations in Bollywood and homosexuality as a social taboo. The session was chaired by Dr. Akhil Katyal of Shiv Nadar University and included discussions on on gender, sexuality and visual culture.
Other Events
Many movies were screened through the first semester to bring out the different adaptations a text can have and to explore various other issues centering on the courses of study. Some of the movies screened were Hamlet, Mean Girls, The Wife of Bath, Romeo + Juliet, Sita Sings The Blues and To Russia With Love.
In the second semester, as part of the Academic Congress session on Alternate Sexualities, several movies were screened on the subject of homosexuality. These movies initiated severe debate and deliberation towards the socio-political antagonism towards homosexuals. The screenings included Boys Don’t Cry, Milk and Blue is the Warmest Color.
In association with the Quiz Society, a literary quiz was organized in September. The event was a tremendous success with participation from several other departments of the college. A short skit, Martial Law: The Liberation and Deliberation of Penelope was performed, written and directed by the first years in February during the assembly. The performance was well attended and enjoyed immensely by students and teachers alike.
A large number of students from all three years attended the Jaipur Literature Festival in January 2014 providing them with newer ways of engaging with literary texts, authors, and the literary canons outside the confines of academia and the syllabus.
Shyamolie Singh from the Department won the prestigious DSC Prize Essay Contest in January. Shyamolie, a second year student, topped the competition with her on the “Emergence and growth of South Asian literature in the last decade”.
A major initiative of the Department was the establishment of the official department journal, Jabberwock. The journal publishes student papers and creative pieces. It also has a digital incarnation - JabberwockOnline – that publishes less academically inclined material. Jabberwock was previously student-funded and is now being published by the college.
Students also actively contributed to the College Magazine.
2012-2013
Seminar and Academic Meet
The English Department organized a two-day conference titled ‘Traditions of Intellectual Inquiry: Histories, Politics, Responses' on 22nd and 23rd March 2013. Taking the Literary Theory component of the BA and MA syllabi of English literature in Delhi University as its point of origin, this conference discussed the intellectual histories and philosophical systems underpinning them. It brought together scholars of high academic rigour and international repute from IIT Delhi, JNU, AUD, CSDS and DU. By the attempt to place thinkers and texts within a larger network of ideas, the seminar hoped to illustrate interconnections and polyphonies that were not immediately obvious. The plenary address of the conference was given by Prof. Rukmini Bhaya Nair who spoke on “The Desire for Theory and the Theory of Desire”. Prof V Sanil gave a talk on “The Idea of the Critique and Contemporary Revolutions.” Prof Aditya Nigam reconfigured the nature of the modern and the political by speaking about the “Formations of the Modern and the Idea of the Political,” and Prof Nivedita Menon took on ‘nature’ and ‘science’ in “Deconstructing Nature: Feminist Interventions in Science.” Prof Udaya Kumar spoke on “The Body and Contemporary Thought” and Prof Simi Malhotra on “Past-Philosophy in Postmodernism: Postmortem Postulations.” The conference had a multi-disciplinary thrust with speakers from the disciplines of literature, philosophy, psychoanalysis, history, and beyond.In looking at modes of conceiving the self, history, language and indeed the concept itself, in unearthing their entangled references, shared ancestries and eccentric linkages, the conference ‘Traditions of Intellectual Inquiry: Histories, Politics, Responses’ managed to provoke a dialogue about the many-forked roads that led to ‘Theory’.
The English Department organized a two-day conference titled ‘Traditions of Intellectual Inquiry: Histories, Politics, Responses' on 22nd and 23rd March 2013. Taking the Literary Theory component of the BA and MA syllabi of English literature in Delhi University as its point of origin, this conference discussed the intellectual histories and philosophical systems underpinning them. It brought together scholars of high academic rigour and international repute from IIT Delhi, JNU, AUD, CSDS and DU. By the attempt to place thinkers and texts within a larger network of ideas, the seminar hoped to illustrate interconnections and polyphonies that were not immediately obvious. The plenary address of the conference was given by Prof. Rukmini Bhaya Nair who spoke on “The Desire for Theory and the Theory of Desire”. Prof V Sanil gave a talk on “The Idea of the Critique and Contemporary Revolutions.” Prof Aditya Nigam reconfigured the nature of the modern and the political by speaking about the “Formations of the Modern and the Idea of the Political,” and Prof Nivedita Menon took on ‘nature’ and ‘science’ in “Deconstructing Nature: Feminist Interventions in Science.” Prof Udaya Kumar spoke on “The Body and Contemporary Thought” and Prof Simi Malhotra on “Past-Philosophy in Postmodernism: Postmortem Postulations.” The conference had a multi-disciplinary thrust with speakers from the disciplines of literature, philosophy, psychoanalysis, history, and beyond.In looking at modes of conceiving the self, history, language and indeed the concept itself, in unearthing their entangled references, shared ancestries and eccentric linkages, the conference ‘Traditions of Intellectual Inquiry: Histories, Politics, Responses’ managed to provoke a dialogue about the many-forked roads that led to ‘Theory’.
LITMUS, the annual literary meet of the English Department was organized from 18th March 2013 to 21st March 2013. The theme for this year’s festival was ‘Alternative Interpretations of the Canon’ and included various events such as a literary quiz, spelling bee, on the spot creative writing, treasure hunt, photography competition and paper presentation. The Royal Sheikh’s Spear Company performed “The Compleat Wrks of Wllm Shkspr (Abridged) – a hilarious parody of ALL of Shakespeare's plays in condensed, action-packed form, performed by only three actors with the help of tacky costumes and whacky props!”
Talks and Lectures
A lecture on "Partition Literature" was held in September. This lecture by Ms. Amrita Bhalla was a significant one especially for the first year students studying texts like “Toba Tek Singh” and The Shadow Lines. The second year students presented papers and projects on “The Various Aspects of the Victorian Society” that greatly benefited their juniors. Ms. Karuna Rajeev held a talk on Research Methodology, the MLA format and its application for all the students of the Department, which was useful and instructive especially for those working on research papers.
A major achievement for the Department was the visit by Mr. William Dalrymple, the award winning historian and writer, as well as broadcaster, critic and art historian and one of the co-founders and co-directors of the annual Jaipur Literature Festival. The session with Mr. Dalrymple, titled “Travel Writing as a Genre” included a book reading, a lecture, an interactive session, and a book signing with the students.
In October, Dr. Tarun K. Saint, Associate Professor, Department of English, Hindu College, and author of Witnessing Partition that focused on the problem of representing in fictional form the traumatic violence during the partition of 1947 spoke on “The Partition in Literature”. In the same month Mr. Tenzin Tsundue, a well-known poet, writer and Tibetan activist, delivered a heart rendering talk and a poetry reading from his self-published book Kora. He spoke passionately about the Tibetan struggle for autonomy while stressing the need for nonviolent modes of resistance.
In January, a lecture by Dr. Rupen Guha Majumdar of the Department of English, Delhi University on "Mythopoesis - Myths, Epics and Drama” was well received by the students studying the classics. Ms. Farzana Doctor, a Toronto-based novelist and psychotherapist and the Jamia Writer-in-Residence visited the Department for a book reading. Her novel, Six Metres of Pavement, won the Lambda Literary Award and was short-listed for the Toronto Book Award. In February, a lecture by Mr. Arjun Mahey, former Head of the English Department of St. Stephen’s College was held on "The Boon and the Notion of Names in Ancient Indian Texts".
Association Highlights
In association with the Quiz Society, a literary quiz was organized in September. The event was a tremendous success with participation from several other departments of the college. In October, a Department trip was organized to the Leopard Beach Camp at Shivpuri, Rishikesh. This trip had a record-breaking number of participants – a total of 80 students. In October, the Department also organized a creative writing workshop, which was conducted by Ms. Aditi Rao. A short skit, The Curious Case of Julius Caesar was performed, written and directed by the first years in February during the assembly. The performance was well attended and enjoyed immensely by students and teachers alike. Students of the department actively contributed to the English Department Journal, Jabberwock and also to the College Magazine.
A large number of students from all three years attended the Jaipur Literature Festival in January 2013 providing them with newer ways of engaging with literary texts, authors, and the literary canons outside the confines of academia and the syllabus. Many movies, plays, mini-series were screened throughout the year including Becoming Jane, Pride and Prejudice (BBC Version), Pride and Prejudice (2005 version), and Bride and Prejudice (2004) to bring out the various adaptations of a single text. Gulliver's Travels, As You Like It and Bright Star were some of the other screenings.