The Department of English at Pondicherry University has been an important educational destination for research scholars and students, ever since it commenced functioning in 1986. Over the years, the department has produced innumerable PhD and M. Phil scholars, in addition to a large number of postgraduate students. The faculty of the department with their different specializations and academic interests are at the forefront of innovative teaching and advanced research varying from contemporary literary, cultural and language studies to theoretical explorations. The department also runs a Post Graduate Diploma in Professional Communication in English, an add-on program, in much demand among students and employees.
Furthermore, the department has also sought to enhance the language and communication skills of students from across the University through Functional
English and other communication-oriented courses. Another hallmark of the department is the Research and Cultural Forum (RCF) which acts as an avenue for scholars and students to showcase their research work and creative abilities. The department has also been at the forefront of organizing seminars, workshops and faculty development programs.
About Research and Cultural Forum (RCF):
Conceived thirty-five years ago as Research and Journal Alert Forum (RJAF) at the Department of English, Pondicherry University, RCF is a platform for research scholars and students of the department to discuss their research findings in various areas related to literature and culture and also present their creative talents. Run exclusively by the research scholars of the department, under the guidance of the faculty members and the support of MA students the forum hosts invited talks, workshops and interactive sessions by experts of national and international repute in the emerging areas of English Studies. The forum was recently renamed Research and Cultural Forum to integrate the department's research and cultural outputs. Now, it proudly undertakes the mission of bringing together and highlighting the role of literature in social transformation through this two-day International Seminar.
About the Seminar:
A Two-Day International Seminar has been planned by the Department of English on the 3rd & 4th of October 2024, with the focus area “Mirroring Change: Literature and Social Transformation”.
Theme:
Literature has been able to predict, analyze, and critique social, economic and political change for a long time. This, in turn, has contributed to understanding social and political transformation through a medium that has been conventionally seen to be largely imaginative and fictional. While Orwell’s cautionary tale, 1984 predicted the effects of totalitarian regimes and surveillance, Harriet Beecher’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin “helped lay the groundwork for the American Civil War” (Kaufman, 2006: 18). If Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath brought into full view the travails of America during the Great Depression, Munshi Premchand’s Godaan brutally exposed poverty and the evils of the zamindari system in India. Literature has thus been constantly in sync with the changing silhouettes of society.
The conference aims to explore how literature has closely interacted with and mirrored the intricate matrix of the social and political milieu. This interaction has resulted in innumerable texts that have reflected these significant changes and helped us understand an ever-changing world. The wide gamut of social, political, economic, cultural, sociological and anthropological change has prompted the writer to ask questions, show up the mirror and sometimes even offer prescriptions for ills, thus making literature a vehicle for social transformation. The conference aims to investigate and explore the significant role that literature has played in reflecting these changes, therefore acting as truth-seeker, sentinel, chronicler, and critic, all rolled into one.
The conference aims to explore the interchange between literature and social transformation across varied arenas and can include, but is not restricted, to the following areas:
• Political upheaval and social movements
• Caste, class and hierarchy
• Reigns, regimes and democracy
• Marxism and literature
• Changing dimensions of gender
• Queer narratives
• Geographies, borders and migration
• Indigenous literatures
• Anthropocene, Ecocriticism and Ecofeminism
• Dalit literature and social justice
• Technology and literature
• Popular culture and subcultures
• Medical imperialism and illness narratives
Registration Fee:
Faculty Members: Rs. 2000
Research Scholars: Rs. 1000
PG Students: Rs. 500
Co-authors are required to pay individually.
UG students (participation only): Rs 200
Abstracts:
Abstracts can be uploaded through the Google form link
below on or before 30th August 2024.
Registration Link: https://forms.gle/CA78DHY86yfQtzhW9
Your queries may be addressed to rcfseminar2024@gmail.com
Important Dates:
Last date for sending abstracts: 30th August 2024
Confirmation of acceptance will be communicated by: 2nd September 2024
Complete papers are to be sent by: 27th September 2024
Address for Communication:
Drishya K.
Steward C.
Research Scholars
Department of English
Pondicherry University
Puducherry-605014
8589825788, 8270410154
