FInale of the Induction Program for Freshers- Talk by Fr. Bobby Jose Kattikad

The blessed moments with Fr. Bobby Jose: Hearing Fr. Bobby Jose's powerful and inspiring words was truly a blessing. His presentation was direct and lovely, emphasising the value of life and love. Lady Gaga's amazing song "Million Reasons" was introduced at the start of his session. "Let a million reasons try to pull you back, let them discourage you, let them make you feel like giving up, but there will always be a ' one good reason ' to keep you going and encouraged" is what I learned from his class. Fr. Bobby, too, had a simple message to share. He spoke of his love for literature and referred to our department as the heart of the campus. He believes that one must learn to "live," "love," and "let go." He implies that life is a lovely gift from God that you have been given. So, you must realise the value and passion of love, and you must be willing to let go of certain things in order to make it easier for yourself. His session was engaging and established in each of us a sense of divinity. I'm looking forward to meeting him again and learning more about his life and principles. I'd want to express my gratitude to the departmental heads for holding such a meeting for us. I'm glad to be a part of SH.❤️ Vysakhi Pillai

 

Induction Program by Teachers of the Department for Freshers: 20-22/2021: Feed Backs

The session by  Dr. Rajesh James 

For the first time ever we had a session with Rajesh sir , our dear HOD. He explained about the course, about the college, what must be done and what not. It was helpful in understanding that literature is far beyond what we thought. 

The session by Fr. Sabu Thomas

 

The bestest interactive session we had till the date was by him. It helped us to meet our new friends and their families. It indeed helped in lessening the shyness. Was a fun and informative time with him.

The Session by Dr. Tom C Thomas

- The class started by an interactive talk with Tom sir as we were giving a brief introduction about ourselves..Then he put forward the thought 'that by being good to others we are being good to ourselves'.Like Mahatma Gandhi said,each individual are unique and equal..ie,we are all part of God so we are connected to each other. Even though our potentials and characters are different we all have the essence of God within us.. God himself is wisdom. The next topic was about compassion. Sir defined about two types of compassion sympathy and empathy sympathy is something that makes and understanding or feeling from our own perspective but empathy is a lot more different .Empathy is putting ourselves in other person's shoes,thus understanding the actual feeling of that person. In other words,seeing ourselves in others is empathy.Only a person with compassion could become a true human being. Besides that of getting a high salary job or position it's important to be a good human being with a well determined ambition that would be a boon for other living beings..The talk about compassion and empathy made me think of the book-The Prophet by Khalil Gibran.In that book,he says: ''A person who gives with compassion is in the heart of God''..So, the ends of being a human is through the means of compassion to our society and all the living beings around us.This is what I've understood from the talk about compassion..These are some quotes that sir told in the session:*if there is one beggar in the world then all others are beggars, *As we concentrate on something we become that, *there is nothing outside the text, *if everything had a name,then there is no need of poets, *an extraordinary concentration with whole soul and heart can make a dream/aim come true which can also be a contribution to our society..

- Sir told a story of Abraham Lincoln,who rescued a Piglet drowning in a quackmire. The story gave a good lesson that ,someone's positions or whatever they are... that doesn't matter to give a hand of help to others...Our thoughts, our words and our deeds make us a better human being.Sir, then explained about the difference between texts and books..He said,In texts thoughts and ideas are woven together like a well knit cloth.When we read our mind comes to a holy communion with the book.Then sir spoke about culture that, culture itself is a manifested text.Sir inspired us and made us thoughtful by speaking about 'Creative Ideas'. He told us to create our own meanings/ideas/ thoughts,instead of swallowing the specific information..And now I can understand the importance of critical thinking as a literature student... And,when it comes to our lives..we are a grand mystery yet to be fully explored.We are not yet a complete product.Though we should unravel the mysteries of our life, beyond the frontiers..For that,we have to work relentlessly..Before concluding Tom sir said a quote..that inspired me a lot.''Death cannot kill you,if you are living a meaningful life''...Thank you sir for your words of wisdom...I'll forever be grateful for the great talk and good message you gave us....

- Today Professor tom c Thomas discussed about the Promethean encounter with language and culture. He told us about the   Greek titan God of fire, Prometheus who is known for his intelligence and for being a champion of humankind. He also affirmed that there is a Promethean spirit sleeping inside ourselves  and we have to find it and wake him up to achieve the great things in the world.  Then he told us about being a good person... Being good to others is the best ever thing you can do. He also told us about the word's by a German philosopher that " If there is one beggar in the world the  rest of the world are beggars too" . While speaking about poetry, he pointed out that being a poet  is that  identifying and discovering the hidden and unknown just like scientists. He also included the importance of concentration, that whatever you might be doing, it could be anything singing,dancing, drawing ...you should put your maximum concentration in it and try to become the best in that. Overall this was an amazing session. It taught us a lot and the best part is usually this kind of session s are boring to be honest but this was so informative and fun at the same time. Thank you  so much Tom sir for this great session.

Dr. Rajesh M

Dr. Rajesh sir's session was really beneficial in providing each of us with a clear understanding of how to approach literature as a study subject. On behalf of all of us, I'd like to express our gratitude for providing us with the guidelines we need to follow, as well as information on how to increase our vocabulary, correct grammar errors, and introduce the necessity of systematic study to make learning simpler. I'd like to highlight one of your quotes that has had a big impact on me: " Literature provides aesthetic pleasure." I agree with what you said, and many of us agree with your comments. People remember the effect of a great book for years rather than the pleasure of chewing a desserts for a few moments. Really happy to be in your session and thanking you for guiding us right from the first class.

Neenu Mary Francis

The morning session by Neenu ma'am introduced us to poetry which was something that I never found Interesting because I was never taught what the true essence of poetry actually is. And by explaining the three different definitions of poetry given by well acclaimed poets such as Dr Johnson, William Wordsworth and Matthew Arnold, she taught me that poetry never had and will never have one consistent definition, and that the only consistent thing in poetry is in it's purpose to provide pleasure and it's ability to evoke an emotion in both poets and readers. 

She also taught us about the different eras of English literature and how each era has something different to offer in terms of literature and literary artwork. She also gave us a brief introduction to the five forms of poetry- Epics, Lyric, Sonnet, Ode and dramatic monologue.

  Thank you for opening my eyes to how beautiful poetry is and can be. 

  I look forward to learning more from you ma'am.

- first session taken in the morning by Neenu mam was so informative and interesting , she gave us the interest and introduction to learn about poetry, purpose of literature,feeling and emotion . She taught us by mentioning various poets and writers such as , William Wordsworth, Samuel Johnson, Matthew Arnold. It helped me alot knowing about these new poeple and lot about poetry too Thank you miss for  being there for us .

Sonia Lucy

The last session was taken by Sonia mam,she introduced us about literary theory

She told us lot about the theories of literature, she also taught about various cultural specifities. She was able to teach and introduce us the fundamentals of literary theory ,I really enjoyed the class and it was a really nice interactive session too , Thank you Sonia mam.

Sunil KV

Sunil Sir's session : I'd love to express my gratitude to Sunil sir for introducing us to the world of fiction. He explained genres, types of fiction, the relationship between fiction and novel, different sorts of novels, and the evolution of fiction in the post Renaissance period and the growth of novels. Thank you for providing new concepts such as epistolary novel and illness narrative. We'll be able to use these in the future. In the future days, I'd like to be in your class.

-The First Session which was taken by Sunil sir was about the World  of fiction and all about it . he taught us the different genres of fiction which are peotry,drama,fiction and non fiction.He explained us the different types of fictions.He explained us all through various novels and its writers,its like he knew everything about Novels.

I am really encouraged to learn more about fiction,the session was very intresting.Thank you sir for such a nice session.

-Today's first session is about Fiction, 'The world about fiction' by Sunil sir. It was a interesting session. He explained to us types of fiction, what is a novel, and types of novel. Also he discussed about novel and it was a good session with you sir.Thank you so much sir.

Shijo Varghese

Shijo sir's session : Shijo sir's lesson taught us about the technical part of writing and editing. He described what literature is and how it may be explained right from the start. He completely agreed with the John Keats that literature had the ability to show ordinary things in new ways. He also emphasised how language maintains a strong bond with a person. We are a step closer to start our copy editing journey after the session. Thank you so much, sir, for your words of wisdom and encouragement.

- The Second session by Shijo sir, was about literature and internet. It was started by interactive and the rest of the class was comfortable. He taught us about literature, language etc. He also gave a basic introduction to copy editor. He taught well about our course... Thank you for your words sir.

Aravind R Nair

Aravind sir's session: I'd like to convey my gratitude to Aravind sir for hosting an interactive session in which we were able to express our interests and preferences. He did say something about literature, how to examine at an art work, and how important it is to feel a piece of art. He also emphasised the importance of perspective and how it differs from one individual to the next. He also went over the subjective and objective perspectives. Sir, the session was fantastic. We had the opportunity to express our passions and discuss them with the rest of the class. I'm excited to meet you. Sir, thank you very much.

-

The last Session was taken by Aravind Sir , i really loved how he taught us in a great interactive manner,his encouraging words was really good ,he mentioned that how we all are good observers.I loved how he wanted  to make a interactive session with all our interests and to express ourselves into those interests. it was truly wonderful how he made our class so interesting , I hope offline classes would be more amazing with Aravind sir.

ThankYou for extending our knowledge about literature:)

 

INDUCTION & BIDGE PROGRAM FOR FIRST YEAR BATCH 2021 DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH, SH COLLEGE, THEVARA 12/10/2021 to 22-10-2021

 

INDUCTION & BIDGE PROGRAM FOR FIRST YEAR BATCH 2021 DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH, SH COLLEGE, THEVARA 

Tuesday- FIESTA- WELCOMING PROGRAM 

 Staff Coordinator – Fr. Sabu Thomas Program 

o Anchoring - Sarang 

o Welcome - Sidharth 

o Address by Fr. Poulose Kidengen, Manager, SH College 

o Song by Aaryan 

o Address by Head of the Department Dr. Rajesh James 

o Felicitation by Parent of Rasha Saleel 

o Dance – Sanjana Saji Nair 

o Game + Ice Breaking 

o Music - Michael Jo Fernandes 

o Vote of thanks - Sandra C

 13/10/2021- Wednesday- Alumni with First Years

 Staff Coordinator: Sonia Lucy Program 

 Welcome: Aryan Shaji 

o Anchor: Sonia Lucy 

o Interactions by - Rajesh Panathody 

- Bhanusree S Kumar 

- Kripa Mathew 

- Sukanya 

 - Anakha Preeth 

o Q&A answer Session 

o Thanks: Sidhardh 

 20/10/2021- 6.30 pm: Talk by Prof. C.S. Jayaram 

Teacher Coordinator: Dr. Rajesh James 

 BRIDGE PROGRAM 20/10/2021- Wednesday 

8.30 -9.25 am Dr. Rajesh James Frontier Areas in Literature The lecture "Frontier Areas in Literary Studies" aims at exploring the emerging areas in literary studies. The lecture also tries to map comprehensively research and career possibilities in the domain. Notwithstanding the field's current progress, the lecture also attempts to refer to a number of research gaps in the domain in order to identify the future possibilities in/of Literary studies. 9.30- 11 am Fr. Sabu Thomas Goal Setting The session is meant to give the students a guidance in to their three years of degree course in the campus. It will inspire the students to “begin with the end in mind”. The program will be interactive and the students will be given chances to express their aspirations and goals in life. 11.30-12.30 pm Dr. Aravind R Nair Studying Literature in the age of information The session will introduce students to the modalities of studying literature in the current age where various information technologies moderate all forms of communication. The session will discuss both the philosophical and practical implications of what it means to be a contemporary student of literature. Some of the essential skills that a literature student should have to navigate multiple online data sources will also be explained. 6.30- 7.30 pm Dr. C.S. Jayaram Introducing Literatures: A Journey into the world of Letters This session is a masterclass to introduce students to the world of language and literature. The resource person is a retired teacher of the department and is well renowned in the area of literature and arts. 21/10/2021- Thursday Time Teacher Topic Content 8.30- 9.25 am Neenu Mary Francis Defining Poetry This session aims to unravel poetry as a form of literature by analyzing its definitions. It takes the students to analyse different poetic forms by placing them against particular historical periods in literature. 9.30-10.25 am Rajesh M An Overview of English Literature The session not only provides a clear and systematic overview of writers and their works, but also of important literary developments, trends and movements. The session also covers various genres of literature like poetry, Essay, Drama and Novel. The session will be comprehensible enough to instill interest in the newly joined students to pursue English for higher levels. 10.30-11.25 am Tom C Thomas The Promethean encounter with Language and Culture: Encounters with language and culture at graduate and postgraduate levels are bound to be critical, creative and, therefore, audacious. That’s what the term, Promethean' signifies. Language is not merely an instrument for communication, rather, it is constitutive of reality. Learners at the undergraduate level, are therefore expected to gear up to the next level of intellectual and emotional readiness to interrogate the quotidian definitions of the everyday reality and engage more spiritedly in the cognitive restructuring of everything we are tempted to deem as reality. It is this issue and theme that the session intends to address. 11.30- 12.25 pm Fr.Joseph Kusumalayam The Heartian DNA This session is to introduce the first years, the motto, vision and mission of the college. The “Heartian DNA” is based on unflinching faith in God, faith in oneself and relentless pursuit of excellence in curricular and non-curricular aspects. The campus culture of the college will be explained to the students. 22/10/2021- Friday Time Teacher Topic Content 8.30- 9.30 am Second Language Hour 9.30- 10.25am Sunil KV The World of Fiction In this session the students will be able to experience the rich and diverse world of fiction. They will be introduced the various evolutionary faces and trends of English Novel. 10.30- 11.25am Bijo N Mathew An Introduction to Copy Editing This bridge course is intended to introduce students to the rudiments of copy editing. It will equip the students with all the essential information regarding copy editing, as they enter into a new domain of knowledge. It will also cover the prospects and possibilities of this area of study. 11.30- 12.25 pm Sonia Lucy Literary Theory: an Introduction The session intends to familiarize the freshers with styles of literary analysis. The principles underlying critiquing a text would be introduced with examples from contemporary texts including films, poetry, novels etc. It would provide a deeper understanding of how to read a text and gain insights from it. 2-3 pm Shijo Varghese ICT & DTP: an Introduction This course intends to familiarize students with the digital editing tools. The course spans over two semesters and covers the basics of computing and ICT/DTP. Students will be introduced to some digital editing tools that are used by publishing houses. The course will also shed light on the future of e-learning and digital editing 25/10/2021- Monday Time Teacher Topic Content 9.30 -11 am Dr. K.M. Johnson Introduction to Humanities In this session, the students will be asked to ponder over certain relevant questions such as, why do you want to study humanities? How different disciplines developed? What are the characteristics of humanities? What is the subject matter of humanities? Which are the different disciplines which come under the purview of humanities? How are humanities different from natural sciences and social sciences? What can humanities offer you? Etc. 11.30 - 12.30 pm Interactive Session with the class Teacher 1.30 – 3.30 pm Common Gathering of the Department in the Marian Hall (Teacher in Charge: Dr. Rajesh James, Head of the Department) From 26th October 2021 Tuesday- Regular Academic Sessions

Induction day 3-Introducing Literatures: A Journey into the world of Letters: Dr. C.S. Jayaram: 20/10/2021

 

The iconic Jayaram sir's session was a blessing for all of us. His remarks were so compelling and tempting that I completely lost myself and entered the world of fantasy for just a moment. Anyone who enjoys writing could connect to what he said, "the world of imagination inspired me." He describes the different branches of literature, such as the media, the civil service, and copy writers, and says "No job is an alien work for English students.".He then goes on to remark about how much he enjoys the Safari Channel and the Sancharam programme.I was fascinated by his explanation of how art and literature can be taught. The literature has a tendency to take a positive attitude toward anything and everything in the world. How nicely he expresses his belief that this discipline promotes compassion and humanity. It has the ability to cleanse the soul, which is why the Greeks valued theatres. He then uses The Tempest, Shakespeare's best masterpiece, as an example. He tells a story of a mouse and the poetry that resulted from it. His passion for romanticism is boundless, and he constantly asks us to return to the romantics. He also discusses the significance of a quotation. "Any situation can be tackled by a quote," he says, which is fair.He concludes by describing how a book may re-energize a person, as well as the tale of a guy who wished to marry a widow and travelled to Paris to fetch her son. He did manage to convey that happiness is made up of simple and lovely things. For this, he claims that every silly thing can be turned into a lovely poem. The session had a significant impact on all of us, and it will undoubtedly be beneficial to all of us in the future. I'd like to express my gratitude to the department for providing us with such a fantastic opportunity. 

Vysakhi 

Freshers with Alumni - Induction Program Day 2

 

As part of the one week long orientation program for first year students, the Department of English, Sacred Heart College organised an Alumni meet on October 13 2021. The aim was to give the first year students a taste of what the college has to offer and what it truly means to be a Heartian. Aryan Shaji of second year BA English, welcomed the gathering and introduced the alumni Ms Sonia Lucy, Mr Rajesh Panhathodi, Ms Banushree Kumar, Ms Kripa Mathew and Ms Anakha Preeth. The function was presided over by Father Sabu Thomas. The former Heartians had nothing but fond and inspiring words to define their academics and the overall college experience and how the esteemed institution as well as the teachers had helped them above and beyond in reaching their true potential. They provided proof and reassurance of how Sacred Heart College and the English Department in particular can help the students to not only achieve their academic goals but also help to shape their futures for the better. The programme concluded after a short Q and A session and the vote of thanks delivered by Gouri R of second year BA English.

FIESTA- Freshers' Day 12/10/21

Report on freshers week (Day 1) 12/10/21 

 The program began at 6:30pm Fr. Paulose Kidengan, College Manager was the chief guest. HOD of English dept. - Dr. Rajesh James , other teachers of the department and Linu ma'am ,parent of Rasha Saleel was also involved in the program. Fr. Paulose Kidengan initiated the program with a pleasant speech about the college and as students how lucky we are to become a part of the sacred Heart college. And was continued by Dr. Rajesh James, (HOD of English department). He helped us to have a quick glance of the college, course and whole English department. And then linu ma'am, parent of rasha saleel who is also an English teacher talked about the course as a concerned parent and as a teacher, she also mentioned about the significance of the college. And later the program was carried on by the seniors, sidharth G, Sarang Ashokan and devika saju. Sarang Ashokan anchored the whole program in a wonderful way. And there was this great ice breaking session which really helped the juniors to getting to know the classmates and thier interests. The first years played a game based on movies which was hosted by devika saju, and it was really fun. 

Seminar: Two Uses of Poetry: Sanskrit Literary Theory Beyond the Canon: Dr. Srinath V.S. 19-August-2021

Report Talk Series 1- Two Uses of Poetry: Sanskrit Literary Theory Beyond the Canon Department of English Sacred Heart College, Thevara 19-August-2021 

 Introduction Recent years have seen innovative formulations of the flows of influence in transnational and diasporic cultural configurations and developments. In the wake of this novel approach across the globe, the English department of Sacred Heart College, Thevara has initiated a talk series, exclusively for Postgraduate students on ‘Thinking Global South’. The head of the English Department Dr Rajesh James introduced the audience to the relevance and objective of lectures series wherein students can explore various emerging topics to discover their passion and interest in various literary areas. It also aims at formulating new perspectives and open up various avenues in research especially for the post-graduate students who plan to pursue a career in research. The first lecture in the series was conducted on 13th August 2021 at 7.00 pm on the topic ‘Two Uses of Poetry: Sanskrit Literary Theory Beyond the Canon’ by Dr Sreenath V S, Assistant Professor, Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, IISER Bhopal. Around 50-60 participants, including MA students, PHD scholars and faculties took part in the session. Discussion Professor Sreenath instigated his lecture by contextualising the importance of Sanskrit literary tradition by tracing the history of the Sanskrit language and the evolution of Kavya or Sanskrit poetics. He further threw light on the politics of the concept auchithya which gave the apparent model for creative writers as a yardstick to determine whether it belongs to the noble or inferior category. After laying the background and context, Prof Sreenath explained the practical applicability of Sanskrit literature by elucidating two uses namely, the use of Sanskrit poetics in the Early and Medieval phases when it was used as a tool to condition the reader, author and the literary text and its role in the postcolonial period to ‘decolonize’ the field of criticism in India. The two uses mentioned by Professor Sreenath points to the balance between Indian aesthetics as a tool by hegemonic forces and as a nativity tool in pre-colonial and post-colonial scenarios respectively. The session went on to be more informative as he continued to talk about the reconstructive approach to a text which can generate new meaning in every reading and his non-canonical approach to text to overcoming the ossification of ideas in this field of study. Representing the participants, Malavika P Pillai of 2MA English responded to the talk by pointing out how Professor Sreenath's talk on ‘Sanskrit Literary Theory Beyond the Canon’ elucidated the need to reconfigure Indian aesthetics in contemporary cultural design in a scenario where literariness is increasingly getting intervened and altered by the confluence of multiple cultural nuances. Participants raised many questions regarding the scope of Indian aesthetics in the globalised and technologized era of art. Faculty members of various institutions responded to the talk by putting forth the mission of further extension of the concept of the’ global south’. Finally, on behalf of the audience, Ashitha Raj of 2MA English expressed gratitude towards Professor Sreenath for the enriching session. She further thanked for the exemplary efforts in providing such insightful platforms to the Principal, the Department of English and other faculty members to help the students reach great heights of success. Conclusion The lecture was insightful and effective as it adds up to the academic knowledge and helps students to know the practical aspects of the subject area. The session rekindled the interest in seemingly "archaic" Indian aesthetics and the importance to explore the larger politics of this field of knowledge. The session was successful in its attempt to identify the formal devices that create ‘literariness’ in a work of literature and the spatio-temporal aspects of Sanskrit poetics for various pragmatic purposes. Recommendations Students expressed their gratitude and interest in such opportunities to move beyond the constricted syllabus to know scopes of various subject areas. They suggested to conduct more seminars, especially on fields like Film Studies, Eco-literature.

Seminar on Dalit Studies: Sephora Jose

 

REPORT TALK SERIES 1-RECASTING DIFFERENCE:AN INTRODUCTION TO DALIT STUDIES. Department of English Sacred Heart College, Thevara 25 August, 2021. INTRODUCTION The recent emerging field of Global South attempts to interrogate and explore the possibilities of cultural and literary applications of the term, broadening inter disciplinary contributions and making widespread interventions in the literary cultures of Global South. Such an intervention aims at rewriting the literary and cultural history in the field of Global South and setting up newer paradigms of thought in the disciplinary terrain of literary studies. With the burgeoning fields of interest and recent innovations in the field of literary studies, the English Department of Sacred Heart College, Thevara has initiated a lecture series entitled 'Thinking Global South'. The head of the English Department Dr. Rajesh James has elucidated on the wider scope of newer areas of interest in the field of literary studies and the need to explore such newer avenues of thought. The lecture series also attempts to equip and enable the postgraduate students to enter into research interests and areas. The first lecture of the series was conducted on 13th August, 2021 at 7:00 pm on the topic 'The Two Uses of Poetry:Sanskrit Literary Theory Beyond the Canon' by Dr Sreenath V S, Assistant Professor, Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, IISER Bhopal. The second lecture of the series was conducted on 20th August, 2021 at 7:00 pm on the topic 'Recasting Difference: An Introduction to Dalit Studies' by Sephora Jose, Senior Research Fellow at Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur. Around 50-60 participants, including MA students, PHD scholars and faculties took part in the session. DISCUSSION Sephora Jose initiated the lecture into the wider scope of Dalit Studies, exploring the increased need for academic engagement and its widespread academic relevance. One of the key goals of Dalit Studies has been to debrahmanize the disciplinary space of academia and the lecture has left no stone unturned in terms of underlining and exploring the various forms of anti-caste discourses. Professor Sephora also traced the historical trajectory of Dalit Studies, successfully capturing the notions of anguish, humiliation and the historical of Dalit trauma and agony. The lecture was successful in terms of initiating the students into Dalit epistemology and broadly mapping it's theoretical concepts. It also covered various dimensions and implications of caste, reformation and the strategies adopted by Dalit activists for resistance. Professor Sephora also made a foray into various forms of Dalit discourses by attempting an evaluation of the short story entitled 'Parable of the Lost Daughter' by Vinodhini. The creative exercise successfully underlined the idea of Dalit's quest for identity, social equality and the political and aesthetic significance of Dalit literature. Such Dalit readings of creative productions successfully tried to capture the complexities of Dalit experience and trauma. Representing the participants, Riya Ajit of 2M.A English Literature responded to the talk by pointing out how the talk emphasized the need to bring an interdisciplinary approach to Dalit studies by integrating it with other areas of interest such as Black Studies, African Studies, Anthropology and such. Various participants intervened with questions regarding the newer trends in Dalit studies, the current significance and scope of Dalit Studies and the attempts to widen the scope and research output of Dalit studies. Faculty members responded to the talk, emphasizing the significance of Dalit seminars and conferences, thereby bringing the voices of the marginalized to the centrestage and perhaps initiating a new step forward into finding newer ways of academic resistance and activism. Finally on behalf of the audience, Henna Mathew of 2 M.A English Literature expressed sincere gratitude towards Sephora Jose for the enriching and insightful session. She further thanked the wholehearted support and encouragement provided by the Principal, the Department of English and other faculty members, enabling the students to explore new areas of interests and thereby instigate academic interest and passion in literary studies. CONCLUSION The lecture was insightful and engaging, since it opened up new avenues of thought in the field of Dalit Studies and enabled the students to understand the experiences of the repressed and trace the historicity of Dalit trauma and agony. It also attempted to evaluate the theoretical discourse of Dalit studies and explored in great detail the various forms of Dalit narratives and its implications and broader significance. The lecture entitled 'Recasting Difference: An Introduction to Dalit Studies' significantly captured the need to "recast" the mould of Dalit studies and bring about newer differences and alternatives, thereby initiating unique forages and contributions to the newly emerging area of Dalit studies. RECOMMENDATIONS Students saw the lecture series as an incredible opportunity to explore various other fields of interest, renewing their interests and passions in literature and research. They are looking forward to more such opportunities to learn and grow and showed great interest in exploring other areas of interest such as Ecocriticism, Film Studies, etc.

Seminar on Sports- Dr Veena Mani - 3 September, 2021

 

Report Talk Series 3- Sports as Work: Thinking About Sports Beyond the Olympic Medals Department of English Sacred Heart College, Thevara 

 Introduction Rethinking culture and the various theoretical and intellectual assumptions in Cultural Studies, from the very perspective of the Global South, has been a recent paradigm shift that has been reverberating new intellectual waves in the field of literary and cultural studies. Lending ears to the unheard and ignored stories and rewriting literary and cultural history, dismantling the standardised and fixed, yet biased tales, that’s what this developing interdisciplinary arena aims of. With the sole aim of enlightening the intellectual community out their and equipping the student community to thrive in an intellectually agile world, the English Department of Sacred Heart College, Thevara has initiated a lecture series entitled ‘Thinking Global South’. With this venture, the head of the English Department Dr. Rajesh James, enhanced awareness on the different avenues, and the relevance and scope of delving into newer perspectives and opinions, especially those budding scholars hoping to pursue their careers in higher studies and research. The lecture series definitely provided the postgraduate students an opportunity to think beyond their set syllabus and inculcate interest for their subject. The third lecture in the series was conducted on 3rd September, 2021 at 7:00 pm using the medium of Google meet on the topic ‘Sports as Work: Thinking About Sports Beyond the Olympic Medals’ by Dr Veena Mani, Assistant Professor, Stella Maris College, Chennai. Around 25-30 participants commencing of MA students, PHD scholars and faculties took part in the session. Discussion Dr Veena Mani, through her engaging lecture, deconstructed the wide chasm between sports and literature, often assumed to be poles apart, and bridged it with nuances of understanding a society and community. Talking about something so blunt and raw like sports in literary lecture series, was something the audience were hugely intrigued about. Yet coinciding with the ongoing Olympics and Paralympics, Dr Veena’s talk delved into the politics of modern organised sports elaborated on how sports, usually misunderstood as a means of escape, is rather an analytical field to study the society, the culture and people. She elaborated on how its indeed important to think beyond the medals, see sports as a means of work. Introducing the audience to refugee Olympics, and various new IOC rules, Dr Veena elaborated on how the usual trend with organised and standardised sports on thrusting the nation or the community rather than the individuals is gradually taking newer shapes. Talking more on her research about the Sevens football, a popular form of football played majorly in several parts of Kerala, she spoke on how the game transcends beyond the rectangular pitch to a cultural space coloured by the aspects of class, gender, politics and religion. Further, the discussion moved on to the sphere of seeing sports as a means of work and the precarious and hypocritical notions infused into the psyche of the society regarding the same. The session dismantled the various misconceived aspects on bridging literature and sports and was an eye-opener towards the depth and breadth of the field of literature and culture and the intricate connection with life. Representing the participants, Albeena Stephen of 2nd MA English responded to the talk by elaborating how the concepts of the talk can be extended to the various indigenous sports like Kalarippayattu, Kho-Kho, kite fighting, kabaddi, vallamkali and so on, not really internationally well known yet speaks volumes on the nations culture. Further, how the talk addressed the aspect of inclusivity and breaking gender binaries withing the space that sports is. Participants enhanced the session by putting forth questions that further unveiled the deep connection between sports, culture and literature. Faculty members responded to the talk by urging on the importance of moving beyond the set syllabus, breaking the boundaries and bridging the gap between academics and the practicality of life by delving into such challenging yet interesting areas such as sports studies. The session came to a close as on behalf of the audience Christo Jackson of 2nd MA English, expressed gratitude towards the resource person, Dr Veena Mani, for an engaging and insightful session. He further expressed his gratitude towards the Principal, the Department of English, the Head of Department and the other faculty members for providing such a platform to grow and nurture even during these uncertain times. Conclusion The lecture was indeed insightful as it prompted the students to think beyond the set limitations of their syllabus and restructure their notions regarding their subject in a manner, that is more connected to the society and culture. Like how the resource person emphasised on leisure spaces are a continuation of society, its high time that being the seekers of literature, the academic community address those often-ignored spaces and notions, just because it lacks the tagline of being mainstream. The session kindled in the audience a fire to venture into their subject in way that their discoveries would be a staple source in building the community of ordinary lives out there. Recommendations Students expressed their gratitude and interest in knowing more about the less explored and least ventured areas thereby extending the boundaries of their subject areas. Suggestions poured in on more lectures on such innovative and engaging areas such as Climate studies, Medical humanities, Pandemic Studies, Film Studies and so on.

Onam Celebration in the Department- 19/08/2021

 

As the Covid pandemic changed the nature of celebrations, the English Department of Sacred Heart College organized a virtual onam celebration titled “Hridyonam“ on 19 August 2021. The Second Year students of the department orchestrated a series of events and virtual games. The felicitation speech was delivered by Fr. Paulose Kidangen, Manager, Sacred Heart College. “Ormayile Onam” was organized for the teachers where they shared nostalgic onam memories with the students. The finals of traditional competitions like Malayali Manka, Kerala Sreeman competition were conducted through google meet where the participants came face to face with the adjudicator. Live competitions namely “Onakazhchakal” and “Kaavile paattumalsaram” had the active participation of students from all the classes. Even though the celebration was conducted online, it was able to bring the warmth and charm of our culture and tradition. The programme concluded with the profound hope for a better tomorrow.