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.

Debate on Reliability of social media when used for public support- 21/03/2021

 On 21 March 2021, a debate competition was organised by English Association of Sacred Heart College, Thevara. The topic of the competition was " Reliability of social media when used for public support". The debate competition was held under the guidance of Association Coordinator Fr. Sabu Thomas and moderated by Prof. Simon Peter.

As the competition started, we could see all the participants were geared and fully passionate to win. They were well prepared. They displayed confidence in presenting their arguments. Some of the participants argued for the motion and some against the motion. All the participants exhibited oratory skills and displayed their knowledge. There were so many notable points presented by each team. They proved their points in such a manner that the audience were convinced. 

The faculty of English Dept, 

Tom.C.Thomas spoke on the topic and gave relevant ideas regarded on the same. At the end of the debate, the audience were asked to vote for the best debator. Jithin was selected as the best debator. And, finally the team speaking against the motion was selected as the winners. At last, the programme was concluded with a vote of thanks by K.S Yedhushree, Second year BA English.. 

Devika Saju

1st BA English

Model United Nations- 28th January 2021

 

Report on Model UN 

A session of Model United Nations was held on the 28th of January 2021 as part of the activities of the English Association. The event was conducted on Google Meet and was organized by the 1st year B.A. English students with active support and participation from the students of the Sociology and Mathematics department. 17 students from the three departments represented the various delegates from different countries. They presented their opinions and standpoints on the topic “Disease Control and Management during humanitarian crisis”. The ideas presented were extremely perceptive and thought-provoking and served as a true testament to the efforts taken by all the participants.

Radio Drama in Kochi FM by IPG Students

On 18th January 2021, at 8.05 pm, Kochi FM air streamed the radio drama by first year PG students of English Department, SH College, Thevara.