National Young Researchers’ Seminar on
“Discursifying ‘English’: Contemporary Cultures, Contemporary Concerns”
Under the
UGC Special Assistance Programme (DRS Phase II)
Organised by
Centre for English Studies School of Language, Literature and Culture Studies
Jawaharlal Nehru University
New Delhi – 67
24th-25th January, 2013
sap.ces@gmail.com
During our previous iteration last year, the Young Researchers’ Seminar invited and yielded a number of fascinating papers on the status quo of English in post-colonial India. In order to explore and engage with these ideas further on a macrocosmic/global scale, this year we would like to investigate further the position of English as a cultural negotiator in this era of globalization.
The 21st century can indeed be deemed as an apt successor of previous one, one which witnessed repeated interruptions in the history and memory of human race like the World Wars, Holocaust, riots, revolutions etc. Being the powerless inheritors of a traumatic past we are therefore not only embroiled in the politics of rapid communication, transformations and mistrust but are also the victims of interruptions that are both microcosmic and multiple; the frequency of terrorist attacks being the most accessible example of this. This current state of perpetual wars/confrontations in which we are temporally/spatially located is more dangerous as compared to the past because of its diffused nature that reduces the intensity of its affects but at the same time is also continuous and repetitive. At this brink of crises, English has crafted a transnational space that holds the promise of reshaping the hierarchies that exist between the local/global, self/other, indigenous/foreign, new/old, real/virtual. The central idea of this conference is to recognize the dominant criticism levelled against English as a language with cannibalistic and imperialistic tendencies that is more often than not is harmful to indigenous languages, and to go beyond these pessimistic criticisms. Can we argue for the case of English in the the present state of Babel/confusion in which English is actively bridging connections between myriad languages and cultures? Is the untranslatable is now finally translatable? And how has English crafted new spaces of negotiations and dialogue from different parts of the world?
The Centre for English Studies, School of Language, Literature and Culture Studies, JNU is pleased to invite research papers for a seminar focussing on new research in these and associated fields. The seminar will be conducted on a panel-respondent model, where we hope to invite experts on the various focus areas to critique the papers presented. Papers of about 3000 words must be submitted in advance so that the concerned respondent will be able to formulate their critique so that the exchange of ideas in this area can be maximized. Given the format of the seminar, we are looking to engage with participants with research experience so that discussion may be taken to the next level, critically and creatively. The proceedings of the seminar will also be published.
Abstracts must be submitted by the 5th of December to sap.ces@gmail.com to be considered. The deadline for full papers will be the 10th of January. Papers can be structured around any of the following focus areas, or explore related fields:
Performance Studies
Popular Culture Studies
New Medias
New Literatures, New Genres
Digital Discourses
Reading a 'Marginal' Canon
Eco-Literature(s)
Writing Revolutions/Subversions: Political/Social/Literary
Queer-ities
