Lecture on Post Colonialism

 INVITED LECTURE ON POSTCOLONIALISM

The Department of English, Shoolini University, had a virtual lecture on the topic “Postcolonialism Orientalism and other issues in Critical Theory” by the expert, Aneel Raina. Professor Aneel Raina teaches at Punjab University and is a leading figure in Literary theory. He is also the founder member of MELOW, the Society for the Study of the Multi-Ethnic Literatures of the World..

Professor Aneel Raina covered all the vital aspects of Postcolonialism and Orientalism. He started the lecture by introducing the terms which date back to the late 20th century. He then took into account Edward W. Said’s book “Orientalism” and explained the various connotations of the tem and how it is used in critical theory.

Further, elaborating upon the idea of Enlightenment which is associated with reason, science, and technology, progress, human evolution, Professor Raina said that colonizers try to mould their colonized people like their own selves I an attempt to “civilize” them as they are convinced that they are superior. Said has pointed out that the colonizers present a negative picture of the eastern people in their writings. Prof Raina quoted Kant to clarify his ideas, talked about strategic essentialism, the idea of discourse, structuralism, and other related concepts.

The session was informative, the students were delighted with the knowledge they gained from the session. It was attended by the faculty members and students of the Dept of English, Shoolini University, and some invited scholars.

Undergrad Seminar On Neoclassical Sensibilities

 UNDERGRAD SEMINAR ON NEOCLASSICAL SENSIBILITIES

Belletristic, the literary society of the Department of English, Shoolini University organised an Undergrad seminar on “Neo-Classical Sensibilities” (18th century English literature). The focus of the seminar was on the writers of the 18th century in England.

Final year students from different colleges presented papers on writers, works and themes of the 18th century England.

Dr. Harneet Kaur, Associate Professor at Guru Gobind Singh College for Women, Chandigarh, was the chairperson for the session.

Sukriti Pahwa from Guru Gobind Singh College for women, Chandigarh presented her paper titled “Neo-Classical Sensibilities- 18th Century English Literature”. Rutvi Shah from Christ College, Gujarat, presented her paper on “Digging a romantic grave for Neo- Classical Sensibility - A Study of the Paradigm Shift in 18th Century Poetry”. Ajay Kumar from NRS Govt College, Rohtak, presented his paper titled, “Classical age or 18th century English literature”.  Shramana Mukherjee from Benares Hindu College presented a paper on “The Age of Reason”. Najamus Saqib from Shoolini University read a paper on “18th century as an age of prose of reason”.  Vaishali Thakur from Shoolini University on “The periodical essay and it's popularity in the 18th century”,  Aanay Bhatt from Christ College, Rajkot, Gujarat, on “Subservience VS. Independent Spirit: A Comparative Study of Pope and Dryden as Satirists”. Priyanka Kumari Zala from Christ College, Rajkot, Gujarat presented her paper titled, “Locating the Anthropos in the Great Chain: Reading Pope's Essay on Man through the Enlightenment Philosophy”. Yotasha from Mehr Chand Mahajan DAV College for Women, Chandigarh presented a paper titled, “The Rape of The Lock as a Social Satire” and Avi from the same College spoke on “The Politics of Satire  in Jonathan Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels”. 

Dr. Harneet Kaur, congratulated the department and the university for organizing the seminar, and praised the performance of the participants. Prof. Tej Nath Dhar also shared his valuable insights with the participants and the audience.  Sakshi Sundaram and Neeraj Pizar, faculty members from Shoolini, congratulated the presenters and concluded the session. 

The next Belletristic session will be held on 21st May 2021. It will be a talk on Salman Rushdie with special reference to his works “Haroun and the Sea of Stories” and “Midnight’s Children”.

Until then stay connected and keep sharing.