Description of the Event:

The first annual Post- Graduate National Seminar on Contested Imagi-nation was organized by MA English with Cultural Studies programme, School of Business Studies and Social Sciences in BGR Campus. The two- day workshop was held in the Mini Auditorium and Seminar Hall. The seminar touched upon the discourses in diasporic imaginations, gender and creative expression, emergent popular culture, feminist debates and interventions from India, language and culture and nation and nationalism.  Student Coordinator Prakriti Arora welcomed the gathering and emphasized that the aim of the seminar was to trace the development of cultural debates over the years.   

The dignitaries present in the seminar were Dr. Jyothi Kumar, Associate Dean, School of Business Studies and Social; Prof. Gaana J, Academic Coordinator, Prof. Arun D M.  The hall also marked the presence of other faculties, students of English cluster and several paper presenters.
Dr. Jyothi Kumar in her inaugural speech opined how important it was for a gathering such as a seminar of this kind to transact and share what knowledge we have gained through our research. She wished everyone the success and hoped that the two days will be made fruitful through discussions, deliberations and a lot of knowledge sharing.

Professor Arun D M introduced the topic of the seminar, Contested Imagi- nations. The seminar, he said, aims to unveil the contestations that have been occurring across diverse fields such as Film Studies, Cultural Studies and Literary Theory. He said that it is imperative to debate and deliberate on such contestations.  He emphasized the need to debate on the simple at the same time subtle modifications that one might find in one’s own culture.  Concluding, he posited that common realities are actually contested realities and this contestation must be explored through discussions and research papers.    

 

Objective of the Workshop :

The objective of the Post Graduate National Seminar was to revisit and engage with post- colonial debates. The seminar aimed to touch upon various debates across Film Studies, Literary Studies, Cultural Studies etc. Imaginaries of national identities have been intensely contested from the eighteenth century onwards. And forms of cultural expressions played an imperative role in charting and shaping these contested terrains. The seminar intended to look at such historical debates from the perspectives of contemporary India.
 

Basic ideas presented
The first panellist discussion was moderated by Prof. Arun D M. The panellists were Prof. Gaana J, Dr. Meghna Mudaliar and Dr. Rashmi Sawhney. Prof. Gaana J talked about the marginality in terms of narrative. She emphasized on today's world embedded in capitalism which is organized by a systematic violence emerged in Europe since the 17th Century. She brought into the picture the commodity 'tea' or 'chai' to understand the systematic violence. One might think of tea as an indigenous drink however it is important to understand the history of it becoming a popular drink. Catherine of Braganza, wife of Charles II introduced the ritual of drinking teas to the English Royal Court thereby marking its entry into the aristocracy. And from then on it led to the huge demand for tea. She moved onto talk about the crucial role played by India under British in the violent history of opium production. East India Company from the mid-18th century established a demand for opium in China and it helped British to gain profit which was used to procure tea in Britain.

The question is as to why it is a violent history? Large parts of Bihar were cleared for growing opium. This led to the decline in Cheetah, Leopard, Tiger etc., inhabiting the forests areas. Further, it has created an imbalance in the ecosystem. Moreover, a large number of aboriginals were displaced. Therefore, we are all part of this violent history wherein there was a loss of economy, property and lives. Summing up this history, Prof. Gaana J concluded by stating that the works of fiction like Ilbis Trilogy by Amitav Ghosh enables us to look at many such marginalised idea.   

The second panellist, Dr. Meghna Mudaliar talked about the conceptualization of the nation through the story. She started off by reading out the poem 'Post Card from Kashmir' by Agha Shahid Ali. She elucidated on the idea of memory depicted in the poem with regard to the geographical space. Then, she touched upon the various understanding and analogous that each one of us holds in order to maintain a relationship with the nation. She brought in this idea by referring to the essay A Scientific Religion by V Raghunathan.  

Saying so, Dr. Meghna Mudaliar concretized the idea of memory that one can find in narratives. She explained this idea by referring to Politics of Memory: Looking for German in the New German by Jane Kramer, Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie and Clandestine in Chile by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. Bringing in the idea of the imagination of homeland, she stated that it is never possible to see the whole picture of a nation as it is necessarily fragmented.

The third panellist, Dr. Rashmi Sawhney started off by reflecting on the post-disciplinary context that the seminar is set in. She mainly explicated on the idea that texts are never separated from life and that it is intensely part of life. She mentioned about film Padmavat directed by Sanjay Leela Bhansali. Historical evidence suggests that Queen Padmavati was a work of fiction. However, multiple contested the way in which Queen is represented. Thus, these contestations point towards the fact that one can slip in and of the past. She concludes by stating that our collective business is to think about our lives wherein lives are part of the text and vice versa.  

The theme for the first session of the paper presentation was Women, Religion and the Construction of Identity chaired by Prof. Arya P V. The papers were Globalization and the Changing Representation of Christian Women Characters in selected Hindi Films, Blurring the Boundaries: A Postcolonial Study of the Film The English Patient, and Jan Ruff O’Heme Transcending Position as ‘Comfort Woman’: Understanding Religion as Solemn Protest.   

The second session was themed From Governmentality to Artificial intelligence - The Formation of a Subject chaired by Prof. Gaana J. The papers presented were Is Governmentality a” Colonial Attack” on Universities?, Victims or Villains:  Pirates in the Context of Colonisation by England and Spain, and Understanding A.I. Ego: A Psychoanalytical Analysis of  David, an Artificial Intelligence in the Visual Text, Prometheus.

The third set of papers presented in the morning session included papers titled Post-colonialism in Disney films: A Critical Analysis of Aladdin, The lion King and Pocahontas and Diaspora: Through the Photographer’s Lens. The papers followed the theme Popular Culture and Cinema chaired by Professor Renu Elizabeth Abraham.   
The final session of the paper presentation chaired by Dr. Disharee on Language, Culture and Aesthetics. The papers presented were English and Non-English: Countless major and minor ‘Imagined Communities’ in India, The importance of language and culture in the novel One Part Woman, Ecological Imperialism and its associations to global epidemics; from Medieval Ages to Present Ages, and Double Consciousness and the “Third Culture” Dilemma.

Trajectory of Argument
The trajectory of her arguments was structured in nature. While covering the important debates on contestations across various fields, the seminar was categorized into different themes under which papers were presented. All the panellists and presenters ensured to present their arguments in a linear fashion within the allotted time limit.  Rather than making it seem theory as an isolated category, the presentations provided instances from films, novels and so on.

Learning Outcomes
•    Critical Understanding of Imaginaries of national identities
•    Knowledge about contested terrains from 18th Century
•    Grasping Historical debates from the perspectives of Contemporary India
•    Understanding post- colonial debates
Response and Reception
Paper presenters and students felt the Post Graduate National Seminar was extremely informative. The seminar was fruitful to all those who were interested in engaging with post- colonial debates. The paper presentation was spread across different themes which enabled the participants to understand the varying nuances of historical debates. The seminar was successful in imparting the intended knowledge to the students as they were able to historically understand the transformation that the society underwent.