Two Day National Seminar in Osmania University

 

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Osmania University Centre for International Programmes, Osmania University, Hyderabad

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Two Day National Seminar

on

'Themes and Narratives in Postwar American Fiction'

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Call for Papers

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About the Seminar

The Osmania University Centre for International Programmes (OUCIP), Hyderabad, India is organizing a Two Day National Seminar on ”Themes and Narratives in Postwar American Fiction” from 27th – 28th December 2016. The proposed National Seminar on “Themes and Narratives in Postwar American Fiction” will have for its focus Fiction written in America after the end of the First World War till the current generation” who produced their major work during the nineteen twenties and after, their legacy was continued by Post-Second World War novelists such as Saul Below, John Updike, Norman Mailer, J. D. Salinger, Nabokov, Richard Wright, James Baldwin, Ralph Ellison and later by Don Delillo, Tony Morrison, Robert Stone, Thomas Berger and others. The postwar literary scenario is principally the story of American vision as it unfolded amid rapidly changing social, political, communal, racial and technological changes. The hyphenated Americans frequently explored the complexity of their identity while addressing the country’s deepest political and cultural anxieties. The Vietnam War, the Civil Rights Movement canon blasting avant-grade containment politics, unipolar arrogance increasing commodification and many such aspects inevitably came under aesthetic scrutiny. Even the classics of American renaissance have been critiqued from different theoretical positions.

 

In continuation of the “lost generation” spirit of the twenties, the rise of the novel influenced by the Communist view point in the nineteen thirties, the arrival of existentialist and “absurd” fiction following the Second World War. American Fiction entered a new phase in the late 1960s and early 1970s with the publication of the most popular works in American Literary writing related to the “Beat Generation” and the birth of the new forms of spiritual experience to counter the stress of postwar American Society through drugs, alcohol, philosophy, religion and specifically through Zen Buddhism.

 

World War I and World War II and after gave rise to a new perspective and a boom in contemporary war novels. American novelists produced greatest numbers in case of World War II novels. These novels explore the personnel nature of war within the context of intense combat.

 

The seminar will offer a prominent platform to bring together scholars, academics, experts, writers and critics in the domain of American as well as related multidisciplinary areas to discuss and deliberate on issues and concerns in numerous areas central to the human predicament. The seminar will contribute new research topics to the aspiring research scholars as there is greater need to examine the postwar American novel from a fresh perspective.

Among the major themes and perspectives, the seminar will include the following areas:

•  The Lost Generations Novelists.
•  The Jazz Age Fiction.
•  The Harlem of Renaissance Novels.
•  Leftist Learnings: Fiction of the Nineteen Thirties.
•  Existentialist novels,
•  Campus Novels: The Beat Generation Novelists.
•  African American Writings.
•  The Black Power Movement.
•  War Novels
•  Science Fiction
•  The Indian Diaspora Novels.
•  Buddhist Fiction.
•  Terrorism and the African Novel.
•  Women’s issues and American Novel.
•  Human Rights and the American Novel.
•  The American Political Novel.
•  Ecocriticism and the American Novel.

Osmania University

With a sprawling campus of nearly 1600 acres and buildings of majestic beauty and architectural splendor, Osmania University, is perhaps, the largest higher education system in the Country. It is a home to nearly 300,000 students pursuing their higher studies in its Campus, Constituent, Affiliated Colleges and District Centres. Its faculty and staff number nearly 5000. It is a multi-faculty and multidisciplinary university, offering rich and varied courses in the fields of Humanities, Arts, Sciences, Social Sciences, Law, Engineering, Technology, Commerce and Business Management, Information Technology and Oriental Languages. The University’s strategic planning, teaching-and-learning policies and research direction have always emphasized respect for the concerns of the society and the need to address the issues that challenge it. In recognition of its excellent academic achievements, Osmania University had the distinction of being awarded the 'A' Grade status by the National Accreditation and Assessment Council (NAAC) of the University Grants Commission, Government of India in the year 2008.

 

OUCIP

Osmania University Centre for International Programmes came into existence in August 2006 after the Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India, handed over the management and administration of the American Studies Research Center (ASRC) to Osmania University. It is housed in the building complex of the ASRC and has inherited its academic and infrastructural strengths.

 

However, OUCIP has broadened its scope and added new fields of study from humanities and social studies to American Studies. This was done with the realization that a single discipline Centre with a single source of funding was neither possible nor feasible in the context of the growing need for multi- and interdisciplinarity within the academia. It was also felt that Osmania University located in the city of Hyderabad, needed to reflect the multi dimensional growth and reach of the city that has been evolving as a major hub for the new knowledge’s emerging in different fields. OUCIP was thus conceived to complement the special status of the City in which it is located while retaining its strength in the disciplines of American Studies and International Relations acquired over four decades.

 

Paper Presentation

Abstract should be in MS Word 97-2003 format with Times New Roman, 12 Font, along with Title, Authors names, Address, email.

Presentation facilities: Multimedia projectors for Power Point presentations (MS office) will be made available.

Conference Important Dates

1. Abstracts Confirmation : 15th November 2016

2. Registration : Registration after the confirmation of abstract

Registration Fee (Includes Boarding & Lodging and Conference Kit):

S.No. Category Registration Fee

1. National Delegates 2000/-

2 Research Scholars , O.U 1,000/-

3. Research Scholar Other Universities 1500/-

3. Accompanying Person*** 2,000/-

**Student or Research Scholar should send a certificate duly signed by Head of the Institution and should carry valid ID proof. Student category conference material

will be provided.

***Conference Material will not be provided to Accompanying person.

 

Mode of Payment:

Bank draft in favor of “Director, Osmania University Centre for International Programmes” payable at Hyderabad, T.S., India.

Communication hub:

1. Prof. A. Karunaker, Ms. Sameera Khundmiri

Convenor, Librarian

Director, OUCIP OUCIP

Osmania University Osmania University

Hyderabad 500 007 Hyderabad 500 007

Telangana State, India. Telangana State, India.

Email:akredrem@gmail.com oucipprogrammes@gmail.com

Mb. No: 9849302145 Contact – 040 – 27098609 –ext: 41

Contact – 040 – 27098609 –ext: 31

 

2. Mrs. G. Sandhya

Programme Assistant

OUCIP

Osmania University

Hyderabad – 500 007

Telangana State, India

oucipprogrammes@gmail.com

Contact – 040 – 27098609 –ext: 44

 

For General query & Abstract submission : oucipprogrammes@gmail.com

For Accommodation request : oucipreservations@gmail.com

Website : www.osmania.ac.in/oucip

 

Registration Form

1. Name In Block Letters

2. Designation

3. Country / Nationality

4. Mailing Address with PIN Code and E-mail

(Entire correspondence will be through e-mail)

5. Contact Number with country & local code

Mobile :

Office :

Residence :

6. Demand draft No. Amount Date: Bank:

7. Category National Delegate

Research Scholar Accompanying person

(Research Scholars are requested to submit their University ID Card as a Proof.)

8. Payable at (Name of the bank)

9. I am interested in contributing the paper YES / NO

If Yes send the abstract to oucipprogrammes@gmail.com

10. Title of the paper

11. I am interested in reserving accommodation YES / NO

If Yes mail to oucipreservations@gmail.com

12. I am accompanied by family and needs food and YES / NO

accommodation on payment basis

If Yes Payment Particulars DD/Cheque NO Dt: Bank:

Branch: Amount:

(Very limited accommodation first come first serve basis)

 

Note: All the participants should send emails to the concerned sections along with print form of registration duly signed along with DD

Date

Place Signature of the Participant

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Creation and Criticism: Editorial - Oct 2016

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Let me begin with a story. There was a little boy who wanted to learn the art of meditation for controlling emotional noise and experiencing ecstasy. Therefore, he went to Shrii Shrii Anandamurti, known as Baba to his disciples, and insisted for his personal guidance. Baba graciously advised him to do asanas and pranayama at the initial stage and thereafter he may come to learn the lesson. But, the boy was adamant. When Baba found no way, he agreed and advised him to come in the early morning. The little boy reached at the right time, touched his feet reverently and silently sat down before him. Then spoke Baba, “Can you see this object?” “Of course, Baba”, the boy answered humbly but confidently. “Ok. Now close your eyes.” The boy closed his eyes. He asked again, “Can you see the object now?” The boy was speechless. “No problem,” Baba lovingly said, “Go and try to see it.” The boy obeyed and did his best. He saw a few blurred sights and reported the same to him; however, Baba was not satisfied. He made another effort. He went to a secluded and peaceful place, fostered concentration and spiritual consciousness through meditation, and in due course realized ‘the eyeless sight.’

 

Though the story has a big canvas, it can be related to the tale of a literary journal, magazine or any other periodical published online or offline. The tale begins with the collection, selection and publication of creative things and thereafter it is sent to its audience. The audience receives, reads and enjoys the things. However, most of the times, it happens that many of them, including its contributors/ authors, go away without dropping a single word or giving the feedback. In such a situation, the apparent silence and unseen presence of audience may seem unexpected and disheartening on the surface level. But, this is not the whole truth; because the audience is not actually silent and unseen as it seems, it is interacting, interpreting, imbibing and responding to the contents and leaving its footprints. That means the sound is there, the response is there, the presence is there with its own glow, and only a person of right perception can see and judge the objects in their perpetual flow.

 

Creation and Criticism, which began its journey a few months before in April 2016, always harbours pure and positive impulses for its lovely authors, readers, scholars and fellow-travelers. It always feels happy and optimistic to study, explore and manifest the illuminating emotions, thoughts and behaviours of the creative world. It does so in order to know and experience the Experienced and the Perfect as partly revealed through the spiritual consciousness of ‘the eyeless sight’ leading to wisdom and partly through the conceptual and perceptual communication of ‘creation and criticism’ developing mutual understanding and the rest is yet to be revealed. Do you also realize all this?

 

All the best!

Happy reading...  

 

Abnish Singh Chauhan

Managing Editor

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Writing Editing Publishing A Memoir

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LETTERS FROM  POET PROFESSOR CRITIC AND EDITOR FRIENDS 

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 R K SINGH

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Copyright: R K Singh

Publisher: Creation and Criticism

Issue: Oct 2016 

Pages: 299 

Click and Read the E-book: Memoirs of R K Singh

 

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Native Scents Launched at the Nehru Centre

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The Nehru Centre, London, July 28, 2016:  the Vatayan launched its fourth anthology of poems, Native Scents/Watan ki Khushboo (Editor: Divya Mathur, Co-editor: Dr Hilal Fareed, Interviews: Shikha Varshney) in the presence of Ruth Padel, British poet and writer with close connections to conservation, wildlife, Greece and music. In chair was Dr MZA Shakeb, historian and Chairman, Ilmi  Majlis-London, who also reviewed the book, which has been part funded by the Big Lottery Fund for Languages & Linguistics.

 

Ms Divya Mathur, Founder of Vatayan, introduced the programme - a multilingual, multicultural and multidimensional bonanza. She said that poetry has always had a limited readership; it is fiction that sells but at present, there is no cause for despair, as some prominent publishing houses are publishing poetry now and various websites have widened its reach and if nothing else, it has a therapeutic value. Dr Hilal Fareed, author and founder of Sir Syed Foundation, compered the programme brilliantly.

 

Launching the book, Ruth Padel, said that a variety of poetry is not only attractive; these verses will help young generation to appreciate the good and bad of their homeland and to the west to have a taste of the orient. Dr MZA Shakeb said that the poetry of the immigrant poets reflects diverse elements such as their nostalgia, sometimes appreciation of new values and sometimes annoyance with the change. They seem to be very firm in holding the value of love and spirituality.

 

Uttara Sukanya Joshi sang Dr Gautam Sachdev's ghazal followed by Lalit Mohan Joshi, who paid a tribute to the two great Hindi scholars we have lost in the recent past - Dr Satyendra Srivastava and Dr Gautam Sachdev; this anthology is dedicated to both of them. Sushma Mehta, Kathak dancer and choreographer, performed Akbar Hyderabadi's ghazal, Zindaan-e-subho shaam mein' and Mehtab Malhotra sang Usha Raje Saxena's ghazal, 'Samandar mein utarna aa gaya hai,' which is included in Vatayan's album composed and sung by the well known singer Radhika Chopra. Dr Vayu Naidu, Diana Mavroleon, Shelley Williams, Neelum Singh and Arun Sabarwal recited English translation alongside the Hindi and Punjabi poets - Shail Agrawal, Pran Sharma, Jai Verma, K C Mohan and Jagtar Dha.

 

Poets who have contributed their poems for this anthology include the late Dr Gautam Sachdev and the late Dr Satyendra Srivastava, Pran Sharma, Shail Agrawal, Usha Verma, Usha Raje Saxena, Dr Indira Anand, Jai Verma, Toshi Amrita and Divya Mathur (Hindi), Amarjit Chandan, Jagtar Dha, Jaswinder Mann, K C Mohan and Dr Sathi Ludhianvi (Punjabi) and Akbar Hyderabadi, Iftikhar Arif, Saqi Farooqi, Siddiqa Shabnam and Zehra Nigah (Urdu)

 

Translators include Chaand Chazelle, Rogan Wolf, Dr Pavan K Varma, Dr MZA Shakeb, Julia Casterton, Jutta Austin, Lalit Mohan Joshi, Dr Saif Mahmood, Shelley Williams, Neelum Singh, RK Agnihotri, Paras Anand, Bhupinder Parihar, Beryl Dhanjal, Zahra Sabri, Syeda Hameed, Amina Yaqin, Francis Pritchett, Rafey Habib, Brenda Walker and Divya Mathur.

 

The audience was full of connoisseurs of poetry, authors, translators, artists and media personnel including Viram Jasani, founder of Asian Music Circuit, Yogesh Patel, Editor, Word Masala, Editor of Health Happiness, Vijay Rana, Urdu scholars Javed Sheikh, poet Yashab Tamanna, founder of FAB Book Club, Uma Malhotra, broadcaster Mamta Gupta, educationist, Aruna Ajitsaria, amongst many others. The programme was covered by MA TV. Mira Kaushik, Chair of Vatayan and Director of Akademi, welcomed Mr Tarun Kumar, Attache (Hindi & Culture), who has recently joined the High Commission of India and expressed that, as far as promotion of Hindi and Indian languages are concerned, the two organisations should collaborate. 

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Two Sensitive Issues Wrapped in Comedy

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Gurgaon, August 28, Sunday: Giving Gurgaon a flavor of two famous plays, Magic Creations Mom’s Theatre Group in association with Hindware presented- TARTUFFE by Molière &ANJI by Vijay Tendulkar on Sunday evening at DPS Sec 45 Auditorium, Gurgaon. The first play called TARTUFFE, Hindi adaptation of a comedy by renowned French play writer Moliere  and the second presentation called ANJI by none other than Vijay Tendulkargrabbed the audience attention completely. The plays were staged by Magic Creations Moms’ Theatre Group, an all mothers group of Gurgaon who have come together to reclaim their ‘creative kick’!

 

Directed by NSD alumnus Binod Sharma, the Choreography and Music of the play is given by Harsh Nawaria. A dramatic story of a spiritual hypocrite, Tartuffe talks about the hypnotizing influence of so called religious gurus, who are masters at wearing the mask of gentleness and intelligence to the world although the ugly truth is unseen by many. The second play Anji is the story of a girl that revolves around the society’s outlook that a good match for an unmarried girl should be the first priority of the family. If the girl is educated and breadwinner of the family, getting married becomes tougher for various unsaid reasons. Driving the audience to accept the complexities of love and romance, as the gripping stories of the plays moved forward, it only left the audiences entertained and thrilled, cracking up every now & then, in splits of laughter.

 

Talking about the story and its Hindi adaptation, Ms. Geetika Goyal, Director, Magic Creations (Founder of Moms’ Theatre Group), added “Tartuffe is a hilarious script, set up in one of the households of Delhi NCR itself, while Anji, the story of a Marathi girl, is set up in Pune. The first play is loud and full of drama while the second has a realistic approach with spills of humour that keeps the audience gripped. Both the plays together offer complete family entertainment”.

 

Talking about the Moms’ Theatre Group, Ms. Goyal continued “Our thought behind the launch of this group was to give the mothers in Gurgaon a creative corner, where they come, unwind and discover themselves all over again. As of now, the group is of 15 passionate mothers between the age brackets of 35 to 69 years; they have come together to challenge themselves and find some 'ME' time while taking a break from their everyday routine. These mothers believe in investing in their own selves, by creating moments of happiness and creative satisfaction here. After spending time here, they go back all refreshed and happy, fueling back dollops of enthusiasm and passion to their routine lives.” 

 

Thus, the two plays ‘TARTUFFE by Molière & ANJI by Vijay Tendulkar’ left Gurgaon audience in splits on Sunday evening!

 

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