Conference presentations by faculty members and students
Many faculty members and students have presented their academic papers at the “2nd TESOL Society of Bangladesh International Conference 2024, held from 8th to 10th February 2024 at the International Mother Language Institute (IMLI), Dhaka. The conference was jointly organised by the Institute of Modern Languages (IML), University of Dhaka, University of Liberal Arts, Bangladesh, Green University, IDP Bangladesh, and Uttara University.
Dr. Syeda Farzana Sultana, Assistant Professor, ENH was one of the conference organisers, and session moderators of the conference. As a coordinator of the Hornby project titled “Enhancing the Effectiveness of English Teaching at Qawmi Madrasa in Bangladesh”, she also presented a report on the project. Both Dr. Sabreena Ahmed, Associate Professor and Dr. Asifa Sultana Liza, Professor, ENH were moderators at different sessions of the conference. Dr. Ahmed had presented a paper titled “Challenges of Using Ecocomposition in Multimodal Platforms” at the conference as well. Ahnaf Md. Shafee Rahman, an MA student of ENH presented a paper titled “’Is this real or are we still in a game?’: An analysis of David Cronenberg’s 1999 classic ‘eXistenZ’ based on the ‘Theory of Posthumanism’ by Donna Haraway. Two other MA students Mosanna Sifat and Zarin Tashnim presented their research projects they had begun as mentee teacher-researchers under TESOL Society of Bangladesh Exploratory Action Research for Teacher Empowerment (EARTE )2023. The title of the papers were “Reasons and Remedies for Students’ Hesitance to Interact with Peers” and “Enhancing Students’ Engagement and Performance in an English Medium School” respectively.
Dr. Ahmed is taking her certificate for paper presentation from the moderator of the session Dr. Asifa Sultana
Dr. Asifa Sultana, Dr. Syeda Farzana Hafsa and Dr. Sabreena Ahmed (L to R) at the conference venue.
3rd International Conference on “Environmental Hazard and Gender Issues (Re)imagining Literature, Language, and Culture of the Global South
Samirah Tabassum, Lecturer of ENH, delivered a talk at the 3rd International Conference on “Environmental Hazard and Gender Issues: (Re)imagining Literature, Language, and Culture of the Global South" organized by the Department of English at Shahjalal University of Science and Technology (SUST) on February 16 and 17, 2024. Her talk, titled “Anthropocene Reinterpretation and Gender Dynamics in Postmodern Popular Renditions,” explored gamification that bridges myth and postmodern retellings. The talk investigated how selected popular renditions from a project jointly spearheaded by Goethe-Institut and HerStory Foundation, and songs produced under the banner of Coke Studio, a project backed by an American multinational corporation, hold the potential to negotiate the spaces between genders, present scopes to explore non-human entities and their agencies, alongside illuminating fluidity and interconnectedness.
Ms. Samirah Tabassum at the Conference
1952: Politics of Language and History Making organised by the History Club
ENH History Club organised a talk titled “1952: Politics of Language and History Making” by Professor Afsan Chowdhury on 20th February. The talk revolved around the core issues relevant to the national language movement and how it proceeded to the liberation war of 1971 later on. The event was organised by the students of history minor and supervised by Ms. Salma Khan, Senior Lecturer, ENH. The chairperson of ENH, Professor Firdous Azim delivered the closing remarks at the event.
Prof. Afsan Chowdhury with Prof. Firdous Azim and Ms. Salma Khan
Prof. Afsan Chowdhury delivering his lecture
Webinar organised for the MA students of ENG 605: Contemporary Literature in English
ENH hosted a webinar titled “Encounters with Modernity: Easterine Kire’s Sky is My Father”, which was held online on 22 February 2024 at 7:00 pm. Sky is My Father is the first novel in English written by any Naga writer and is included in the course Eng 605 (Contemporary English Literature) for MA students at BRAC University. Easterine Kire (1959) is the first Naga novelist of international repute. Dr. Veio Pou’s lecture was arranged in tandem with the course lectures by Professor Dr. Sabiha Huq. The speaker Dr. Veio Pou himself is a creative writer whose debut novel, Waiting for the Dust to Settle (2020), won the Gordon Graham Prize for Naga Literature (Fiction) in 2021. He is also the author of Literary Cultures of India’s Northeast: Naga Writings in English (2015) and Keeper of Stories: Critical Readings of Easterine Kire's Novels (2023). He highlighted Kire’s narrative of the transformation of the fiercely independent Angami Naga village named Khonoma through its encounter with the British colonial forces. The historical fiction serves as a remnant of the intangible heritage and speaks of inevitable change with the advent of modernity. Dr Veio Pou also touched on the contemporary English writings in Nagaland and India. Professor Dr Firdous Azim, Chairperson of ENH, delivered the welcome speech while Professor Dr Sabiha Huq moderated the programme. Professor Azim underscored the importance of inclusion of texts of a greater variety that would encourage multiculturalism and secular views in society. Professor Himadri Lahiri of Netaji Subhas Open University, who has recently worked on Kire and other writers of the North-East India, also shared his views about the interaction between the ethnic communities with the national cultural centre in any country. A number of teachers and students joined the web lecture. The students had a lively Q/A session with Dr Veio Pou.
Prof. Pou delivering his lecture
Symposium by ENH Faculty Members
A symposium comprising of three paper presentations by ENH faculty members were held on 29th Februrary 2024 at 1pm at 07B12C. The papers were, “Institutional Intervention as Collaboration: A Critique of the Self and Disintegration of Rickshaw Art in Rangbaaz (2020)” By M. Zaki Rezwan, Senior Lecturer, ENH; “’From Earth to Heaven Distance Conquered’ : The Politics of Wireless Broadcasting in East Bengal, 1939-1979” by Dr. Mahruba Mowtushi, Assistant Professor, ENH; and “Crafting Resilience: The Intersection of Plastic Studies and Forced Migration Narratives” by Samirah Tabassum, Lecturer, ENH. Other faculty members and students of the deparment were present at the symposium. The papers were presented by the faculty members at different international conferences earlier.
Mr. Zaki Rezwan presenting his paper
Dr. Mahruba Mowtushi presenting her paper
Ms. Samirah Tabassum presenting her paper
The audience of the symposium