NATIONAL CONFERENCE Extending Postcolonialism: 4-5 February 2019 - Christ University
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NATIONAL
CONFERENCE
Extending Postcolonialism:
Living in an Age of
‘Precariousness’ and ‘Precarity’
4-5 February 2019
CHRIST (Deemed to be University)
Hosur Road Campus
Main Auditorium
Hosted by
Department of English
CHRIST (Deemed to be University) of India, declared the institution
was born out of the educational a Deemed to be University, in the
vision of St. Kuriakose Elias name and style of Christ University.
Chavara, an educationalist and One of the first institutions in India
social reformer of the nineteenth to be accredited in 1998 by the
century in South India. He founded NAAC, and subsequently in 2004
the first Catholic indigenous and 2016.
congregation, Carmelites of Mary
Immaculate (CMI) in 1831 which CHRIST has the top grade ‘A’
administers CHRIST. in the 4-point scale. The multi-
disciplinary institution which
Established in 1969 as Christ focuses on teaching research and
College, it undertook path breaking service, offers bachelors to Doctoral
initiatives in Indian higher programmes in humanities, social
education with the introduction of sciences, science, commerce,
innovative and modern curricula, management, engineering,
insistence on academic discipline, education and law to over 18,000
imparting of Holistic Education students. The campus is a living
and adoption of global higher example of the harmonious
educational practices with the multiculturalism with students
support of creative and dedicated from all the states of India and
staff. The University Grants from around 60 different countries.
Commission (UGC) of India CHRIST publishes six peer-
conferred Autonomy to Christ reviewed research journals and has
College in 2004 and identified it as published more than 300 books in
an ‘Institution with Potential for Kannada and English. A promoter
Excellence’ in 2006. In 2008 under of sports, music and literary
Section 3 of the UGC Act, 1956, the activities, it is a nurturing ground
Ministry of the Human Resources for creative excellence.
Development of the Government
associated with Humanities and
The Department of English Social Sciences to stagnate with
Postcolonial Studies’ engagement
The Department of English at only with the colonial past, and not
CHRIST comprises a dynamic and with the global present and future.
enterprising group of individuals, Post 9/11, there is a need to extend
ready to take on any epistemic the Postcolonial epistemological
challenge and make meaning out deliberations to a more expansive
of it. As part of the Deanery of and interdisciplinary framework
Humanities and Social Sciences, to understand and respond to
this department is truly one with social challenges and political
a human face. The department is issues in the twenty first century
committed to critical reading of narratives especially when the globe
the self, society, and the imagined. is shrinking and the communities
It opens up the syllabus to texts are bound ever closer with a tacit
of various kinds, visual, verbal, social contract that begs to be
cultural, and social. It aims at respected and maintained. Though
reading intensively into not just poverty and precarity are global
literatures but the politics of the phenomena their representations
society, at large, that reveals itself in English/Anglophone literatures
through various texts. and other fictional and non-
fictional media can be approached
by using established frameworks of
Extending Postcolonialism: Postcolonial Studies which should
Living in an Age of now explore the power of and over
representation, questions of agency
‘Precariousness’ and and voice, of authenticity and
‘Precarity’ essentialisms, of marginalisation
and subalternity of precarious and
India and the Global South are precarity lives. This conference
emerging as powerful influencers might then also address the current
in matters of international debate that Postcolonial Studies’
policies, multilateral relations and engages only with the colonial past
peace work. However in Indian and not with the global present and
academia, there is still a strong future.
tendency, especially in departmentsPhilosopher and Gender Studies and what is the nature of this
scholar Judith Butler’s writings precariousness? How precarity
are seminal to the growing body contributes to precariousness?
of literature on precarity and - are important and calls for
precariousness. Butler draws understanding and some policy
a critical distinction between redresses. Precariousness
‘precariousness’ and ‘precarity’. is used to denote a general,
She sees precariousness as a pervasive ontological condition
generalized human condition that of vulnerability, displacement,
stems from the fact that all humans and insecurity characteristic of
are interdependent on each other transhistorical and existential
and therefore all are vulnerable. forces. Precarity is a social
In her distinction, precarity is condition which describes and
different precisely because it is conceptualizes the unpredictable
unequally distributed. Precarity cultural and economic terrain
for Butler is then, experienced and conditions of life. This
by the marginalized, poor and philosophical framing inspires
disenfranchised people who are descriptions of precariousness
exposed to economic insecurity, and precarity that highlight
injury, violence, and forced experiences and feelings of anxiety,
migration. Other pertinent social disenfranchisement, and loss of
issues like Neoliberalism, war, and hope for the future. From the
climate crises also brings to the revered Canonical literary works
fore these inequalities. She contests to the new age formats of literary
politics that provides stability output this strand of precariousness
for select groups and chooses an is evident.
egalitarian precariousness for all as
a liberating moment (Butler 2004, Exploring the precariousness and
2010). precarity of ‘lifeworlds’ do not
rest solely within the discipline
Against this background, some of Literary Studies, it should be
questions like- what is it to be a multi-disciplinary as well as an
human today? What constitutes interdisciplinary endeavor for
‘liveability’ in the present geo- which a host of disciplines can
political, socio-cultural ferment? provide valuable insights and
How precarious is human life strategies. The objects of studycould be besides printed literary
narratives and texts, digital (visual
and aural), filmic, cultural and New
Media texts.
Some of the topics and themes that
could be explored but not restricted
to are:
• Refugee Narratives
• Narratives of the Displaced
• Narratives of the War injured
• Narratives of Migrant Experiences
• Human Rights, Ethics and
Literature
• Narrativisation of the ‘human’
in Memoirs, Testimonies,
Eyewitness accounts, and
literatures
• Graphic Novels of suffering and
‘personhood’ of the victims
• Ecological Crisis and Human
Rights
• Biomedicine and Ethics
• Canons and construction of
victims/ victimhood
• Human and Sub human in
Narratives
• Youth Narratives of Precarity
• Gendered narratives of Precarity
• Narratives of Everyday PrecarityKeynote Speaker Timeline for Abstracts
Harish Trivedi, former and Papers/ Poster/
Professor of English at the
University of Delhi, was Documentary
visiting professor at the
universities of Chicago and Submissions
London, and has lectured
at various universities in Submission of abstract
the USA, Canada, South
America, the UK, Europe,
15 December 2018
China, Japan, South-East (all submission formats
Asia and Australia. He require an abstract)
was Chairperson of the Indian Association for
Commonwealth Literature and Language Studies Approval of abstract
(2005--2014) and Vice-President of the Comparative
Literature Association of India (2007--2015).
17 December 2018
He is the author of Colonial Transactions: English Submission of registration form
Literature and India (Calcutta 1993; Manchester along with the registration fee
1995), and has co-edited Interdisciplinary Alter-
natives in Comparative Literature (New Delhi 2013);
5 January 2019
The Nation across the World: Postcolonial Literary
Representations (New Delhi 2007; New York 2008); Last date to submit the final
Literature and Nation: Britain and India 1800-1990 paper/ poster/ documentary
(London 2000); Post-colonial Translation: Theory
and Practice (London 1999); and Interrogating
15 January 2019
Post-colonialism: Theory, Text and Context (Shimla
1996; rpt. 2000 and 2006). He guest-edited a special Send your abstracts/submissions
issue on “Comparative Literature in India” (1997) of /queries to: engpostcolonial@
the British journal New Comparison, and has edited
conference.christuniversity.in
with an introduction and notes Thomas Hardy’s Tess
(Oxford University Press, 1988; several reprints) and
or to Abhirup Sarkar :
Rudyard Kipling’s Kim (Penguin Classics, 2011). abhirup.sarkar@
He has contributed to the Cambridge Companion eng.christuniversity.in
volumes on Gandhi and Kipling (both published
2011) as well as Tagore (forthcoming). He also writes Select papers will be published
in and translates from Hindi. Currently, he is one of
the contributing editors of an international project
based in Stockholm for writing a history of World (Please check the website for
Literature. submission details)Registration
Faculty and Research Scholars Student Presenters
(Presenters and Participants) Rs 750
Rs 1500 (includes certificates and lunch)
(includes seminar kit, certificate
and lunch) Poster/ Documentary Presentation
Rs 500
Faculty and Research Scholars
Poster/ Documentary Presentation In Absentia Presentation
Rs 1000 Rs 500
Faculty and Research Scholars Student Participants
In Absentia Presentation Rs 300
(includes skype and other services) (includes certificate)
Rs 1000
Payments Details
Registration fee can be paid through the online portal:
https://christuniversity.in/online-payment-portal
Registration amount is non-refundable
For further details, please visit our website:
www. christuniversity.in/nationalseminarFor Further Information Contact: Dr Anupama Nayar CV Mr Abhirup Sarkar Convener, English Conference 2019 Student Convener Department of English English Conference 2019 CHRIST (Deemed to be University) abhirup.sarkar@eng.christuniversity.in Hosur Road, Bengaluru- 560 029 + 91 79727 25277 anupama.nayar@christuniversity.in 080-4012-9064, +91 99161 73662
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