The Department of English focuses on redefining avenues of learning and enrichment. It ensures that students gain an insight which surpasses textual knowledge. Keeping this perspective in context, the department organized several student centric activities during the academic year 2021-22 which comprised of:
Heritage Walk- “Storytelling through the Ruins” was organized by the Department of English to Sunder Nursery on February 11, 2023. A group called Sair E Nizamuddin was invited to speak on the historical and cultural relevance of Sundar Nursery. Students along with the faculty participated in the heritage walk with great zeal. The walk was followed by an interactive session and group lunch amidst the lush green surroundings of the park. Overall, it was an enriching experience for the students and they enjoyed a lot.
of English Department was organised on 26 April 2022. The event was planned and executed by students who participated in various competitions such as Slam Poetry, Story Writing, Mimesis, Sketching etc.
The conference was inaugurated by Dr. Khal Torabully, French Poet, Indologist and Patron, Ameena Gafoor Institute, UK. The session was chaired by Prof. Anil Aneja, HoD, Department of English, University of Delhi. The conference saw enthusiastic participation as scholars from various central and state universities presented their papers.
which included sessions by Ms. Teesta Guha Sarakar, Head, Editorial, Pan Macmillan India and Prof. Anuradha Marwah, Professor and Author, Zakir Hussain College, University of Delhi.
The English Department organises annual educational excursions, storytelling walks and historical tours to ensure holistic development of the student’s personality. We also conduct literary activities and events through the academic semester. The Annual Department Fest, Litopia, holds activities such as Slam Poetry, Book Cover Making, Tell-A-Tale and Literary Quiz.We also organise conferences and seminars for lively interaction on topics as varied as Gender Issues, Creative Writing, Translation and Publishing, where eminent speakers, authors and academics are invited.
Department of English, Shivaji College organised its Farewell Meet, 2021 for it's outgoing batch ( Class of 2021) on 30th and 31st March 2021. The Annual Farewell was inaugurated with an online event held on MS Teams on 30 March 2021, at 3:30pm. The colourful and memorable virtual event commenced with a welcome address by Ms. Preeti Desodiya, Teacher-in-charge. Dr. Shiv Kumar Sahdev, Principal, shared his inspiring message with the students. This was followed by a tribute video comprising of heartfelt messages shared by the faculty members of the Department . A presentation of the 'Year Book'- a pictorial memorabilia showcasing memories from the last 3 years was projected on the screen as a token of love and appreciation. Thereafter, a few students took to the stage to express their gratitude and love for all batch mates and faculty members alike.
An offline Farewell Meet was organised on 31 March 2021, from 1-2pm at the Shivaji College lawns. In adherence to the guidelines for Covid pandemic, a brief and intimate gathering was organised. The programme was graced by the presence of honourable Principal and all faculty members. As a token of love, students from Class of 2021 were given convocation gowns and hats. This was followed by a photograph session. The Principal and Teacher-in-charge presented certificates and plaques to student office bearers and the memorable event was concluded.
Department of English, Shivaji College organised its Alumni Meet, 2021 for the Class of 2020 on 30th and 31st March 2021. The Meet was inaugurated with an online event held on MS Teams on 30 March 2021, at 3:30pm. The colourful and memorable virtual event commenced with a welcome address by Ms. Preeti Desodiya, Teacher-in-charge. Dr. Shiv Kumar Sahdev, Principal, shared his inspiring message with the students. This was followed by a tribute video comprising of heartfelt messages shared by the faculty members of the Department . A presentation of the 'Year Book'- a pictorial memorabilia showcasing memories from the last 3 years was projected on the screen as a token of love and appreciation. Thereafter, a few students took to the stage to express their gratitude and love for all batch mates and faculty members alike.
An offline Alumnil Meet was organised on 31 March 2021, from 11am-12:30pm at the Shivaji College lawns. In adherence to the guidelines for Covid pandemic, a brief and intimate gathering was organised. The programme was graced by the presence of honourable Principal and all faculty members. As a token of love, students from Class of 2020 were given convocation gowns and hats. This was followed by a photograph session. The Principal and Teacher-in-charge presented certificates and plaques to student office bearers and the memorable event was concluded.
A webinar was organized by the English department of Shivaji College, Delhi University on ‘Academic and Creative Writing – Exploring New Vistas’ on 6th October, 2020 at 3.30 p.m. on Zoom platform.
The guest speakers invited for this interactive session were Dr. Vivek Mishra and Dr. Sami Ahmad Khan. Dr. Vivek Mishra is a writer and a deputy director at the center for Indo-Pacific Studies, Kalinga Institute, Bhubaneswar and Dr. Sami Ahmed Khan is a novelist, documentary producer and an assistant professor in Indraprasth University. Ms. Preeti Desodiya, teacher-in-charge of English Department, began the session and welcomed the guest speakers and the audience. Dr. Shiv Kumar Sahdev, acting principal of Shivaji college, inaugurated the session and also spoke to the students about the importance of cultivating one’s mind and keep learning even in dire times. Dr. Geeta welcomed and introduced the speakers to the students.
Dr. Sami Ahmed Khan initiated the session by sharing his initial thoughts on the craft of creative writing followed by Dr. Vivek Mishra, who addressed the issue of academic writing and how students aspiring to be writers should be encouraged to inculcate the skills for academic writing from early on in their careers. Dr. Khan shared his own artistic and academic journey as a professor and a writer from being first and foremost a ‘fan’ of creative fiction and movies like The Harry Porter Series, Star Wars and The Lord of the Rings to becoming a science fiction writer himself. He made it clear to the students aspiring to become creative writers that “there is no formula to do creative writing” and “writing to feel happy” is a good enough reason to write. He emphasized on the fact that all people are essentially creative and everyone has the potential to have a creative expression, be in terms of creative writing, academic writing or even painting, dancing or creating music. One needs to introspect and find one’s own interest and a topic that is closest to one’s heart to begin writing.
Dr. Vivek Mishra discussed about and focused on the practical aspects of writing like publishing and marketing. He opened the students’ mind to the possibility of building a viable career as a non-fiction writer in allied and interdisciplinary fields like writing for media houses, newspapers and non-literary journals on topics of political and social issues. Drawing from his own career graph, he narrated his own life journey and how he changed his career directions from being a student of English Literature to a non-fiction writer, writing books on politics to international relations.
Followed by their initial talk, Dr. Khan and Dr. Mishra engaged in an interactive dialogue with each other and also with the students discussing the art and craft of creative writing and academic writing, its various intersections and the commonalities and differences in these two kinds of writings.
After the interactive dialogue, the webinar was opened for a round of questions and comments from the students. Dr. Mishra and Dr. Khan engaged with the students and answered their questions readily. The session was one hour and thirty minutes long. The question-answer session lasted for twenty minutes. More than sixty students and around ten faculty members from the English department attended the webinar. Dr. Chakpram Priyanka concluded the session and gave a vote of thanks to everyone.
A webinar on ‘Betwixt Craft and Research: Translation the Twain Shall Meet.’
A webinar was organized by the English department of Shivaji College, Delhi University on ‘Betwixt Craft and Research: Translation the Twain Shall Meet’ on 15th October 2020 at 2.00 p.m. on Zoom platform.
The guest speakers invited for this interactive session were John Vater and Apurva Narain. John Joseph Vater, the co-translator of The Play of Dolls by Kunwar Narain, holds a Masters in Fine Arts in Literary Translation from the University of Iowa. He is currently working at the University of Singapore as an assistant professor. Our second speaker, Apurva Narain is the English translator of Kunwar Narain’s works as well as the author of a book of translations called No Other World. Ms. Preeti Desodiya, teacher-in-charge of the English Department, began the session and welcomed the guest speakers and the audience. Dr. Shiv Kumar Sahdev, acting principal of Shivaji college, inaugurated the session and also spoke to the students about the importance of learning and studying literature from different cultures and in different languages to cultivate one’s aesthetic sensibilities. Dr. Sonali Garg welcomed and introduced the speakers to the students.
Mr. John Vater initiated the session by sharing his initial thoughts on balancing the craft and aesthetics of translation with research, the importance of conferral, and the cultural demands of the source text followed by Mr. Apurva Narain, who addressed how translation has been the core of literature since its inception, for its absence would have obliterated the traces of many a great culture, civilization, history and literature.
Mr. Vater discussed the overwhelming challenges of translation and the idea of translating a text from a researcher’s point of view and how to make it possible to preserve the richness of the text while translating from the source language to the target language, given the complex cultural context of the source language.
He emphasized the importance of doing justice to yet another set of complex patterns of society in the target language and how to not compromise the aesthetics of translation while finding the equivalence of the source language for the translated text. He spoke about the importance of striking a balance between the craft and aesthetics of translation without marring the importance of the original text and distorting the whole idea of translation.
Mr. Apurva Narain talked about the merits of 'close reading' and difficulties faced when translating from Hindi into English and discussed how the unique challenges posed by the translation process provide fertile grounds for questioning one's literary and cultural assumptions.Followed by their initial talk, Mr. Vater and Mr. Narain engaged in an interactive dialogue with each other and also with the students discussing the onerous but pleasurable craft of translation.
After the interactive dialogue, the webinar was opened for a round of questions and comments from the students. Mr. Vater and Mr. Narain engaged with the students and answered their questions readily. The session was one hour and thirty minutes long. The question-answer session lasted for twenty minutes. More than forty students and around ten faculty members from the English department attended the event. Ms. Preeti Desodiya then recited a few lines from a poem by Kunwar Narain to encourage the students. Dr. Gita concluded the session and gave a vote of thanks to everyone.
