Department of English and Literary Studies

Our Vision

The Department of English and Literary Studies aims to assist the students of liberal education by developing a critical understanding of literature and culture. The department will endorse research based activities and encourage students to pursue higher education in diverse areas. It will also make the students well-equipped with the knowledge of language, communication and soft skills so that they can excel in their professional space.

Departmental Publications:

Dr. Gourab Chatterjee

• Publications
• “Marthiya in Bangla and Swahili: The Problem with the Genre”, Jadavpur Journal of Comparative Literature, Vol 55, Jadavpur University Press, Kolkata, 2019 (ISSN: 0970-0692)
• “Tracing the Journey of Utenzi: From Indigenous Heroic Narrative to Islamic Lamenting Song”, Palaver, Vol V, Edited by Debarati Chakraborty and Kunal Chattopadhyay, Jadavpur University Press, Kolkata, March 2018 (ISBN: 978-93-83660-51-3)
• “Nobel Lecture of J. M Coetzee”, Nobel-Bhashan Sahitya, edited by Deep Ghosh, Ekalavya Publication, Kolkata, 2018 (ISBN: 978-93-83200-66-5)
• “Dakshin Africa-r narir koyedkathan: palta kathane bikalpa itihaas” (trans: Women’s Prison Narratives of South Africa: Alternative History through Counter- Narrative), Bitarkika, Setu Prakashani, Kolkata, 2016 (ISSN: 2321-855X)
• “Tulnatmak Sahitya aur Sahityik Siddhant: Sarvekshan aur Parichay/ Ulrich Weisstein” (trans: Review of Comparative Literature and Literary Theory: Survey and Introduction/ Ulrich Weisstein), Tulnatmak Sahitya: Saidhantik Pariprekshya, edited by H. P. Shukla, Mahatma Gandhi Antarrashtriya Hindi Vishwa Vidyalay, Rajkamal Prakashan, Wardha, 2015 (ISBN: 9788126727995)
• “Krittibasi Ramayana ar taar rakkhosder mussalmani” (trans: Krittibasi Ramayana and the Islamic influence on the characterization of its Rakshasas), Ebong Ashwamedh, 2014 (ISSN: 2394-3955)
• “Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay and Chinua Achebe: No Strength to Fly”, PALAVER, Vol. 3, Worldview Publication, 2010 (ISBN: 01-06954-56-2)

Paper Presentation

• “Dobhashi Sahitya, Panchali and the Religion of Book” in XIV CLAI Biennial International Conference on Studying South Asian Narratives through Pluralist and Dialogic Frames, organised by Comparative Literature Association of India (CLAI) and Maulana Azad National Urdu University (MANUU), sponsored by University Grants Commission and Sahitya Akademi held at Hyderabad, India; March 11-14, 2019
• “The Role of Arabic Script in Swahili Culture” in PALAVER XIV an International Conference on Africa Today, organised by Centre for Studies in African Literatures and Cultures (CSALC), Jadavpur University Kolkata; March 14-15, 2017
• “Tracing the Journey of Utenzi: From Indigenous Heroic Narrative to Islamic Lamenting Song,” in PALAVER XIII an International Conference on Journey Of Performance And Performing Art Forms Within Africa And Beyond, organised by Centre for Studies in African Literatures and Cultures (CSALC), Jadavpur University Kolkata; January 11-12, 2016
• “Reading the Receptions of Marsiya through the lens of the theory of Literary Comparatistics” in International Conference on Comparative Literature: At the Crossroads of Culture and Society, organised by Centre for Comparative Literature, Bhasha Bhavana, Visva-Bharati, in association with ICSSR, CIIL, UGC, Comparative Literature Association of India (CLAI) and Rabindra Bhavana, Visva Bharati; from January 16 to 17, 2016
• “A Mourning Song or a Heroic Novel: Placing Bishad Sindhu in the crossroad of multiple generic traditions” in XIIth CLAI Biennial International Conference, held at University of Rajasthan, Jaipur, India, 201
• “The Perso-Arabic and Sanskritic Influences on Krittibasi Ramayana” in the XIth Biennial International Conference of Comparative Literature Association of India, Jadavpur University, India, 2013
• “Translation: from the colonizer's language to the language of the colonized” in Land of Promise: Stories of the immigrant in multicultural Canada organized by The Centre for Canadian Studies, Jadavpur University, India, 2010
• “Chinua Achebe and Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay: no strength to fly” in PALAVER, Centre for African Studies on the year of silver jubilee celebration of the novel Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, 2008

Other Academic activities

• Chaired a Session in Palaver XV, Seminar organised by Centre for Studies in African Literatures and Cultures, held on March 16-17, 2018

Mr. Sourav Chakraborty

• Publications:
• An essay 'A Critical Survey of the Descriptions of “Syntactic and Semantic Roles” in Tamil and Malayalam Grammars' published by ISDL, Trivandrum In the VI Subramoniam Memorial Volume I
• A book on 'A Contrastive Study of Case in Tamil and Bengali' published by ISDL, Trivandrum
• An essay titled “Some Controversial Aspects of the Ramayanas in India and South-East Asia” in a volume published by the CAS, Department of Comparative Literature, Jadavpur University
• Two edited volume of essays on Bengali and Dravidian.
• A monograph titled Bengali speakers learning Tamil: Problems and Scope published by the CAS, Department of Comparative Literature, Jadavpur University

Paper Presentations:

• Bharati and Tagore; A Comparative Study—in 5 th International (CLAI) conference, organized by the Comparative Literature Association of India Trivandrum. (2001)
• On Tamil Syllabus—in DSA Translation Workshop, organized by the Department of Comparative Literature, Jadavpur University. (2002)
• A critical survey of the language and literary studies in contemporary India with special reference to Tamil Studies in Kolkata—in 6th International CLAI Conference, organized by Comparative Literature Association of India and Central Institute of Indian Languages (CIIL), Mysore.(2003)
• Translating from Tamil to Bengali—in Translation Seminar, organized by the Department of Comparative Literature, JadavpurUniversity. (2004)
• City life and homosexuality’—in ‘Katha’ short story seminar, organized by the Department of Comparative Literature, JadavpurUniversity. (2006)
• Marginalized Sexuality in the life and Literatures of south-East Asia—in a seminar organized by CAS Department of Comparative Literature, JadavpurUniversity. (2006)
• Teaching Comparative literature and Indian literatures— in a convention organized by Dept of Comparative Literature, JadavpurUniversity. (2006)
• Declensions in Tamil and Bengali: A Contrastive Study- in 38th All India Conference of Dravidian Linguists, organized by the International School of Dravidian Linguistics, Trivandrum (2010)
• A Proposal for Reorganization of Case Systems of Bengali and Tamil for Language Learners - in a national seminar on Languag Acqusition/Learning, Department of Linguistics, University of Kerala, organized by the same department and Southern Regional Language Centre (CIIL), Mysore(2011)
• A Critical Survey of the Descriptions of “Syntactic and Semantic Roles&” in Tamil and Malayalam Grammars- in a national seminar on Proto Tamil- Malayalam, organized by Central Institute of Classical Tamil, Chennai and International School of Dravidian Linguistics, Trivandrum (2011)
• A Comparative Study of Tagore’s sahajapa:tha with Some Bengali, Tamil and Malayalam Teaching Materials for non-native learners in the National Seminar to commemorate the 150 th birth anniversary of Rabindranath Tagore organized by the Bengali Unit at ISDL, Trivandrum, 24 th May 2011
• Bengali speakers learning Tamil : Problems and Solutions to those Problems in the 39 th AICDL ( All India Conference of Dravidian Linguists) at Punjabi university, Patiala, 19 th -21 st June 2011
• Delivered a lecture titled Problems of Translating Tamil Classics into Bengali with Special Reference to an Attempt of Translating ve:rrumai iyal of Tolk:appiyam to M.Phil and PhD scholars of Tamil in the workshop organized by the Central Institute of Classical Tamil and ISDL, Trivandrum, 17 February 2012

Dr. Nilambara Banerjee

• Publications:
• “Rediscovering Padmini”, an article published in The Quest – A Literary Journal (June 2012, Volume 26, Number 1).
• “A Moving Human Story: Gurdial Singh’s A Handful of Sand”, a review published in The Quest – A Literary Journal (June 2012, Volume 26, Number 1).

Paper Presentations:

• Attended a UGC sponsored National Seminar conducted by Dept. Of Geography, St. Xavier’s College, Ranchi on Integrating Development, Environment Concerns and Social Changes, and presented a paper on, “The Indian Farmer and His Do Bigha Zameen” (23rd- 24th September 2016).
• Attended a UGC Sponsored National Seminar on Urbanization conducted by Dept. Of Geography, St. Xavier’s College, Ranchi and presented a paper on “Dent of Urbanization on Folk Theatre: Plea to Revive a Valuable Repository” (24th – 25th September 2012).

Dr. Lipi Agarwal

• Publications:
• A paper on “Little Red Riding Hood: Reading Between the Lines of Childhood” was published in “International Journal of Cultural Studies and Social Sciences”, UGC approved Multi-disciplinary Peer-Reviewed Journal, SL. No. 49228, Vol. – VIII, No. – XI, ISSN: 2347-4777, April, 2018.
• A paper on “The Brothers Grimm and the Hermeneutics of Folklore: An Overview” was published in “The Criterion: An International Journal in English”, Vol. 7, Issue-5, ISSN: 0976-8165, October, 2016.
• “Appalling Struggle of 1914-18 and its 100 Years in Literature” was published in Satabarshe Pratham Biswayuddha: Itihas O Sahitya, ISBN: 978-93-84729-36-3, August, 2016.
• A paper on “Fact, Fiction and Revolution in Mahasweta Devi’s Aranyer Adhikar” was published in Tribal Rebellion and Literature in the 18 th and 19 th Century, ISBN: 978-93- 84729-20-2, December, 2015.
• A paper on “Feminine Being in Kamala Das” was published in Bodhi: A Collection of Multi-Disciplinary Research Articles Vol. – II, ISBN: 818900817-X, January 2015.
• A paper on “The Child’s Need for Fairy Tales” was published in Bodhi: A Collection of Multi-Disciplinary Research Articles Vol. – I, ISBN: 819800816-1, January 2014.

Paper Presentations:

• “A ‘Grimm Tale of Marginality’: A Feminist Perspective on the Grimms’ Fairy Tales” in the ICSSR sponsored Two-Day National Seminar on “Off the Mark”: Marginality, Narratives, and Reclaiming History, held on 7th & 8th December, 2016, organized by the Department of English, Sidho-Kanho-Birsha University, Purulia, West Bengal.
• “Appalling Struggle of 1914-18 and its 100 years in Literature” in UGC sponsored National Seminar on “Satabarshe Pratham Biswayuddha: Itihas O Sahitya”, held on 15 th – 16 th March, 2016, organized by the Department of History and Bengali, Manbhum Mahavidyalaya, Purulia, in collaboration with Asannagar Madan Mohan Tarkalankar College, Nadia, West Bengal.
• “Revisiting Shakespeare’s Macbeth through the eyes of Utpal Dutt” in One Day National Seminar on “Swadhinata–Uttar Bangla Natok”, held on 12 th April, 2016, organized by the Department of Bengali, Sidho-Kanho-Birsha University, Purulia, West Bengal.
• “Fact, Fiction and Revolution in Mahasweta Devi’s Aranyer Adhikar” in U.G.C. sponsored Two-days National Seminar on “Tribal Rebellion and Literature in 18 th and 19 th Century”, held on 29 th – 30 th April, 2015, organized by the Department of History and Santali, Manbhum Mahavidyalaya, Purulia, in collaboration with the Department of History, Chanchal College, Malda.

Ms. Oindrila Roy

Paper Presentations:

• “Eco-criticism in The Hungry Tide”, UGC Sponsored National Seminar on Cultural Studies, Theories and Praxes, Berhampore Girls' College, September 2013.
• “Liberal Feminism in Promising Indian Movies- An inspiration and innovation”, 1 DAY UGCSEMINAR on POPULAR CULTURE: A CLICHÉ OR EMPOWERING THE MASSES? Netaji Nagar College,Kolkata in collaboration with Jadavpur University, December 2013
• “Emma or Aisha – An Endless Tirade on Sophistication and Vanity” A UGC SPONSORED NATIONAL LEVEL WORKSHOP- THE MOVING IMAGE, Department of English , University of Kalyani, January 2014
• “Professional Development- How does English Language Matter?'' National Conference on Emerging Technology and Applied Sciences, MODERN INSTITUTE OF ENGINEERING & TECHNOLOGY, February 2014
• “Revisiting History in Amitav Ghosh's The Glass Palace”- The Bhawanipore Education Society in colaboration with Department of English, University of Calcutta, December 2014.
• “Teacher Development Possibilities- Demystifying English Language” English Language in Technical Education [Elite 2014], Global Institute of Engineering and Technology, Krishnanagar, February 2014

Mr. Alankar Das Dalal

• “Review of 'Soothing Serenades: Straight from the Heart (A Collection of Love Poems)'” in Teesta Review: A Journal of Poetry, Vol. 1 No. 2, November 2018. ISSN: 2581-7094.

Mr. Sourav Das

• Publications:
• Saadat Hasan Manto and his treatment of the Debased Feminine – Ashvamegh International Peer Reviewed Online Literary Journal (ISSN-2454-4574)
• A Postcolonial re-reading of Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot -- Langlit an International Peer Reviewed Open Access Journal (ISSN-2349-5189)
• Joyce and the Irish Stagnation: A Journey To Persia and Back – IASET International Journal of Linguistics and Literature (ISSN-2319-3964)
• The Search for the Female Identity in Literature: The Quest for a Voice – Feminism: Text and Context (ISBN-978-81-922645-6-1)
• The Body and Its Scars: The Stigma Texts of Saadat Hasan Manto – Erothanatos A Peer-Reviewed Quarterly Journal on Literature (ISSN-2457-0265)

Paper Presentations:

• The Us and the Them: Conrad’s Ushering of the new Century –RETHINKING MODERNITY:INTERDISCIPLINARY PERSPECTIVES (International Seminar conducted by Aliah University in collaboration with the Byanjanbarna Foundation)