The P.G and Research Department of English, Mar Ivanios College, organized a ONE-DAY WORKSHOP ON RESEARCH METHODOLOGY ON LITERATURE IN ENGLISH on Friday, November 20, 2009. The workshop was funded by the Higher Education Council, Govt. of Kerala. Invitations to the workshop were sent to all colleges under Kerala University and to select colleges in M.G, Calicut and Kannur universities. Registration to the seminar was by email and SMS and more than 80 participants registered for the workshop. All details of the workshop, including the full programme, the bio-data of the resource persons and the names of the registered participants can be found on this website. The final break-up of participants (excluding students and staff from Mar Ivanios College) is: Teachers: 22 PhD students: 7 M.Phil students: 19 P.G students: 12 B.Ed students: 3 Total: 63 Further 10 teachers and 35 P.G students from Mar Ivanios College also participated in the workshop. The workshop, as planned, consisted of four sessions, viz., a panel discussion, a lecture, a group discussion session and a paper reading session. It started at 10 am and concluded at 5 pm. The report of these sessions, and the full papers of the paper presenters, can also be found below. These reports were prepared by the P.G students of the Dept. of English, Mar Ivanios College. Report on Panel discussion The panelists were Dr. Maya Dutt, Dr. Jayasree and Dr. Meena T. Pillai from the Institute of English, Dr. Parvathy S. from FMN College, and Ms. Sonya G Nair from All Saints' College. Each of the panelists first spoke on how to go about identifying and formulating a research topic, taking into account the current trends in research. They then fielded questions on these topics from the participants. The session enabled the participants to get an idea about how to identify a research topic. Report on Lecture by Dr. Scaria Zacharia The second session was a lecture delivered by Dr.Scaria Zacharia on the topic “Discourse on Research in Humanities: A Multidisciplinary Perspective”. The session began at 12.30pm. Dr. Scaria Zacharia, a known academcian with bilingual competence par excellence, who, after his retirement as the head of the department of Malayalam at Sree Sankara University of Sanskrit at Kalady continues to be a visiting professor of Malayalam linguistics and grammar at the School of Letters, MG University. His areas of interest include textual analysis, discourse analysis, literary theory, literary historiography, translation studies, comparative literature, linguistic and cultural studies, folklore and cultural communication, along with research methodology. At the beginning of his discourse he called the departments of English in the Universities of Kerala, ‘the busiest academic ports of entry’. He is of the opinion that it is high time that we started exporting our ideas as well. He divided his lecture into three parts. In the first part, he introduced us to the book Truth and Methodology written by Hans George Gadamar to substantiate his point that truth depends on the method used. In research, methodology is crucial as knowledge is not absolute. The verb ‘knowing’ presupposes the existence of a ‘knower’. This involves prioritization, or accepts a hierarchy. The idea of ‘knowing’ should be replaced by ‘understanding’ which is a more subjective process. According to Gadamar, we have different horizons of understanding. There is a greater scope for dialogue in ‘understanding’. The value of a research is not the knowledge that it produces, but the understanding that it creates. A researcher must understand what ‘understanding’ is and the processes involved in the act. So he/she must think on ‘understanding’ which may be called ‘metathinking’ or ‘reflexivity’. He ended the first part by emphasizing that in research ‘understanding’ must be based on proper methodology. In the second part, he talked about cultural methodology and the two concepts connected with it - values and practices. Values involve contrastive ideas such as simple and complex. Practices involve ritualisation, imitation of heroes and heroines and symbols including human values. One communicates through one’s practices. The way in which each person communicates differs widely. He said that if we choose to communicate through popular culture, we should abide with the popular concept of heroes even though it differs from the actuality. Just as the modes of communication differ, the ways in which truth may be understood also differ. He stressed the point that observation is a precondition for research. The understanding gained from research brings harmony. In conclusion to the second part, he explained the true meaning of the term ‘interdisciplinarity’. It doesn’t mean the dissolving of the boundaries between various disciplines. On the other hand it allows communication and understanding between different disciplines. The third part of his lecture dealt with ‘methodology’. Methodology should present ideas or paradigms. Ideas include the world view of the researcher and his/her way of understanding things. There should be a concept involved. These concepts may be verified and modified through the aid of empirical data. From these data, theories evolve which is a co-relation of variables. He pointed out that conversationalisation of knowledge increases understanding. The right methodology in research always begins from examples. His lecture concluded with an exhortation to the new generation to work hard and develop a research culture. He assured them that methodology is not something to be afraid of, but to be befriended. Report on Group Discussion Group discussion turned out to be one of the fascinating sessions of the afternoon session of the workshop. The participants were divided into six groups namely Violet, Blue, Green, Red, Orange and Yellow, headed by Dr. Meena T Pillai, Dr. Abraham Joseph, Dr. Parvathy.S, Dr. Cherian John, Mrs. Liji Varghese and Ms. Sonya G. Nair respectively. The task assigned to the groups was to come up with six research proposals based on the movie Slumdog Millionaire after a discussion of 30 minutes; they were also asked to present a title, the thesis statement, the objectives of the study and possible chapter outlines. The discussions in all the groups were active and lively and one member of each team was given the responsibility of presenting the proposal in 10 minutes in terms of:
The presentations by the various groups are summarised below: COLOUR: GREEN TOPIC OF RESEARCH: A post colonial review of Slumdog Millionaire THESIS STATEMENT: The colonizer/ colonized dichotomy echoed in the movie offers rich scope for a post-colonial reading of the movie. OBJECTIVES: To explore 1) how the myth of orientalism often masquerades as a fact 2) how the impact of the colonial era lie dormant in our psyche 3) the white man’s burden-maintaining the idea that she/he is supreme POSSIBLE CHAPTER OUTLINES: Chap1:Introduction to the movie and to the original book, how the movie differs from the book, how the movie reflects the director’s or script writer’s prejudices Chap2: Post colonialism & comparison with other movies Chap3: Application of the theory to the movie; a deductive approach Chap4: A re-presenting of the movie and Indian outlook Chap5: Conclusion(how we need to take a look at the scenario where ‘westernized’ productions are considered suitable for awarding laurels)
COLOUR: YELLOW TOPIC OF RESEARCH: Resonance of Life chances & Avatars in “Slumdog millionaire”& “Dasavataram” THESIS STATEMENT: Comparison of the characters Jamal and Kamal Hasan yields insights into the different identities they explored during their life-time OBJECTIVES: To explore concept of nationhood, culture, games and their structures to identify the factoring in of these in the corpus of knowledge that forms identity POSSIBLE CHAPTER OUTLINES: Chap1: Theoretical understanding of life chances and avatars Chap 2: Technique of depiction of avatars Chap 3: Problematizing avatars in Dasavataram Chap 4: Conclusion: The avatars & new nationhood
COLOUR: RED TOPIC OF RESEARCH: Constructing the ‘other’: from real to reel Dharavi THESIS STATEMENT: Slumdog Millionaire is a Hollywood movie catering to the horizon of expectations of a global/western audience and feeds in the stereotypes regarding Indian reality. OBJECTIVES: To deconstruct the stereotyped portrayal of life in the slums .To analyse political economy, commercial and industrial activity, the cultural and communal life of Dharavi POSSIBLE CHAPTER OUTLINES: Chap1: Introduction: Orientalism and after Chap2: Historical reconstruction of Dharavi Chap3: Bollywood portrayals of Dharavi Chap4: Slums of Manhattan Vs slums of Mumbai Chap5: Omkara to Jai Ho- Portraying Indian reality
COLOUR: ORANGE TOPIC OF RESEARCH: Voice of the voiceless: Quest for private space in Danny Boyle’s Slumdog Millionaire THESIS STATEMENT: Slumdog Millionaire reflects the strife of the marginalised for assertion and identity in a society plagued by the hierarchy of economic and social power-structures. OBJECTIVES: The paper seeks to expose the inequality resulting from injustice, insecurity and exploitation to which slum dwellers like the protagonist is confined to. It also focuses on the social struggles the marginalised undergo to assert their human freedom and identity POSSIBLE CHAPTER OUTLINES: Chap1: Journey from Slumdog to millionaire Chap2: Social hierarchy, community, riots, economic differences, geographical status Chap3: Review of literature Chap 4: Can the subaltern speak? Re-examining speaker’s views. Chap5: Conclusion or consolidation of the earlier findings
COLOUR: BLUE THESIS STATEMENT: The play of power is the essential thematic structure of Slumdog Millionaire. OBJECTIVES: To trace the play of power as portrayed in the movie. To study Slumdog Millionaire in terms of power play. It also examines how the others (slumdogs) undermine the power structure manifested through money, knowledge and power. To identify the agents of power and how they are represented in the movie. POSSIBLE CHAPTER OUTLINES: Chap1: Introduction Chap2: Agents of power Chap3: Agents of power as presented in Slumdog Millionaire(walth/Americans, knowledge/quiz masters, power/police) Chap4: The counter discursive strategy - how the slumdogs hit back and destroy the power hierarchy. Chap5:Conclusion
COLOUR: VIOLET TOPIC: Imperialism and its aftermath in Slumdog Millionaire. THESIS STATEMENT: The movie can be best examined from the imperial perspective. OBJECTIVES: To show the representation of colonial-power vs contemporary India. To emphasise the difference between the movie and the book Q&A written by Vikas Swaroop. To present the two sides of contemporary India-the brightest and the dark side POSSIBLE CHAPTER OUTLINES: Chap1: Representation of India in Bollywood films Chap2: How movie over shadow the book. Chap3:Power relations depicted in the movie This session culminated with a brief comment by the chief guest Dr.Scaria Zacharia on the presentations given by each group on the movie Slumdog Millionaire. He advocated “slumming” as the key concept of the movie where slums of our country have been ‘glorified’ in order to entertain western audiences and tourists. He also expressed his diffidence in abstaining from speaking about “western conspiracy” and “multi accentuality of language” which is seen throughout the movie. He held the view that the “study of representation of India” should be the major objective of the movie. As far as this movie is concerned the research should have been extended to explore how sound accompanied the visual. The research scholars should not be content in following the theory of orientalism as such but it should be supplemented by their own views also. He observed that “Post colonialism” in a globalised world was forcing the West to borrow ideas from East and presented the idea of “Reverse Innovation”. Report on Paper Presentation Paper Presentation was the last session. The session began at 4.15 pm and consisted of three presentations. The papers that were presented focused on three different aspects of the movie, Slumdog Millionaire. The first paper entitled "From Novel to Film : India Slumdogged" was presented by Ms. Judith Sebastian (Lecturer Selection Grade, Assumption College, Changnasserry). The paper was a comparative study of Vikas Swarup's novel Q&A and its cinematic counterpart Slumdog Millionaire. It examined how India had been negatively portrayed in Slumdog Millionaire through the manipulation of plot, setting and characters. The paper argued that the characters and situations in Slumdog Millionaire had been contrived in such a way that they conformed to certain negative stereotypical representations of the country by the west. The second paper was entitled "Dynamics of Space in Slumdog Millionaire " and was presented by Ms.Anupama.S.Varma ( Research Scholar, Institute of English). The paper dealt with the significance of 'space' in Slumdog Millionaire. It focused on the study of space as a character, as a culture, as an atmosphere and as the transmogrification of an individual into a nation. The third paper entitled "The Slumdog Factor that crossed the Cultural Barriers: an Enquiry into the Global Reception of Slumdog Millionaire " was presented by Ms. Alpha Manjooran (Lecturer, University College, TVPM). As indicated by the title, the paper examined the various factors responsible for the favourable reception of Slumdog Millionaire. Manjooran held that apart from intrinsic factors like artistic and technical excellence, extrinsic factors like the onset of Global Economic Recession had also played an important role in the success of the movie. A fourth paper entitled "As Jai Ho Resonates: A Note on the Music of Slumdog Millionaire" had been submitted for the workshop by Mr. Mohamed Shafeeq.K ( Ph.D Scholar, EFL University,Hyderabad). The session concluded at 5.00 pm. PS: The full papers can be accessed from the attachments below: |