Professional Experience
Teaching/ research guidance experience
Cumulative teaching experience of approximately of more than thirty one years.
Professor of English, Department of English & Other Modern European Languages, Visva Bharati University, Santiniketan, India since April 2009. Teaching courses in BA, MA, MPhil and PhD courses on American Literature, Canadian Literature, Contemporary Fiction in English, Diaspora Studies, Postcolonial Studies, Research Methodology etc.
Reader (Associate Professor), Department of English & Other Modern European Languages, Visva Bharati University, Santiniketan, India (March 2002 to March 2009). Taught courses in BA, MA, MPhil and PhD courses on American Literature, Canadian Literature, Contemporary Fiction in English, Diaspora Studies, Postcolonial Studies, Research Methodology etc.
Reader (Associate Professor), Department of English, Vivekananda College, University of Calcutta (April 2001 to February 2002). Taught all courses for English Honours and Elective English Courses under Calcutta University at the undergraduate level.
Senior Lecturer, Department of English, Vivekananda College, University of Calcutta (April 1994 to April 2001). Taught all courses for English Honours and Elective English Courses under Calcutta University at the undergraduate level.
Part-Time Lecturer, University of Calcutta (November 1998 to May 2001).Taught courses on The Contemporary World Novel; British Fiction; American Literature at the Masters level.
Part-Time Lecturer, Rabindra Bharati University, Calcutta (February 1995 to October 2000). Taught courses on The Contemporary World Novel; British Fiction; American Literature at BA, MA, and M.Phil level.
Lecturer, Department of English, Vivekananda College, University of Calcutta (August 1987 to March 1994). Taught all courses for English Honours and Elective English Courses under Calcutta University at the undergraduate level.
Administrative/ other positions
Chairperson of the Department from July 2008 - June 2011 and April 2012 – June 2014.
JUSAS (Jadavpur Society for American Studies) – Executive member from1999 -2005.
MELUS- INDIA/MELOW Chapter – Executive Body Member since inception. Vice-President till 2011.
Fulbright Alumni Association, Calcutta Chapter– Hony. Secretary from 2001 to 2005.
Member of various committees at Visva-Bharati including Disciplinary Committee, Research Board, Admission Committee, Library Committee, Board of Studies etc.
Current research and teaching interests
Translation; South Asian Writing in English; American and Canadian Literature; Multiculturalism and the American Context; Literature and culture of the Asian diaspora ; Colonialism/ Postcolonialism; Women’s studies; Film and media studies, Travel Narratives.
Research projects
“Reflections of Calcutta in Indian Writing in English” UGC Minor Research Project, 2001-2002.
British Council Charles Wallace Trust Grant to work on ‘South Asian Diasporic Cinema in Britain” in July 2001.
Rockefeller Foundation Award for four weeks at their Bellagio Study and Research Center, Italy to work on “South Asian Diasporic Cinema: Texts and Contexts” from May 4 – June 1, 2004.
Research Grant (Partial) for 2006-2007 from Visva-Bharati to work on “Celluloid Representations of the Partition of Bengal.”
Visva-Bharati Exchange Scholar Fellowship for three weeks to visit Asian American Studies Institute at the University of Connecticut, USA, and to work on “Pearl Harbor Echoes: The Japanese American Internment Experience in Literature and Culture.”
Research Grant (Partial) for 2007-2008 from Visva-Bharati to work on “Celluloid Representations of the Partition of Punjab.”
(Partial) Research Grant from Visva-Bharati for 2009-10 to work on “Nari-Bhav: Female Impersonation in Bengali Jatra.”
(Partial) Research Grant from Visva-Bharati for 2012-13 to work on “Opening up! LGBTQ Issues in Contemporary Indian Cinema.”
Research guidance
Ph.D
Supervised Ph.D. thesis “The Black Power Movement in America and the Fiction of James Baldwin, Ralph Ellison and Richard Wright” by Dr. Arup Kumar Ghosh, Visva-Bharati. Degree awarded in 2009.
Supervised Ph.D. thesis “The Changing Images of the West in Indian Prose Fiction in English” by Dr. Saurabh Bhattacharyya, Visva-Bharati. Degree awarded in 2010.
Supervised Ph.D. thesis “Dialectics of Identity’: A Study of British South Asian Diasporic Writers” by Aindrilla Guin, Visva-Bharati. Degree awarded in 2011.
Supervised Ph.D. thesis “Exploring the Partition of India in Selected Short Stories from Bengal” by Dr. Sravasti Guha Thakurta, Visva-Bharati. Awarded degree in June 2014.
Supervised Ph.D. thesis “At 'Home' in Diaspora: Changing Perspectives in the Fiction of Bharati Mukherjee, Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni and Jhumpa Lahiri” by Dr. Sumana Gupta, Visva-Bharati. Awarded degree in January 2015.
Supervised Ph.D. thesis “‘Mother’ and ‘Wife’: Interrogating Stereotypes in Five Indian English Women Novelists” by Ms. Debolina Banerjee, Visva-Bharati . Degree awarded in January 2016.
Supervised Ph.D. thesis “Globalization and the Contemporary Indian English Novel” by Ms. Suchismita Ghosh, Visva-Bharati.
Supervised Ph.D. thesis “Globalization, Multiple Histories and Contested Identities: Assessing Shauna Singh Baldwin, Rohinton Mistry and Anita Rau Badami’s Fictions” by Ms. Indira Bhattacharya, Visva-Bharati.
Supervised Ph.D. thesis “Post-9/11 Narratives and Representations: Reading Power, Trauma, Philosophy, Consciousness and Memory” by Pathik Roy, Visva-Bharati,Degree awarded in November 2018.
Supervised Ph.D. thesis "Screening Women Authors: From Real to Reel" by Ms. Poulomi Mitra, Visva-Bharati.
Supervised Ph.D. Thesis "Postmodern and Postcolonial Perspectives in the Films of Rituparno Ghosh" by Mr. Koushik Mondal, Visva-Bharati, 2019.
Supervised Ph.D Thesis "Self-fashioning by African American and Caribbean Women Poets: A Study of Selected Poets of the 1960s and After" by Sukanta Roy, 2021.
Supervised Ph.D. Thesis "From Citizens to Enemy: Manifestations of the Japanese Canadian Internment Experience" by Ms. Anamika Sukul, Visva-Bharati , 2021.
M.Phil
Supervised M.Phil thesis “Texts and Contexts of the Japanese American Internment Experience” by Ms. Anamika Sukul, Visva-Bharati. Degree awarded 2013.
Supervised M.Phil thesis "Representation of Post 9/11 Asian Muslim Diasporic Identity in the Fiction of Khaled Hosseni, Mohsin Hamid and Laila Halaby" by Anwesa Chattopadhyay, Visva-Bharati. Degree awarded in July 2018.
Supervised M.Phil Thesis "Colonial Reality and its Continuity in Select Works of Darjeeling Tea Garden Literature" by Rathika Subba, 2019.
Supervised M.Phil thesis "Ethnicity, Justice and the Naga Separatist Movement in the Select Works of Temsula Ao." by Priti Mondal, 2019.
Other academic/ consultancy work
Paper-setter and examiner for MA English in various universities including University of Calcutta, University of Burdwan, Jadavpur University, Rabindra Bharati University, University of North Bengal, Tripura University, Assam University, Silchar , Mizoram University.
Book Review Editor of ASIATIC, International peer-reviewed journal, Malayasia
Editoral Advisor for India@logs: Spanish Journal of Indian Studies
Reviewer for peer reviewed journal TOPIA, Canada
Reviewer for peer reviewed journal Postcolonial Text, Australia
Member of Editorial Board of online journal Gitanjali and Beyond published by Scottish Centre of Tagore Studies, Edinburgh.
Reviewer of International MELUS Journal (USA)
Advisory Board Member of Literary Voice: A Bi-Annual Peer-Reviewed Journal. ISSN 2277-4521.
Member of the Academic Advisory Committee of Indian Institute of Technology, Bhubaneswar (School of Humanities, Social Sciences and Management) w.e.f April 2010.
Member of Editorial Board, Indian Research Journal of Literatures in English, Madurai
Resource Person at UGC Refresher Courses for teachers at various universities across India.
Visiting professorships/ recognition/ awards and fellowships
U.S. Govt. Fulbright Pre-doctoral Scholarship for 1990-91 at University of Virginia, Charlottesville.
Olive I. Reddick Award in 1995 by American Studies Research Centre, Hyderabad for the best paper presented at Indian Association of American Studies Conference.
UGC International Travel Grant in 1997 to attend “India: Fifty Years After Independence” Conference at Barcelona, Spain.
IACLALS Grant to attend “Sharing a Common-Wealth” Conference at Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, December 1998.
Salzburg Seminar & The American Center, Calcutta Grant to attend Workshop at Salzburg Austria, on “Ethnicity, Race, Religion and American Identity,” March 2001.
University Grants Commission, India. Minor Research Project for two years to work on “Reflections of Calcutta in Indian English Fiction”.2001-2002
Sponsored Delegate to the British Council Cambridge Seminar: “The Contemporary Writer in the United Kingdom” July 2001 at Downing College, Cambridge.
Charles Wallace Trust Grant by The British Council, Kolkata to work on “South Asian Diasporic Cinema in Britain.” (June 2001)
Grant to attend the International Convention of Asia Scholars 3 at Singapore in 2002.
J. F. Kennedy Library, Boston May 2003 to work at the Ernest Hemingway Archives.
Rockefeller Foundation Award, for Residency at Bellagio, Italy, May-June 2004 to work on a study “South Asian Diasporic Cinema: Texts and Contexts.”
John Kuehl Fellowship from F. Scott Fitzgerald Society, US to attend International Seminar at Vevey, Switzerland from 27th June – 3rd July, 2004.
Mellon Travel Grant to attend the American Studies Association Meeting held at Oakland, California from 12-15 October, 2006 under the International Initiative Program.
Award from Sahitya Akademi for the All India Indian Literature Golden Jubilee (1957-2007) Literary Translation Competition in the Fiction category for translating ‘Lalu’ stories by Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyaya.
Visiting Faculty at Dickinson College, Carlisle, Pennsylvania to lecture at their departments of Women’s Studies and Center for Community Studies for one week from 2-7 March 2008.
Fulbright Visiting Lecturer Fellowship to teach one semester course on “South Asian Writing in English” from January to May 2009 at Dickinson College, Carlisle, USA.
Visiting Professor at the School of Women’s Studies, Jadavpur University, Kolkata for one week in March 2011.
Faculty Enrichment Fellowship from Shastri Indo-Canadian Institute and DFAIT, Canada to the University of Toronto and the University of Alberta, Edmonton to frame new semester courses in Canadian Studies for DEOMEL, Visva-Bharati. 1-30 September 2011.
Visiting Professor at Department of English, Central University of Rajasthan, Kishengarh for one week from 29.10.2012 to 03.11.2012.
Awarded the Meenakshi Mukherjee Memorial Prize 2014 by Indian Association of Commonwealth Literature & Language Studies(IACLALS) for the best scholarly essay published between 2012 -2013.
Selected List of Invited Lectures Delivered at Seminars/Conferences etc.
2021
18 January, 2021. Delivered lecture at an international webinar organized by the University of Mumbai and COHab Diaspora Centre on “The East Bengali Peddlers in the New World.”
13 February, 2021. Delivered two lectures at Refresher Course in English at North Bengal University on “Translation and its Problems”.
15 February, 2021. Delivered a talk at Sahitya Akademi Webinar on Indian Diasporic Literature entitled “Is the ‘Des-Pardes’ Syndrome in Indian Diasporic Literature Still Valid?”
4 March, 2021. Chaired a session at Shastri Indo-Canadian Institute and University of Mumbai online conference.
18 March, 2021. Chaired a session at the annual IACLALS Conference (online) on Utopias and Dystopias.
31 March, 2021. Delivered Mandalika Banerjee Memorial Lecture organized by Lady Brabourne College Alumni Association English Department. Title: “Texts and Contexts of Diasporic Indian English Fiction.”
14 April, 2021. Talk at South Asia Research Center, SOKA University, Japan on “Meshing of the Gears: Aligning the Book Publishing Industry.”
07 June 2021. Special expert lecture delivered at Manipal University, Jaipur on “Diaspora Studies and Transnationalism: A Critical Re-assessment.”
31 July 2021. Special lecture on “Re-assessing the Bengal Partition in Fiction and Films” for New Alipore College and St. Paul’s Mission College, Kolkata.
August 2021. Refresher Course in Film Studies at Ramanujan College, New Delhi. Topic of lecture “From Page to Screen: Film Adaptations and its Problems”
7 September 2021. Refresher Course in Burdwan University Academic Staff College. Topic of Lecture: “Indian Travel Writing, Gender and Globalization.”
27- 28 November 2021. SOKA Conference in Japan. Chaired a Session (Literature 12) and presented a paper titled “Memory of Japan in Bengali Travel Narratives.”
2020
4 July, 2020. Delivered lecture on “Reading American Literature: Texts and Contexts” in the Virtual Lecture Series organised by Department of English Language and Literature, Adamas University, Barasat.
14 August, 2020. Delivered lecture on “Rabindranath Tagore and Nirmalkumari Mahalanobis’s Correspondence and Memoirs” at State Level IQAC webinar of Banipur Mahila Mahavidyalaya, 24 Parganas (N).
28 September, 2020. Delivered lecture on “Re-living the Partition of Bengal in Recent 21st Century Films” organized by HSS Department, IIT Kharagpur on their ongoing webinar of Partition Lecture Series 1, 2020.
1 November, 2020. Delivered Valedictory Address entitled “Opening Up! Locating Queer Cinema in India” in three-day International Webinar on South Asia in Alternative Cinema(s) organized by EFLU, Hyderabad and Shivaji University, Kolhapur, Maharashtra from 30 Oct-1 Nov, 2020.
11 December, 2020. Delivered plenary lecture in two-day webinar organized by KL University, Vijaywada on “Language, Literature and Soft Skills: A Cornucopia of Culture, Career and Creativity.”
16 December, 2020. Participated and delivered a talk on book launch ceremony of Nabanita Sengupta’s translation of A Bengali Lady in England.
2019
08-09 February, 2019. Delivered plenary lecture at International Conference on “Remembering and Re-evaluating Mahatma Gandhi on his 150th Birth Anniversary” at KSKV Kachchh University, Bhuj, Gujarat jointly organized by CoHaB IDC, University of Mumbai. Title of presentation: “The ‘Mahatma’ and the ‘Gurudev’: Gandhi, Tagore and Santiniketan.”
22-23 February, 2019. Delivered invited lecture at International Conference on "Concept and Canvas of Knowledge: Asian Studies from Pre-Modern to Modern Times" organized by the Department of History, Visva-Bharati. Title of presentation: "Colonial Encounters: Documenting China and Japan through Bengali Travellers' Eyes."
02 March, 2019. Delivered the Valedictory Address at the ‘North East Writer’s Meet’ jointly organized by Sahitya Akademi and Department of English, Visva-Bharati.
5-6 March, 2019. National Conference on “Literature, Society and Culture: Theory, Interactions, and Interventions” at Guru Govind Singh Indraprastha University, New Delhi. Delivered invited plenary lecture on “Opening Up! Locating Queer Cinema in India.”
25 March, 2019. Delivered the Valedictory speech at the seminar on “Laughter” organized by the Department of English, Visva-Bharati.
2018
3-4 January 2018. International Seminar on “India@70:History and Memories” organized by Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur. Made presentation on “Re-interpreting Recent Bengali Films on Partition.” Also chaired a session.
15 -17 January 2018. “Mystical Mountains, Magical Rivers: A Festival of North Eastern Folkways” at Agartala organized by the Department of English, Tripura University in collaboration with NEC, Shillong. Invited as Resource Person and delivered Lecture-Demonstration on the Jatra.
20-21 February, 2018. Delivered four special invited lectures on Research Methodology and American Literature at the Department of English, Central University of Rajasthan, Kishengarh, Dt. Ajmer.
20-21 March, 2018. Delivered two special lectures at the DRS SAP III project as a Visiting Professor in the Department of English, Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi
22-23 March, 2018. National Seminar on Tribal and Oral Literature organized by Sahitya Akademi, New Delhi. Invited to speak on Orality and Myths and presented paper on “The Multifarious Reception of The Ramayana outside India.”
26 April 2018. Delivered an invited lecture at the Department of English & Cultural Studies, University of Burdwan on “Diaspora Studies Now: Where do we go from here?”
9 September 2018. Delivered invited lecture “Of Memoirs, Correspondence and Relationships”: Rabindranath and Nirmalkumari Mahalanobis” at two day International Seminar on “Rabindranath and His India” organized by Rabindra Bharati Society, Kolkata.
04-06 December, 2018. Resource Person in a three-day UGC SAP Translation Workshop on ‘Partition Memoirs’ at Department of English & Cultural Studies, University of Burdwan.
2017
5-6 January, 2017. UGC Sponsored National Seminar on “South Asian Literature in English and English Translation” at Bharatidasan College for Women (Autonomous), Puducherry. Delivered the keynote address: “The Great Literary Bazaar: South Asian Writing in English.”
10-11 February,2017. National Seminar on “Tribal Literature and Oral Expression in India” organized by Sahitya Akademi, New Delhi and held at Port Blair. Made presentation: “Survival of the Andamanese Tribes: Reading Mahasweta Devi’s story ‘The Arrow’.
28 February, 2017. 20th Anniversary Seminar of Jadavpur University Society for American Studies on “Otherness and Other Worlds: The Clash in American Literature and Art between Inclusiveness and Exclusivity.”Presented paper “Framing Blackness: The Afro-American Image in Films”
14-15 April, 2017. International Conference at University of Gour Banga, Malda on “Nation and Beyond: Interdisciplinary Perspectives”. Presented paper “Migrants beyond Definition: The East Indian Bengali Peddlers in the New World.”
10 November, 2017. Chaired an academic session on ‘Autobiography and Travel Narratives’ in the National Seminar on “Politics of Difference and (Re)location Marginality: Reflections in Indian Literature” organized by Bhasha Bhavana, Visva-Bharati from 9-11 November, 2017.
16 November 2017. Delivered invited lecture on “Research Methodology” at the Department of Computer Science and Computer Applications, Indian Statistical Institute, Kolkata.
30 Nov – 2 December 2017. Invited as Lead Facilitator to conduct a 3-day workshop on “Writing Book Reviews” organized by The Dhaka Translation Center and the Department of English and Humanities at the University of Liberal Arts Bangladesh, Dhaka.
2016
19-20 February 2016. Delivered a plenary lecture, “Literary Awards and/or Lure of the Lucre: Assessing Recent South Asian Diasporic Fiction” at International Seminar on “English Studies and the Marketplace” organized by East West University, Dhaka, Bangladesh. Also chaired one session and conducted an interactive dialogue.
22 February 2016.Delivered an invited lecture “How Literature should be approached in a Peripheral University” in a symposium at the Department of English, University of Barishal, Bangladesh.
17-18 March, 2016. Delivered a plenary lecture entitled “Of Border Crossings and Survival: The Partition of India, Memory and Visual Representations” at National Seminar on “Re-Interpretations of the Past: The Discourse of Culture Identity in South Asia” at North Eastern Hill University, Shillong.
3-4 August, 2016. Two-day UGC National Seminar at Derozio Memorial College, Kolkata on “The Partition of India: Its Trauma and Triumph.” Delivered paper entitled “Of Border Crossings and Survival: The Partition of India, Memory and Visual Representations.” Also chaired a session.
26-27 September, 2016. Delivered the Keynote Address at Sahitya Akademi sponsored two- day national seminar on “Contemporary Women’s Writings in the Eastern Regional Languages” at Bhatter College, Paschim Medinipur.
14-16 October, 2016. South Asian Sufi Festival at Jaipur, Rajasthan organized by Foundation of SAARC Writers and Literature. Presented paper “Influences of Sufism: Rabindranath Tagore and Kabir.”
18-20 November, 2016. International Conference on “The Past, Present and Post ‘Diaspora’: New Directions in Diaspora Studies” at the University of Mumbai. Presented paper “Diaspora Studies Now: Where Do We Go From Here?”
24-25 November, 2016. National Seminar dedicated to the memory of Mahasweta Devi “Translating/Transcreating the Cultures of Existence” organized by Department of English, Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi. Presented paper: Between Community Activism and Creativity: Assessing the Politics of Subaltern Empowerment through Mahasweta Devi.”
2015
16-17 January 2015. International Seminar on “Writing India: Colonial, Post-colonial and Transnational Fiction” organized by Department of English, Ravenshaw University, Cuttack. Delivered lecture entitled “Crossing the Kalapani: Colonial Travel Narratives from Bengal.”
9 February 2015. Delivered two lectures at UGC Refresher Course at Academic Staff College, University of Burdwan.i) Orientalism and the Impact of 9/11 in Cultural Productions in the United States and the World ii) Neo-Orientalism: Narrating ‘Homeland’ from the Diaspora in Contemporary South Asian English Fiction.
12-14 February 2015. Annual Conference of Indian Association for Commonwealth Literature and Language Studies (IACLALS) on “Space, Place, Travel, Displacement, Exile” co-hosted by Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, BITS-Pilani, K.K.Birla Goa Campus. Presented lecture “Migrants beyond Definition: The East Indian Bengali Peddlers in the New World”
14-15 February 2015. Two day seminar on “Tagore and Modernity” organized by Rabindra Bharati Society, Jorasanko Thakurbari, Kolkata. Presented paper, “The Liveliest Art of the Twentieth Century: Cinema and Rabindranath Tagore” on 15.2.2015.
2-4 March 2015. International Interdisciplinary Conference on “Beyond Borders and Boundaries: Imaginings and Representations” jointly organized by CoHaB (Diasporic Constructions of Home and Belonging) European Union, Marie Curie Actions ITN programme, University of Mumbai and CASII(Centre for Advance Studies in India), Bhuj. Delivered plenary lecture “Migrants, Sojourners and Border Crossers: A Study of South Asian Diaspora in early 20th Century America”.
9 March 2015. JUSAS (Jadavpur University Society of American Studies) one day seminar on“World War I and America”. Presented keynote paper “World War I in Reality and Imagination: Multifarious Responses of American Writers and Creative Artists.”
9-11 March 2015. Conference on “Translation of Cultures: History, Society and Politics” organized jointly by the Department of English and the Department of Sociology, West Bengal State University at Ramakrishna Mission, Golpark, Kolkata. Presented paper on “Deconstructing Identity: Transmigration and Transculturation of Forgotten Bengali Muslims in the New World” on 10th March.
12 March 2015. Presented paper “Bilat Deshta Matir Seta Sona Rupar Noi: Assessing Colonial Travel Narratives from Bengal to Vilayet” at National Seminar on “English non-fictional prose writings of Rabindranath Tagore and his contemporaries” at Department of English & other Modern European Languages, Visva-Bharati, Santiniketan.
25 March 2015. Delivered invited special lecture “Indian Writing in English: Evolution, Manifestation and Future Trends” at Alia University, Kolkata.
28 & 29 June, 2015. Delivered three invited lectures at the Faculty Development Programme, School of Humanities, KIIT University, Bhubaneswar.
7 September, 2015. Delivered two lectures at UGC Human Resource Development Centre, The University of Burdwan for their 11th Refresher Course in Comparative Literature. i) Women’s Writing in India ii) Translation and its Problems: Theory & Praxis
9 September 2015. Delivered an invited lecture on “Research Methodology” at Computer and Communication Sciences Division, Indian Statistical Institute, Kolkata.
25-27 September 2015. Presented Paper, “’Make it New’: Modernism and Early Twentieth Century American Fiction” in a National Seminar on “Multiple Modernisms” organized by Institute of Research in Interdisciplinary Studies,(IRIS) Jaipur.
24 November, 2015. Presented paper, “Reassessing the Various Shades of American Film Noir” in JUSAS (Jadavpur University Society for American Studies) Seminar, Kolkata.
2014
18 January, 2014. Chaired a technical session at International Conference on “Crony Journalism: Redefining Journalistic Practices” organized by Centre for Journalism and Mass Communication, Visva- Bharati.
22 -24 January 2014. International Conference on “Diasporic Indian Cinemas and Bollywood on the Diaspora: Re-Imagings and Re-Possessions” organized jointly by CASII (Centre for Advanced Studies in India) and OUCIP (Osmania University Centre for International Programmes), Hyderabad. Delivered plenary lecture entitled “Of Angst, Nostalgia, Identity and Entertainment: Assessing South Asian Diasporic Cinema.”Also chaired one session.
3 February, 2014. Delivered two lectures at UGC Refresher Course in English at the University of Calcutta on “Literature, Media and Popular Culture.”
8 February, 2014. Delivered keynote address on “Debating, Challenging or Accepting Patriarchy? Assessing Indian Women’s Role in Society and Creative Writing” organized by Centre for Gender Studies of National Law University, Jodhpur at a conference entitled “Forthcoming Feminisms: Gender Activism in Law, Literature & Society.”
10 February, 2014. National Seminar on “Achievements of Women in Indian Theatre” organized by Women’s Studies Centre, Visva-Bharati. Chaired the technical session.
11 February, 2014. DRS SAP Seminar, Department of History, Visva-Bharati & ICHR on “The Indian Freedom Movement and Partition of the Sub-Continent.”Presented paper “Assessing the Rhetoric of Images: Visual Representations of the Partition of India.”
11-12 March 2014. National Seminar at Assam University, Silchar on “Navigating Diaspora.” Delivered the Plenary Lecture on 11.03.2014 entitled “What Diaspora? Whither Diaspora? Some Random, Questions, Answers and Ruminations”
19-21 March 2014. Delivered six lectures at UGC Refresher Course in English at North Eastern Hills University, Shillong. Thrust Area: “Transcending the Canon; Emerging Indian Literatures in the New Boundaries”
19-21 March 2014. Delivered four lectures at English & Foreign Language University, Shillong Campus.
24-25 March 2014. National Workshop on “Values Orientation of Secondary School Teachers and Administrators” organized by Department of Education, Visva-Bharati. Chaired Academic Session on ‘Universal Human Values.”
2-3 April 2014. International Seminar at the Arts and Humanities School of Khulna University, Bangladesh on “Translating Studies for Exploring Identities.” Made plenary presentation entitled “Interpreting Him Anew?:Recent Transcreations of Rabindranath Tagore’s Texts on Screen.”
20-21 April 2014. Participated in Interdisciplinary Workshop “Remembering the KomagataMaru: Historicizing Indian Migration to Canada” sponsored by Shastri Indo-Canadian Institute, Delhi, and Gurdwara ShaeedGunj Committee, Budge Budge and organized by Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur. Presented paper entitled “British Imperialism, Nationalism and Protest: A Case Study of Rabindranath Tagore and the KomagataMaru Incident”
15-16 December 2014. International Seminar organized by University of North Bengal on “South Asia: Culture, Literature and Performance”. Delivered plenary lecture entitled “The South Asian Diaspora in Theory, Practice and Thereafter.”
18-19 December 2014. International Conference on “The Great War and English Studies” organized by the Department of English, University of Dhaka, Bangladesh. Delivered keynote address “A truer account than anything factual can be”: Ernest Hemingway’s writings on War from In Our Time to Men At War.”
28-29 December 2014. Anglo-Indian Studies Workshop organized by New Zealand-India Research Initiative and Humanities and Social Sciences Department, IIT, Kharagpur at University of Calcutta. Made presentation entitled “The Anglo-Indian as the ‘Other’: Cultural Representations in Bengal.”
2013
7-9 February, 2013. IACLALS (Indian Association for Commonwealth Literature and Language Studies) Annual Conference on “The Postcolonial and/in the Indian Languages” at the University of Lucknow. Made presentation “Reassessing Kylas Chunder Dutt and his Utopian Narrative of Colonial Resistance.”
22 February 2013. JUSAS (Jadavpur University Society for American Studies) Seminar on “Transnational Perspectives in American Literature and Art.” Made presentation on South Asian Diasporic Cinema in the United States.
23-25 March 2013. Presented a paper entitled “Buddhism, the United States and American Literature” at the three-day National Seminar on “Prospective Scope of Buddhist Studies” organized by the Centre for Buddhist Studies, Visva-Bharati, Santiniketan.
1-3 June 2013. International Conference on “Literature to Cinema: Adaptation, Appropriation, Adulteration” organized by Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, National Institute of Technology, Durgapur , WB. Delivered a plenary lecture on “Adapting, Interpreting and Transcreating Rabindranath Tagore’s Works on Screen.”
11 December 2013. Delivered two lectures at UGC Refresher Course in Comparative Literature at the University of Burdwan. a) High or Low Art? Assessing Jatra as Popular Culture b) Myth and Reality of Women’s Empowerment in India.
2012
14-15 January, 2012. UGC DRS SAP International Conference, Department of History, Visva-Bharati on “History and Imagination.” Presented paper, “Fact and/or Imagination” Assessing Selected Travel Narratives of Rabindranath Tagore.”
21-22 January, 2012. UGC Sponsored National Seminar on “Relevance of B.R.Ambedkar in Modern Times: A Feminist Perspective” organized jointly by Sailajananda Falguni Smriti Mahavidyalaya, Khyrasole, Birbhum and Women’s Studies Centre, Visva-Bharati. Chaired a session and spoke on Dalit Literature.
6-7 February, 2012. UGC Refresher Course at North Bengal University on “Literature, Film and Media Interface.” Delivered four lectures.
9-10 February, 2012. UGC Sponsored National Seminar at Brahmananda Keshabchandra College, Kolkata on “Re-writing Culture, Re-telling Narratives: Gender and the Politics of Representation.” Delivered Invited Lecture on “Retellings of Sita in the 21st Century”
16-17 February, 2012. National Seminar organized by Women’s Studies Research Centre, Calcutta University on “Tagore Through the Gendered Lens.” Delivered Invited Lecture “Portrayal of Tagore’s Women on Screen: Some Observations.”
26-28 February, 2012. Comparative Literature Association of India International Conference at Central University of Rajasthan, Kishengarh on “Minority Discourses Across Cultures.” Presented paper on “The Anglo-Indian as the ‘Other’: Cultural Representations in Bengal.”
15-17 March, 2012. Three-day International Conference & Exhibition on “Revisitng Tagore” at Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. Made invited presentation on “Cinematic Adaptations of Tagore’s Noukadubi.”
21-22 March, 2012. Seminar-cum-Interactive Session on “Writing by Women and Writing about Women” organized by The Department of English, Vidyasagar University, Midnapore, Paschim Medinipur, W.B. Made Presentation on “Sita through Women’s Eyes.”
24 March, 2012. Translation Workshop organized by the Department of Odiya, Visva-Bharati. Conducted two courses on Translation Theory and Practice.
29-31 March, 2012. UGC Refresher Course on “Contemporary Literature: Interdisciplinary Approaches and Influences” at North Eastern Hills University, Shillong. Delivered six lectures.
4-6 May, 2012. International Tagore Conference “Tagore: The Global Impact of a Writer in the Community” at Edinburgh Napier University, Scotland. Presented paper entitled “Was Tagore a Feminist? Re-evaluating Selected Fiction and their Film Adaptations.”
5 September, 2012. Delivered special invited lecture on “The Politics of Women’s Writing in India” at Sidhu Kanhu Murmu University, Dumka, Jharkhand.
9-18 October, 2012. Delivered invited lectures at different universities in Poland and Czech Republic. a) "Representing Muslim and the Anglo-Indian Minority Culture as the 'Other' in Indian Cinema" at Institute of Middle and Far East Studies, Jagiellonian University, Krakow.
b) “Walking in a Sari and Combat Boots”: Space, Bodies and Affect in South Asian Diasporic Cinema” at an International Conference in Cultural Studies on “Dialogue of Cultures & Culture of Dialogue” at The Andrzej Frycz Modrzewski Krakow University.
c) “Women’s Empowerment in Contemporary India: Myth and Reality” at Asian Studies Department of Metropolitan University, Prague.
d) “Contemporary Women’s Retellings of The Ramayana” at Department of Gender Studies, Charles University, Prague.
19 December, 2012. International Conference on “Vibrations between Tagore and World Culture and Literature with special reference to China” at Cheena Bhavan, Visva-Bharati. Presented paper “Empathizing with his Oriental Brethren: Tagore’s Early Essays on China.”
2011
15 January 2011. Delivered Special Invited Lecture at Nehru Centre, Mumbai in celebration of Tagore’s 150th Birth Anniversary on “Tagore in America”
15-16 February, 2011. Delivered four lectures at the UGC Refresher Course at University of North Bengal on “Ecocriticism: Interdisciplinary Perspectives”i . Environment and American Literature: Thoreau and Transcendental Writings ii. Environment and American Literature: Regional Writings iii. Of Whales, Fishes and Dolphins: Ecology, Environment and Fictioniv. Rabindranath Tagore, Environment and Education
23 February, 2011. Seminar of JUSAS (Jadavpur University Society for American Studies) on “Reconfiguring Modernism in the American Context.” Presented paper “’Make it New’: Modernism and Early 20th Century American Fiction.”
13 March, 2011. International Seminar on “Literature and Cinema: Bollywood Connections” organized by United States India-Education Foundation, Kolkata and DEOMEL, Visva-Bharati. Made presentation: The Ramayana as Animation: Sita Sings the Blues.
22-23 March, 2011. Participated in two-day National Workshop on “Comparative Literature Methodology” held at Centre of Advanced Study in Comparative Literature, Jadavpur University.
24-25 March, 2011. Participated and chaired a session on “Gender, Power and Representation”. Two Day National Workshop organized jointly by The School of Women’s Studies, Jadavpur University, Kolkata & Centre for Women’s Studies, Visva-Bharati, Santiniketan.
8-10 April, 2011. Moderator of a Three day workshop on Gendered Representation of Women in Indian Cinema” organized by Women’s Studies Centre, Visva-Bharati and Bikshan Film Society, Santiniketan.
13-14 May, 2011. International Conference at Department of English, Jahangirnagar University, Dhaka, Bangladesh on “Thinking Otherwise with/in English Studies.”
Participated as Discussant in panel on “Tagore and Translation” (Celebrating 150th Birth Anniversary of Tagore). ii) Made Audio-Visual presentation “The Word and the Image: Teaching Fiction through Films.”iii) Presented translation of Tagore’s Pother Sonchoy at the Book Launch Programme of The Essential Tagore edited by Fakrul Alam and Radha Chakravarty and published by Harvard University Press and Visva-Bharati.
13 June, 2011. Invited to participate in Jadavpur University Society for American Studies (JUSAS) Workshop on teaching literature in class through other media. Moderated the panel on ‘Literature and Film.’
30 June, 2011. UGC Refresher Course on Comparative Literature at University of Burdwan on“Violence and its Representation in Literature and Other Forms of Art”. Delivered two lectures on “Film and Fiction after 9/11”
22-23 July 2011. Invited Resource Person at National Seminar on “Post-1945 Indian Fiction in English” organized by Women’s College, Tripura. Presented paper, “The Literature or the Passport?: Evaluating Diasporic Indian Writing in English.” Also Chaired three sessions a) Literature of the Partition b) Voices from the North-East and c) Indian Women’s Fiction.
29-30 August, 2011. UGC Sponsored National Conference on “Women and Spaces: Engendering and Re-gendering Identities” organized by Vidyasagar Evening College, Kolkata and Ramakrishna Mission Institute of Culture, Golpark, Kolkata. As Invited Resource Person made audio-visual presentation “Reiterating Stereotypes? Assessing the Role of Women in Contemporary Jatra.”
23-25 November, 2011. National Workshop on “Rights of Women, Legal and Social Dimensions” organized by Purnidevi Chowdhury Girl’s College, Bolpur & Women’s Studies Centre, Visva-Bharati. As Invited Resource Person made audio-visual presentation on “Empowerment of Indian Women at the Grassroots Level: Myth and Reality.”
28-29 November, 2011. Invited Resource Person at UGC Sponsored International Seminar at Gour Mahavidyalaya, University of Gour Banga, Malda, West Bengal on “Different Americas: Resituating American Identity in the Post 9/11 Classroom.” Delivered Special Invited Lecture “Multicultural America: Issues of Theory and Pedagogy” and chaired an academic session.
5 December, 2011. Invited Panelist at British Council, Kolkata on “India in Britain: The Influence of the South Asian Presence, 1858 – 1950.” Spoke on South Asian Diasporic Cinema in Britain.
2010
4-6 January 2010. IACLALS Conference on “Word, Image, Music in the Age of New Media: Postcolonial Readings” held at Utkal University, Bhubaneswar. Presented paper “Critique or Entertain? : Assessing the Role of Women in Contemporary Jatra.”
13 January, 2010. UGC Refresher Course on “Literature, Nature and Culture” at the University of Calcutta. Delivered lecture on “Fiction and Film: The Problems of Adaptation.”
6 February, 2010. AICTE/MHRD Winter School at Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur on “Imaginative Reading, Creative Writing: Literature and the Teacher.” Delivered two lectures: a) Reading a Moving Text vis-a-vis Frozen Text: Cinema and Novel (b) Reading Reality, Portraying Life: Artistic Movies and Commercial Movies
17-18 February, 2010. Burdwan University Golden Jubilee International Seminar on “Literatures in English in Asia and the Asia-Pacific: Reconfiguring the Cultural Map”. Chaired a session on ‘Indian Drama in English’ & presented paper on “What do they ‘write back’? Assessing Fiction of the Old Plantation Indian Diaspora”.
25-27 February 2010. MELUS-MELOW International Conference at Punjab University, Chandigarh. Chaired a session and made an audio-visual presentation on “Fat Studies’: The Obsession and the Discourse of Revolt in American Culture”.
10 March 2010. Jadavpur University Comparative Literature Department. Workshop cum Seminar on “Translating Knowledge: Nuances and Observations”. Presented paper “Creating and/or Translating: Re-Examining the Role of the Author”.
13-15 March 2010. Delivered four lectures at the UGC Refresher Course on “The Philosophy of Literature: Language, Meaning and Ideology” at North Eastern Hills University, Shillong.
16-18 March 2010. National Seminar on “Society and Literature: Interdisciplinary Transactions” at North Eastern Hill University, Shillong in collaboration with ICSSR – NEHC and IIAS, Shimla. Audio-visual presentation on “Reiterating Stereotypes: Indian Women in Contemporary Jatra.” Also chaired a session on “Literature, Art and Life World”.
20 March 2010. Chaired a session at National Seminar organized by Women’s Studies Centre, Visva-Bharati, Santiniketan on “Women’s Education and Its Significance for Development”.
29-30 March 2010. National Conference on “American Studies in the 21st Century” at the Osmania University Center for International Programs (OUCIP), Hyderabad. Sponsored by Office of Public Affairs, American Embassy New Delhi. Presenter in the session “Representation of American Culture, Media and Education in Contemporary American Studies.”
24 July 2010. Burdwan University UGC Refresher Course. Delivered two lectures:a) Veracity vs, Imagination: Narrative Strategies in Biographies, Autobiographies & Memoirs.b) Autobiography and American Slave Narratives.
30-31 July 2010. Two day workshop “Tagore on Gender and Development: Relevance and Implications for Contemporary Times” organized by Women Studies Centre, Visva-Bharati. Presented a paper “Was Tagore a Feminist? Reflections from his fiction and film adaptations.”
26 October 2010. Delivered invited lecture “Tagore the Educator and Santiniketan” at the University of Massachusetts, Boston.
4 November 2010. Delivered Invited Lecture at the University of Connecticut (India Studies Program and co-sponsored by Asian American Studies Institute and Department of English) on “The Itinerant Traveller: Tagore and America”.
25-27 November 2010. National Seminar at Jaipur on “Tagore 150 Years” organized by Institute for Research in Interdisciplinary Studies and Sahitya Akademi, New Delhi. Presented paper, “Rabindranath, ‘Chhayachitra’, ‘Cinema-Natya’ and Thereafter”
2009
6 March 2009. Department of English, Tulane University, New Orleans. Delivered lecture on “American Literary Studies in India: Problems and Possibilities.”
10 March 2009. Department of Liberal Arts, Savannah State University, Savannah, Georgia.Delivered lecture “Women’s Writing in India /Women’s Empowerment in India.”
11 March 2009. Department of Literature and Philosophy, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences, Georgia Southern University, Statesboro, Georgia.i) Enquiring Indianness in the United States: Issues of Immigration and Acculturation ii) Audio-visual presentation on “Globalization and the United States: Seeking a New America through Indian Lens.”
8-11 April, 2009. International Conference on “Migration, Border, and the Nation-State” held at Texas Tech University, Lubbock, Texas, USA. Presented paper, “Of Border Crossings and Survival: Films on the Partition of India from Chinnomul (The Uprooted) to Kaantataar (The Barbed Wire)”.
14 July 2009. AICTE/MHRD Sponsored Summer School at Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur on Functional English for Science and Engineering Teachers. Delivereda) Keynote lecture : “Politics and Polemics of English in India” b) Gender and Diasporac) The Indian Diaspora in the US
6 August 2009. UGC Refresher Course on Comparative Literature at University of Burdwan on “Literature and the Other Arts”. Delivered two lectures a) Fiction and Film: Word into Image b) Cinematic Adaptations of Literary Texts: Problems and Possibilities
13-14 August, 2009. International Seminar on “Provincializing America: Diasporic Mediations and Culture Studies” at American Center, Kolkata. Made presentation on “Fat Studies: New Trends in American Culture”
10-12 September 2009. Third Critical Studies Conference on “On Empires, States & Migration” organized by Mahanirban Calcutta Research Group, Kolkata & Ford Foundation. Presented paper “Pearl Harbor Echoes: Of War, Relocation and Documentation of the Japanese American Internment Experience.”
29 October 2009. UGC Refresher Course of Women’s Studies at University of Burdwan. Delivered two lectures on Women’s Travel Narratives from Colonial India.
24-26 November 2009. Joint International Conference at KSKV Kutchchh University, Bhuj, Gujarat & WW. University of Munster, Germany on “Constructs of Home”. Chaired a session and participated in panel discussion speaking on ‘Home in South Asian Diasporic Cinema.”
14-15 December, 2009. International Conference of Shastri Institute of Canadian Studies & Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur on “Bollywood’s Soft Power.” Presented paper, “Aping the Vamp: Eisha Marjara’s Desperately Seeking Helen”.
2008
8-10 January, 2008. Three-day Workshop on “Texts and Textualities: Comparative Perspectives” Centre for Comparative Literature, University of Hyderabad. Presented paper: “Negotiating With Travelling Texts: A Case Study of Syed Waliullah’s Lal Shalu.”
19 February, 2008. Delivered the ‘Day of Remembrance Public Address’ at the University of Connecticut, Storrs, U.S. on “Of Wars, Relocation and Documentation: Surveying the Japanese American Internment and the Partition of India 1947”
3- 7 March 2008. Delivered five lectures at Dickinson College, Carlisle, Pennsylvania.i) “Women’s Empowerment in India’ Myth and Reality.”ii) “Subaltern and Tribal Voices of Women in India.”iii) “South Asian Diasporic Cinema: Texts and Contexts”iv) “Honoring and Remembering: Film and Fiction after 9/11” v) “Race, Caste and Gender in India.”
30-31 March, 2008. National Symposium on “Ethnicity, Identity and Contemporary Indian Literature” at Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee in collaboration with Sahitya Akademi. Presented paper: “Between Community Activism & Creativity: Assessing the Politics of Subaltern Empowerment through Mahasweta Devi and Ananya Chatterjee”.
21 May, 2008. Resource Person at English Curriculum Development Workshop at D.S.College, Katihar of B.N. Mandal University, Madhepura. Delivered lecture entitled “Between Pedagogy & Dissemination of Knowledge: Teaching English Literature in UG and PG Classrooms.”
24 July, 2008. Burdwan University UGC Refresher Course on “History, Nation and Creative Imagination: Comparative Perspectives.” Delivered two lectures on “Remembering the Partition of India: Historical. Literary and Cinematic Representations.”
12 September 2008. National Seminar at Department of History, Jadavpur University in association with USIEF, Kolkata on “American Environmentalism & South Asia”. Presented paper: “Of Whales and Dolphins: Environment, Ecology and Fictional Representations.”
25-27 September 2008. Three-day National Seminar of Institute for Research in Interdisciplinary Studies (IRIS) at Jaipur on “Rethinking Ability/Disability: Reflections and Representations in Indian Cinema.” Delivered audio-visual presentation, “’May you be the mother of a hundred sons’: Barrenness and Motherhood in Bengali Cinema.”
15-16 November 2008. International Conference of UNESCO & Visva-Bharati on “Women after Independence: Politics, Development, Law and Media.” Delivered audio-visual presentation, “Critique or Entertain? The Role of Women in Contemporary Jatra.”
25 November 2008. National Seminar on “Diasporic Indian Writing in English” at Vidyasagar College, Kolkata. Presented paper: “The Literature or the Passport? Evaluating Diasporic Indian Writing in English.”
28-30 November 2008. MELUS-India/MELOW International Conference at DEOMEL, Visva-Bharati on “Literary Transactions in a Globalized Context: Multi-Ethnicity, Gender and the Marketplace.” Presented paper: “Of Books and Their Covers: Marketing Literature in a Globalized Context.
2007
24-25 February, 2007. National Seminar on “Scripting their own stories” :Indian Women’s Writing in English at DEOMEL, Visva-Bharati, Santiniketan. Presented paper: “ ‘I am envious of writers who are in India’: Kiran Desai, the Man Booker Prize, and Indian Diasporic Writing.”
6-8 March, 2007. National Seminar on “Women and/in Media” at Osmania University College for Women, Hyderabad. Presented paper: “ ‘People Said I Created Pornography’: Sexuality, The Gaze and Rituparno Ghosh.”
15 March, 2007. Seminar on New Literatures in English at Rabindra Bharati University, Kolkata. Presented paper: “Internationalizing Gatsby and the American Dream.”
22-24 March 2007. International Seminar of MELUS-MELOW-India at Chandigarh on “Literature in the Time of Violence.” Audio-visual presentation: “Post 9/11 Fiction and Film: Honoring and Remembering.”
11-13 April 2007. Delivered six lectures at UGC Refresher Course at Manipur University, Imphal on American literature, postcolonial theory and Research Methodology.
11-13 September, 2007. International Seminar on “Refiguring Identity: Bridging Faiths and Cultures in the U.S.” organized by the American Literature Study Circle, American Center, Kolkata. Audio-visual presentation delivered on “Post-9/11 Films”.
14 September, 2007. International Seminar on American Avant-Garde Cinema organized by JUSAS ( Jadavpur University Society for American Studies) and the Mass Communication and Film Studies Department of St. Xavier’s College, Kolkata. Delivered an audio-visual presentation entitled “Maya Deren and American Experimental Filmmaking.”
20-22 September 2007. International Seminar at Jaipur organized by Sahitya Akademi and Institute for Research in Interdisciplinary Studies on “Post 1980 Subcontinental Writing in English: Borders, Border Theories and Crossing Borders”. Presented paper: “History and/or a Sense of Place: Reading Amitav Ghosh’s The Hungry Tide.”
16-18 November 2007. National Seminar at Rajiv Gandhi University, Arunachal Pradesh on “The Indian Novel Today”. Presented invited paper: “The Prize at the End of the Tunnel? Locating Indian English Diasporic Fiction Today.”
28 November, 2007. UGC Sponsored Seminar at Vivekananda College, Thakurpukur, Kolkata. Invited Audio-visual presentation: “Adapting Classic 18th Century Novels to Screen.”
2006
5-7 January, 2006.MELUS-India International Conference at Hyderabad. Made Audio-visual presentation “Through the Lens Jovially: Viewing American Multiculturalism.”
10-11 January, 2006. UGC-DRS (SAP) International Conference at Calcutta University on “Imperial Constructions and Indegeneous Self-Fashioning.” Presented an audio-visual lecture titled “Dhol di Awaaz: Popular Culture as Expression of the South Asian Diaspora.”
14 February 2006. International Seminar at the University of Burdwan. Presented paper, “Pandita Ramabai and Krishnabhabini Das: Women’s Travel Narratives in Colonial India.”
17 February 2006. National Seminar at Rabindra Bharati University, Kolkata. Presented paper “Envisioning a Borderless Future: Chicano Activism and Literature.”
21-22 February, 2006. National Seminar on Australian Literature at Seba Bharati Mahavidyalaya, Paschim Medinipur. Presented paper on “Identity, Representation and Belonging in Australian Literature: Thomas Keneally’s Oeuvre.”
2 March, 2006. Delivered Extension Lecture at Rabindra Bharati University, Kolkata on “Jean Rhys’s Wide Sargasso Sea as a postcolonial text.”
12 April, 2006. Invited to Conducted Workshop on American Literature at Surendranath College for Women, Kolkata.
15-16 April, 2006. International Conference at East West University, Dhaka on “Crossings: English Studies in the Region”. Presented paper “From Raj Bhasha to Rashtra Bhasha : Locating Indian ‘Inglish’ in Popular Media and Advertisements.”
10 August, 2006. UGC Refresher Course on Comparative Literature at University of Burdwan on “Translation and Transcreation.” Delivered two lectures a) The Author as Transcreator: Are Comparisons Odious? (b) Translating the Medium: Fiction to Film.
7-10 September, 2006. Participated in Salzburg Seminar American Studies Symposium on “Redefining America: Race, Ethnicity and Immigration” at Salzburg, Austria.
12-15 October, 2006. Delivered talk at the American Studies Association Conference at Oakland, California on “American Studies in India.”
27-29 October, 2006. USACLALS Conference at Santa Clara University, California. Presented paper on “Constructing the Post-Partition Indian Identity through Bengali Films”.
19 November 2006. Delivered Special Lecture at the Centre for Journalism and Mass Communication, Visva-Bharati on “Ernest Hemingway and Journalism.”
23-25 November 2006. National Seminar of Sahitya Akademi at Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi on “Fiction Into Film: Satyajit Ray’s Interpretation of Tagore and Premchand.” Presented paper “Two Masters, One Text: Satyajit Ray’s Transcreation of Ghare Baire.”
8 –9 December 2006. National Seminar for Post Centenary Golden Jubilee Celebration of Calcutta University at Bijoy Krishna Girls College, Howrah . Presented Paper “Between the Ideal and the Real: Striswadhinata, Strisiksha, and Higher Education in Colonial Calcutta.”
18-19 December, 2006. National Seminar at Jadavpur University, Kolkata on “Western Popular Literature and its Reception in India.” Presented paper: “Holmesiana: Popular Whodunits in Bangla.”
2005
2-3 February, 2005. Jadavpur University Society For American Studies (JUSAS) Annual Seminar. Presented paper: “Of Belles, Cavaliers, Wars and Histories: Mythical Representations of American Southern Literature.”
17-18 February, 2005. National Seminar cum Workshop at University of Burdwan on “Twentieth Century English Literature & Language: Pedagogy and Praxis.” Presented paper on “An African ‘Trishanku’: M.G. Vassanji’s Fiction.” Also participated in the workshop as a Resource Person on American Literature.
23 February, 2005. Delivered lecture “Understanding Chicano Literature” at UGC Refresher Course at Jadavpur University, Kolkata.
28-29 March, 2005. MELUS-India International Seminar at Chandigarh. Presented paper: “Intertextuality and the Canon: Reinterpreting The Great Gatsby.”
30-31 March, 2005. UGC National Conference at G.G.N. Khalsa College, Ludhiana on “Humanistic Concerns of Indian Writing in English 1950 – 2000.” Presented paper: “Shutting Each Other Out”? Cross-cultural Relationships in Diasporic Indian English Fiction.”
24 May, 2005. Delivered lecture on teaching Hemingway’s The Old Man and the Sea at American Literature Summer Course for Undergraduate college teachers at American Centre, Kolkata.
24 July 2005. Delivered two lectures at UGC Refresher Course at Calcutta University a)Understanding Chicano/a Literature (b) Women’s Empowerment in Myth and Reality: Literary & Cinematic Representations
27-30 July, 2005. Delivered six lectures at UGC Refresher Course at Manipur University, Imphal.
2 August, 2005. Delivered two lectures at UGC Refresher Course on Comparative Literature at University of Burdwan. a)“The Great Indian Bazaar: Texts & Contexts of Indian Writing in English” (b)“Anuvad-Vivad: Translation in Theory and Practice.”
20-24 August 2005. International Conference 4 of International Association of Asia Studies at Shanghai, China. Presented paper: “Mapping the Occidental Gaze: Colonial Travel Writing from Bengal.”
29-31 August, 2005. Participated in 3-day International Seminar on “When American Literature Leaves Home: Curriculum Development and Internationalizing American Studies” at American Center, Kolkata.
22-23 September 2005. UGC National Seminar on “The Expatriate Indian Writing in English.” At Kakatiya University, Warrangal, Andhra Pradesh. Acted as Resource Person and also presented paper, “Oh, Kolkata! The New Bengal Movement in Diasporic Indian Writing in English.”
12-13 November 2005. Conducted Panel Discussion at National Seminar on “Europe Exiled in America” held at DEOMEL, Visva-Bharati .
27-29 November 2005. Delivered six lectures at UGC Refresher Course on “Other English Literatures: Texts and Contexts” at DEOMEL, Visva-Bharati.
8 December 2005. Delivered plenary lecture at Seminar on “Women’s Consciousness – A prerequisite for Women’s Empowerment” at Durgapur Women’s College.
9 December, 2005. Conducted a one-day workshop on teaching American literary texts to students and teachers of Surendranath College for Women, Kolkata.
26-28 December, 2005. Delivered six lectures on American Literature and Culture at UGC Refresher Course, University of Mumbai.
2004
3-5 January, 2004. Presented paper “The South Asian Diaspora vis-a vis the Ubiquitous Bhangra” along with audio-visual aids at the International Conference organized by MELUS-India at Indo-American Centre for International Studies, Hyderabad.
28-29 January, 2004. Attended and presented paper in seminar at Jadavpur University (JUSAS) on “The City in American Literature, Art, and Culture.
15-16 March, 2004. Keynote Speaker at National Seminar on “Women in Developmental Processes” at Sant Longowal Institute of Engineering & Technology, Longowal, Punjab.
20-21 March, 2004. International Seminar on “Emerging Voices in American Literature” at University of North Bengal. Presented paper : “The City as Mindscape? The Indian Immigrant in the United States”.
30 March, 2004. National Seminar on “Cultural Memory &Globalisation: Reconfiguring New Literatures in English”” at University of Burdwan. Presented paper : “The Globalized Diasporic across the Pacific and the Blue Silk Girdle : An Overview.”
31 March, 2004. Seminar on “Nationalism and Indian Writing in English” at The Asiatic Society, Kolkata. Presented paper “Whither Nationalism? Post-Independence Indian Writing in English”.
28 June, 2004. 7th International F. Scott Fitzgerald Conference at Vevey, Switzerland. Presented Paper: “Autobiography and/or a Sense of Place: Hemingway’s “Homage to Switzerland.”
7 August, 2004. 13th International Triennial of Association of Commonwealth Literature & Language Studies, Hyderabad. Presented paper: “Crossing the Kala Pani: Colonial Travel Literature from Bengal.”
9 August, 2004. Delivered lecture at UGC Refresher Course of Osmania University, Hyderabad. “Texts and Contexts of Indian Diasporic Literature.”
3 September, 2004. Asiatic Society, Mumbai seminar on “From the Indian Renaissance to the Republic: Two Centuries of Indian Writing in English. Presented paper “The Desh-Pardes Syndrome: Recent Trends in Diasporic Indian Writing in English.”
2 December, 2004. Delivered two lectures at the UGC Refresher Course at University of Calcutta. (a) “The Great Gatsby: The Text and its Critical Reception.” (b) Interrelations: Narrative Theories of Film and Fiction.”
11-12 December, 2004. DEOMEL, Visva-Bharati National Seminar on “Narrative and the Canon.” Presented paper: “The Female Gaze: Colonial Travel Writing by Bengali Women.”
14-15 December, 2004. UGC National Seminar at Kishinchand Chellaram College, Mumbai on “The Postnational and the Protean: Revisiting the Indian Diasporic Consciousness in Literature and Media.” Audio-visual presentation on “An Indian Fish in American Waters”: Texts and Contexts of Indian Diasporic Cinema.”
2003
8-9 January, 2003: Presented talk on “The Immigrant Experience: Mira Nair’s The Perez Family” at Seminar of Jadavpur University Society for American Studies, Kolkata.
22-23 February, 2003; Delivered lecture at National Seminar on “Contemporary Hollywood in the Context of Globalization” and chaired session at St. Xavier’s College, Kolkata organized by United States Education Foundation in India & the Mass Communications Department, St. Xavier’s College.
12-13 March, 2003: Delivered three lectures for UGC Refresher Course at North Bengal University on Indian Writing in English, Multi-ethnic Literature & Black Drama.
26 March, 2003: Delivered lecture on “From Conrad to Coppola: Darkness then and Apocalypse Now” at Department of English, University of Calcutta.
27 March, 2003: Presented paper on “Multiculturalism and Its Limits” at National Seminar Rabindra Bharati University, Kolkata.
28 March, 2003: Presented paper “Who is an “ideal” Translator? Problems and Possibilities” at National Seminar on Post-Colonial Translation organized by Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur & CIIL, Mysore at Kharagpur, W.B.
4 -5 April, 2003: National Seminar of MELUS- India at Chandigarh. Presented Paper: “Faces of the South Asian Diaspora in American Cinema”
22-25 May, 2003: International Seminar of American Literature Association at Cambridge, Massachusetts, U.S.A. Presented paper on “The Hollywood Connection: Ernest Hemingway, William Faulkner and To Have and Have Not.”
2-5 July, 2003: Delivered six lectures at UGC Refresher Course at Department of English, Mizoram University, Aizawl.
19 July, 2003: Seminar of Jadavpur University Society of American Studies (JUSAS) on American Drama. Presented Paper: “Of Screenplays and Plays: A Study of Tennessee Williams”
18-22 August, 2003. Sponsored Delegate to International Seminar of ICAS3 [3rd International Convention of Asian Scholars] at National University of Singapore. Presented Paper: “Is She a Step-Daughter? : Representations of the Partition of Bengal in English Anthologies and Novels.”
25-26 September, 2003. Coordinator of SAARC Regional Seminar on “Women and American Society” organized by DEOMEL and United States Educational Foundation in India, New Delhi at Santiniketan .
20 November, 2003. Delivered audio-visual presentation “Multiculturalism and the South Asian Diaspora in American Cinema” with Gurinder Chadha’s What’s Cooking at American Center, Kolkata.
2002
19 July 2002: Presented paper on “Le Roi Jones’ Dutchman” at UGC Seminar on “Quest For Truth: Six Plays”at Asutosh College, Kolkata.
26 August, 2002: Participated in seminar “Melville in Perspective” at Kolkata organised by Jadavpur University Society of American Studies.
27-29 August 2002: Presented paper in an International seminar at American Center, Kolkata on “Walking in a Sari and Combat Boots: Faces of the South Asian Community in American Diasporic Cinema.”
12-13 September, 2002: Participated as Resource Person at Film Appreciation Workshop of SAARC countries on “Understanding Hollywood: From Reel to Real and Back” organized by United States Educational Foundation in India, New Delhi & Punjab University, Chandigarh.
23-26 September, 2002: Delivered six lectures on American literature as Resource Person in UGC Refresher Course at Manipur University, Imphal.
15 –16 November, 2002 : Presented paper “The Great Indian bazaar: Trends and Directions of Indian Fiction in English” at UGC National Seminar at Bolpur College, Birbhum.
20 November, 2002: Delivered lecture on “Black Drama: Problems and Possibilities” at UGC Refresher Course at University of Calcutta.
15-17 December, 2002: Acted as Seminar Director at International Seminar at DEOMEL, Visva-Bharati on “Multicultural America.”
20 December, 2002: Presented paper “The Ballot or the Bullet: The Black Power Movement in America with special reference to Malcolm X” at UGC Seminar at Rishi Bankim Chandra College, Naihati.
23 December, 2002: Presented paper at UGC Seminar on “Oh Calcutta! The New Bengal Movement in Contemporary Indo-Anglian Fiction” at Maharaja Shrish Chandra College, Kolkata.
Membership in Professional Organizations
Indian Association for Commonwealth Literature & Language Studies (Life)
Indian Association for Canadian Studies (Life)
F. Scott Fitzgerald Society, U.S.A.
Salzburg Seminar Alumni Association
MELUS- India /MELOW (Life)
Indian Association of American Studies (Life)