2021-22

1. Department Orientation – Welcome Aboard: Jump on the Bandwagon

Coordinator – Dr Atiqa Kelsy

The Department of English at St Xavier’s College – Jaipur had its virtual orientation program where the fresh assemblage of aspiring students to build their careers in the English Honours Degree Program was embraced by their seniors and department faculties. An hour’s program where the Head of the Department, Dr Atiqa Kelsy, through her welcome note enlightened the newcomers and motivated them through inspiring short stories. and followed up with sharing success stories of alumni who were a part of the program. Nihar Vyas (BA Hons – III) a versatile student of the department in his mesmerizing voice-over video, creatively introduced the world of English literature to the new entrants. Many other seniors of the department with the emcee for the day Pallavi Chattopadhyay (BA Hons – II) engaged students with certain online games to break the icy glass between seniors and juniors. The highlight of the program was Ritik Garg, an alumnus of the department, introducing the department in all its colours with a personal touch as he himself was a part of many of the events described therein. The orientation ended on a high note of warmth and cheer and was well-appreciated by everyone.

2.1 Rejoice to Reconnect Alumni Interaction Session – I: Coordinator – Dr Ranjit Kaur and Ms Akanksha Johar

The Department organized an Alumni Interaction Session, on 23 November 2021, where Ms Ayushi Sah from batch 2018 was invited as the speaker for the virtual talk. Ms Sah had been awarded the prestigious Xavierite of the Year 2018 award for being a versatile student and is at present working at IDP Gurgaon. She spoke about the various aspects that students should keep in mind with regard to writing their Statements of Purpose and Letters of Recommendation while applying to foreign universities. The session was highly informative, and students immensely benefitted from the talk as it would help them write their SoPs and LoRs more effectively when they pursue Higher Education.

2.2 A Word with the Veterans: Alumni Interaction Session – II: Coordinator – Dr Ranjit Kaur and Ms Akanksha Johar

The Department of English organised an Alumni Interaction Session on 29th November 2021 where Ms Vamika Naruka, an alumnus of the college from 2015 batch threw more light upon the topic, PR, Content Writing & Management. The interaction with Ms. Vamika proved to be a boon for the students, to hear from an accomplished senior to guide and assist them in excelling in PR, Content Writing & Management. Ms. Vamika has a graduate degree in English Literature from St. Xavier’s College. After which she did a Master's in Journalism from K.C. College, Mumbai before continuing her Job as the Sr. Copywriter in Excel Entertainment (Flickbay) and Content Head at Koimoi and Bollywood Bubble for a year, respectively. She is currently working as the Sr. Account Executive at AvianWE.

She told students how she went into the PR field as a Content Writer for The Ideal Home & Garden Magazine after her Internship in the Times of India. She shared her experience of working in the Bollywood Industry as a Sr. Copywriter in Excel Entertainment and how it changed her life. She showed students a path on how one should only go into Industry if they know the skills of working with a massive team and where everyone has to coordinate with more than 200 people. She shared her experieofe on learning and growing with many people who worked on the same project for months.

3.1 Digital Humanities – Technology as a Gateway to Culture: Coordinator – Dr Shruti Rawal

Details of the Activity/Work Performed: The Department of English, St Xavier’s College, Jaipur organized an enrichment lecture through the virtual portal. The guest speaker for the day was Dr Arjun Ghosh – Associate Professor – Department of English at IIT Delhi. He shared his thoughts and reflections on ‘Digital Humanities – An Introduction”. The session was very engaging and interactive for the students. He opened a whole new world to the listeners, and researchers to explore futuristic digital pedagogies and learning coding that ensures a bright future for them. It was indeed a valuable talk, which culminated with a series of interactive questions and responses. Certain online tools like Palladio, Timeline, 19/47 Archive and many other modern tools and techniques were introduced and explained to the participants during this session that would prove to be useful in conducting research and bringing Humanities closer to the digital world. The students found the session very useful.

3.2 Comprehending the Aftermath of Colonialism & Postcolonialism – An Introduction – Coordinator Dr Shruti Rawal

On 2 September 2021, the Department of English at St. Xavier’s College - Jaipur organized a Guest Lecture on Postcolonialism – An Introduction through the virtual gateway. Postcolonialism is one of the most substantive and debated topics in the realm of English Literature. Nothing could have been more enriching than organizing a Guest Address on this theme by Prof Pramod K. Nayar. Prof Nayar is the Professor – the Department of English at the University of Hyderabad with more than 103 publications and has countless feathers in his cap. His bailiwick is Colonial Writings in English, and he is one of those speakers who can combine the deftness of subject knowledge with real-life examples. During his one-hour session, he mesmerized the participants with his prudent, convincing, well-presented know-how about the topic without any postmodernist jargon. He also dispelled certain preconceived myths regarding concepts such as the difference between the Study of Colonial Discourse v/s Post-Colonial Literature and Culture, who is the Colonizer, and who is colonized? By quoting examples of exemplary writers and figures like Edward Said, M.K. Gandhi and S. Nagarajan, he made the interaction upbeat and au fait. His astounding inputs to Postcolonialism and associative terms were very insightful and enlightening to all our participants. The session concluded with a series of highly interactive questions and answers from the speaker. The undergraduate students found it a bit above their level.

3.3 Bridge Course and Series of Expert Lectures on History of English Literature: Coordinator – Dr Atiqa Kelsy and Dr Shruti Rawal

The Bridge is meant to help bridge the knowledge-gap especially for students who enrol for Bachelor’s or Master’s in English without a background in Literature in their class XII or Under graduation. The course was organized from 20 June 30 November 2021 online through Google Meet Recordings. As and when the students were admitted in the college and enrolled in the programme, the links of these recordings were shared with the students so that they could start learning at their own pace while the session was yet to begin. The Covid pandemic had delayed admissions and thus the session. Thus, the recordings were made available to the new entrants so that learning at home could begin amidst the uncertainty created by the pandemic. The presentations focused on the different ages in the history of English Literature, focusing on the features, chronology, literary trends, and social and political changes along with prominent authors of the era and their styles. The presentations were informative and engaging as they helped the students in understanding the different ages and their significance. The purpose of the course is to create a better understanding in terms of the shaping of English literature down the ages up to the present times, the knowledge that is pivotal to the subject. The students found the sessions informative and an exit test was conducted on 30 March 2022. The students felt that the course would have been more beneficial if the classes were physical but given the situation it wasn’t possible.

4. Selecting New Recruits

Interviews for the Department Council - Literati Cell and Enlightened Echelon – Coordinator – Dr Atiqa Kelsy

Applications were invited for the following posts for the Literati Cell and Enlightened Echelon - Department of English for 2021-22:

Literati Cell:

President: BA Hons English III

Vice President: BA Hons English III

General Secretary: BA Hons English III

Joint Secretary (Creative, Technical & Cultural): BA Hons English II

Assistant Secretaries (Creative, Technical & Cultural) & Volunteers: BA Hons English I

Enlightened Echelon:

Coordinator: BA Hons English III

Assistant Coordinators: BA Hons English II

Volunteers: BA Hons English I

The selected office bearers of The Literati Council for the session 2021-22 were:

S.No.

Name

Class

Post

Eakanch Jain

B.A. Eng (Hons.) III

President- Literati Cell

Vanshikha Arora

B.A. Eng (Hons.) III

President- Enlightened Echelon

Nihar Vyas

B.A. Eng (Hons.) III

Vice President- Literati Cell

Nitika Singh

B.A. Eng (Hons.) III

Vice President- Literati Cell

Harshita Agarwal

B.A. Eng (Hons.) III

General Secretary- Literati Cell

Vasudha Sharma

B.A. Eng (Hons.) II

Joint Secretary Creative- Literati Cell

Raghav Arora

B.A. Eng (Hons.) II

Joint Secretary Creative- Literati Cell

Anushree Sharma

B.A. Eng (Hons.) II

Joint Secretary Technical- Literati Cell

Yashasvi Jangid

B.A. Eng (Hons.) II

Joint Secretary Technical- Literati Cell

Ananya Kaushik

B.A. Eng (Hons.) II

Joint Secretary Cultural- Literati Cell

Dimple Shandilya

B.A. Eng (Hons.) II

General Secretary - Enlightened Echelon

Tanya Parwani

B.A. Eng (Hons.) II

General Secretary - Enlightened Echelon

Ananay Vishwas

B.A. Eng (Hons.) I

Assistant Secretary- Literati Cell

Anushka Bharagava

B.A. Eng (Hons.) I

Assistant Secretary- Literati Cell

5. The Enlightened Echelon – Pre Inka 2021: Coordinator – Dr Rama Hirawat

It is said, “Great satisfaction comes from sharing with others”. Inka '22: Colours of the Quill began with the social initiative, Pre-Inka on 24 December 2021 organised by the Enlightened Echelon, under the aegis of the Department of English. A replica of the annual literary fest, a mini-fest was created for the students of the Government Upper Primary School, Layla ka Vaas, Nevta, (the village adopted by St Xavier’s College - Jaipur under the UBA Scheme). To create an ambience like INKA, the school was decorated and multiple competitions were conducted for the students of classes3-8. The event began with a musical performance by the students of the department, followed by the poetry, story-telling and slogan writing competitions, which were explained to the children in a prior visit. A special session on origami was also taken to encourage their participation. These were followed by a dance party. An enthusiastic response was received from the sponsors of the event - Teach, Messy Door and Krishna Bakery. The team then distributed food packets and celebrated the Christmas eve with the kids making it as special for the kids as for themselves. W an enthusiastic participation from the students in the competition, the event was a success with many memories to cherish.

5.1 Share the Warmth: Blanket Distribution Drive: Coordinator –Dr Rama Hirawat

On 14th November 2021, in the spirit of Children’s Day, St Xavier’s College - Jaipur, in

collaboration with All About Happiness Foundation (ABH), held a blanket distribution drive in the city. The event was initiated in collaboration with The Enlightened Echelon, Department of English, St Xavier’s College – Jaipur. The essence of the event was to spread “the joy of giving”, to lend a helping hand to the poor, needy souls who have to bear the brunt of the chilly Jaipur winter. The motto of the event was “ठं ड सेबचाएं गे, कु छ अच्छा करकेदिखाएं गे!”. People were asked to donate their old blankets or pay a minimum sum of ₹100 to help provide blankets to the needy. Around 70 volunteers participated in this event, with nearly 15 of them being students of St Xavier’s College, Jaipur. The volunteers handled every stage of the event; from promoting it through the means of social media and by pasting “Share the Warmth” posters in various areas, to collecting funds and blankets, and lastly, distributing the blankets.

They covered 15 different locations, notably, Govind Dev Ji Temple, Jaipur Junction-Railway Station, Sindhi Camp, Hassanpura, among many others on 14th November. After the blanket distribution on 14 November with the Head, Dr Atiqa Kelsy and a volunteers shared their experiences with each other. It turned out to be a huge success, with more than 1,500 blankets being distributed to the needy. The drive then ended on 25th December, 2021 with the same activity, covering more locations with the coordinator of the activity Dr Rama Hirawat and the volunteers distributing more blankets in different locations. Through this drive, the volunteers of the Department of English, St Xavier’s College – Jaipur and ABH, more than 2000 blankets were distributed to the destitute on the roads as the mercury continued to drop.

The on-the-ground nature of the activity also served to sensitise volunteers about the plight of the underprivileged, motivating them to further work towards their betterment. The college looks forward to initiating more drives such as these to provide volunteers the opportunity to tangibly work towards the betterment of society.

5.2 FEED -O-METER: Coordinator – Dr Rama Hirawat

The Department of English collaborated with its social partner All About Happiness in their ongoing programs FEED-O-METER from 1 Feb 2022 and continued till 15 Feb 2022. As the nomenclature suggests, the programs were a means to reach out to stray animals, by feeding them. A notice was circulated and students were asked to be considerate and contribute to the success of the event by reaching out to as many as possible. They were given a letter of appreciation for their kind gesture towards everyone. Around 50 students participated in the event. The success of any such event lies in the awareness and realization that a student attains in the context of his social responsibility and his responsibility as a citizen of this Nation.

6. Inka ’22 – Colours of the Quill: Coordinator – Dr Shruti Rawal

The Literati Cell and the Department of English, St Xavier’s College – Jaipur, organised the annual literary fest, Inka ’22 – ‘Colours of the Quill’ virtually on 6 and 7 January 2022. The inaugural ceremony on 6th January saw the fest commence formally in which Rev Fr Dr Arokya Swamy, Rector and Manager, encouraged the students, and Rev Fr Dr A Rex Angelo, Principal, blessed the students and shared his ideas on the theme. The first event, author interaction, was with Mr. Mohit Narbada Joshi, in conversation about his book ‘Semi Colon’. This was followed by the poetry session, ‘Inks Iridescent’, where several performers recited their poems. The day ended with an informal chat session, ‘Coffee Table Talks’. On 7th January, the debate competition, ‘In Pursuit of Dispute’ was held, on the topic “Art is for art’s sake”. Next, the mono-act event ‘Danse Theatrics’ took place, wherein participants’ submitted videos were played. Two more events with prior submissions were held – ‘Penicillo Inspirante’ (creative writing), and ‘Chroma Mea’ (painting rendition). Several universities from throughout India participated in the fest, such as Manipal University, NIMS University and Doon University, among others. In the closing ceremony, the results of all the events were announced and the fest was concluded with great success.

INKA ‘22

Chróma Mea - Painting Rendition

7 January 2022

Report

An annual literary fest INKA '22: Colours of the Quill. A very exciting event was organised by the department of English of St. Xavier's College, Jaipur on 6th and 7th January, 2022 via the online platform Google meet.

Chróma Mea - Painting Rendition was held online. The submissions were opened a month prior to the fest, and were closed on 5th January. Afterwards, the entries were forwarded to the judge, who scored them, based on their creativity, technique, and expression i.e. their ability to paint, draw, or sketch any old and famous painting of their choice, either digitally or manually which represented the theme of the fest. The judge for the event was Mr. Elver Aubert.

Several people from all across Jaipur participated in the event. They demonstrated their passion for art and knack for creativity through the art form of painting. The results were declared on 7 January 2022 during the closing ceremony of INKA '22. Sakshi Gupta of St. Xavier's College in Jaipur won the top spot, and Kirti Jangid of JK Lakshmipat University in Jaipur took the runner-up spot. Overall, it was a great platform for the artists to showcase their creativity and art form that tested the participants thinking ability to reimagine pre-existing works of art.

The coordinator and assistant coordinator for the event were Khyati Pruthi and Ananya Kaushik respectively.

Penicillo Inspirante – Creative Writing - Report

On 6 and 7 January 2022, Inka '22 - Colours of the Quill, the virtual literary fest, was organised by the Department of English and the Literarti Cell of St Xavier's College, Jaipur. The Creative Writing event: Penicillo Inspirante' was held online. The submissions period for the same commenced one month prior to the fest. The participants were given the iconic painting 'Damayanti' by Raja Ravi Varma, and were supposed to pen down a literary piece summarizing their interpretation of the painting.

The deadline for the submissions was 5 January, following which, the entries were forwarded to the judge. The participants were evaluated on their work's originality, language proficiency, tone, consistency, and compositional quality of piece. Several participants from all across the country submitted remarkable entries.

The results were announced on the final day i.e. 7 January 2022, in the closing ceremony. The first position was awarded to Yashi Awasthi of Maharani College and the Second was bagged by Vasudha Sharma and Ksitij Dutta of St Xavier's College and Manipal University respectively. The event, in its entirety, was a huge success, and ideas for similar endeavours in the future were appreciated.

Coordinator: Rangoli Jain

Assistant Coordinator: Yashasvi Jangid

In Pursuit of Dispute

7th October 2022

“It is better to debate a question without settling it than to settle a question without debating it”

In light of another lockdown, the annual literature fest of St. Xavier’s College—INKA ‘22: Colors Of The Quill was conducted online. The debate event, titled “In Pursuit of Dispute,” saw 20 participants from colleges across the country come together via a virtual conference to battle it out wielding their oratorical skills and logical reasoning. Participants presented their views on the topic: “The house believes that Art is for Art’s sake only.” The inspiration for the same was drawn from the nineteenth century debate- “Art for Art’s sake vs Art for Life’s Sake”. Being the premise of the debate, participants were supposed to keep in mind the historical context of the topic while presenting their arguments. Speakers were given four minutes to put forth their views and an additional one minute for rebuttal. The judges for the event were Dr. Deepanjali Gardener and Dr. Ranjit Kaur.

The winners of the debate were as follows:

1st best Speaker – Abel John

2nd best Speaker- Adya Sharma

3rd best Speaker- Yashaswini Rathore

It was indeed a brilliant learning opportunity for all the debaters, and it provided them with a platform to put forth their opinions.

Coordinator: Nitika Singh

Assistant Coordinator: Navreen Kaur

INKA ‘22

Danse Theatrics – Mono-Act

7 January 2022

Report

The annual literary fest of St Xavier’s College, Jaipur, organised virtually by the Literati Cell and the Department of English – Inka ’22, was held on 6 and 7 January 2022. On 7 January, the mono-act event, titled “Danse Theatrics”, took place via virtual conferencing. The judge for the event was Mr. Neeraj Kadela, an accomplished thespian and director with several plays and short films under his belt.

The participants were requested to record a video of them acting out a monologue from any book, movie, play or TV show. These were then screened during the event, and the judge marked the contestants on their clarity, expressions and overall performance. Several individuals from all across Jaipur participated in the event, submitting incredible entries giving a glimpse of their exceptional talent. The results of the event were declared in the Closing Ceremony of Inka ’22, with Divya Joshi and Sejal Kumari of IIS College securing the first and second positions respectively. Successful proposals for similar future endeavours were welcomed as the event came to a successful conclusion.

Coordinator: Nihar Vyas

Assistant Coordinator: Raghav Arora

Inks Iridescent - Poetry Session

INKA ‘22

6 January 2022

Report

"Poetry is when an emotion has found its thought and the thought has found words." - Robert Frost

On 6 January 2022, the Literati Cell and the Department of English organized Inks Iridescent, a poetry session as a part of the annual literary fest INKA ‘22: Colours of the Quill.

The participants were asked to submit their poetry beforehand and a few amongst them were selected on the basis of originality and creativity. The judge for the event was Dr. Meenakshi Jain, an associate professor at Mohanlal Sukhadia University, Udaipur. Numerous participants from all across the state came together on one platform and spoke their hearts out. It was truly mesmerizing to listen to their language of poetry.

The event began with the formal welcome of the dignitaries followed by the competition. Towards the end of the event, the judge enlightened the participants with her words of wisdom. It was then followed by the vote of thanks delivered by the event coordinator Harshita Agarwal.

With enthusiastic participation, the event saw a variety of themes and styles of poetry performed, and left a lasting impression on the hearts of everyone present.

Coordinator: Harshita Agarwal

Assistant Coordinator: Tanya Parwani

7. Prism of Perspectives: Perceptions 2021– Coordinator Ms Akanksha Johar and Dr Rama Hirawat

Perceptions-2021 an initiative by the Department of English at St Xavier’s College – Jaipur was organised in the Conference Room on 22 November 2021 to help the students hone their presentation and communication skills. Perception roots its origin to the year 2020 when through a virtual gateway the competition took its first flight with great vigor and enthusiasm amongst students. Perception as the name suggests is related to expressing one’s insight in interpreting literature and art. There is no limit to read, learn and explore literature. How people with unique experiences, intellects, memories, and worldviews interpret literature differently and through this platform the students are encouraged to share their ‘perception’. For this year it was conducted offline and Dr Shruti Rawal was the esteemed judge for the occasion. The students made presentation on a wide variety of topics ranging from music to Indian-ness to graphic novels to memoirs. The amount of research and reading that was put in was reflected in the quality of the PPTs. It was a fruitful and knowledge enriching activity for the students. The first years get introduced to the concept of Research and thus find the competition useful.

8. Vocab-Collab in collaboration with Xavier’s ELT Research Committee: Coordinator – Dr Shruti Rawal

Xavier’s ELT Centre (XERC), under the aegis of the Department of English organized a day’s workshop on Vocabulary Enrichment titled, ‘Vocab-Collab’. The program was conducted through the virtual gateway where students learnt to maneuver their preexisting vocabulary into meaningful conversation and as an information collecting tool. Nitika Singh from B.A. English (Hons) III introduced the eminent speaker for the workshop, Dr Annie Kuriachan – Associate Professor, Women’s Christian College, Chennai. Her erudition coupled with experience made the workshop very interactive and gave students handy tools to use their existing vocabulary and at the same time expand it to express better. Through the activities she conducted the students got a hands-on experience to practice the tools taught by her. She engaged the students in a playful manner to teach them tricks to enhance their vocabulary and put it into everyday use. The workshop was well absorbed in terms of knowledge by the students and was successfully conducted. The students who stayed till the end of the workshop gained and learned but most of them logged out as soon as the resource person started with learning activities to help them get comfortable with the tools that would help enrich their vocabulary.

9. Defend What You Believe! Xavier’s Debate Club Auditions – Coordinator – Dr Shruti Rawal

The Literati Cell under the aegis of the English department organized the auditions for the Debate Club on 26 October 2021. The topic of the debate was that in the opinion of the house “Technology has made our lives easier”. Over 25 enthusiastic debaters participated in the auditions and expressed their opinions on the topic. Students spoke with elan as they were keen on being a part of the club. They were cross-questioned by the other participants and the coordinators. The student organizers were Nitika Singh and Ritesh Kalyani and the teacher coordinator was Dr Shruti Rawal. The judges for the auditions were Dr. Shruti Rawal and Ms Akansha Johar.

10. New Media Journalism (Certificate Course): The World of Infinite Possibilities:

Coordinator – Dr Ranjit Kaur

On the 11th of October, 2021, St. Xavier’s College, Jaipur introduced an intellectual certificate course for the enthusiasts of media and journalism in the college through an online platform. Dr. Ranjit Kaur, Assistant Professor from the Department of English, St. Xavier’s College, Jaipur took the initiative to introduce and take charge of starting such an amazing activity of practical learning along with theory delivered by experienced professionals in the field.

The mentor of the students of the entire span of learning was Ms. Jennifer, a Public Relations professional, Social Media Strategist & Consultant. With over a decade’s experience in digital media management, PR and media coordination, she is spearheading my startup - Connectscape. Having done her Masters in English Literature, she is a proud alumnus of the prestigious M.G.D. Girls’ School, Jaipur.

With a class of 24 students, Ms. Jennifer walked different cities, sites, and topics to get the subject opted for clear in all minds with respect to all the possible aspects that should be discussed for the betterment of future journalism.

Moreover, to enhance their knowledge in every aspect of media and journalism special guest lectures were also been organized by Ms. Jennifer. In the sequence of the same, students got to learn from resource persons who were one of the best professionals in their fields. Respectively Dr. Tabeenah Anjum, Senior Journalist and Visual Storyteller, a recipient of the National Award in Photography (2015) and Mr. Arthar, Creative Producer at The Quint, taught in detail about ‘Digital Photography’ and ‘Video Producing for Digital Media’.

To give a life-like experience, students were asked to choose a topic and dig out complete information about the same as a media person about the same simultaneously throughout the certificate course and also taken our for a Photo Walk in order to learn ‘how to capture’ and ‘what to capture’ and learn the difference between these two. With the submission of a Photo Story and a final assignment of a media story the evening sessions which took place on weekdays came to an end on 23rd of November, 2021.

11. “Good questions make us think. Good stories make us understand.” STELLAR 2022 -Tape a Tale: Coordinator – Dr Ranjit Kaur

Literati Cell, Department of English, St Xavier’s College - Jaipur, in collaboration with Tape a Tale organised Phase I of the National Level Story Telling Competition, Stellar 2022. It took place on 20 January 2022 in an online mode through the Google Meet video-conferencing application. Dr Ranjit Kaur was the teacher coordinator for the event. Vasudha Sharma was the student coordinator and campus ambassador for this event. A total of 10 selected students from different courses and years performed their stories. The stories ranged from narratives about memories with grandparents and parents, childhood stories and incidents, personal takes on one’s identity, to fictional narratives. Following all the story performances, Rev Fr Dr A Rex Angelo SJ, Principal, motivated the gathering and congratulated the participants for their creative narration and story writing. The judges, Mr Ali Husen and Ms Rachana Patil then, announced the result. Kanvika Sharma, student of BA Economics (Hons.) Third Year, was the winner of Phase I of Stellar 2022 and will proceed forward to Phase II of Stellar 2022, inter-collegiate level. The event concluded successfully with a group photograph and the gathering was thanked for their presence by the emcee.

12. Addressing the Pandemic’s Aftermath: ICSSR Sponsored Multi-disciplinary International Conference on ‘Emerging New World Order in the Post-pandemic Scenario’ 18-19 February 2022- Technical Session V(A) Post-pandemic World: Emerging Discourse in Language and Literature

Coordinator – Dr Atiqa Kelsy

The Fifth session of the two-day Multi-disciplinary International Conference on ‘Emerging New World Order in the Post-pandemic Scenario’ sponsored by ICSSR and in collaboration with DST and CSI was focused on the emerging discourse in language and literature in the post-pandemic world was held on 18 February 2022 at 12:30 pm through Google Meet Platform. The Chairperson for the session was Prof. Joya Chakravarty, Former Dean, Faculty of Arts and Head Department of English, University of Rajasthan, Jaipur. The Keynote address was delivered by Prof. Dipa Chakrabarti, Head, Amity School of Languages, Amity University Rajasthan. After the formal welcome by Dr Atiqa Kelsy, Head Department of English, St Xavier’s College – Jaipur, the scholars presented their research on areas including trauma and healing, online teaching, use of cinema and videos while teaching online, the cathartic use of literature, emerging pedagogy and crime fiction and OTT. There were fifteen papers presented in the session which concluded with the remarks of the Chairperson who praised the scholars for their endeavours.

Technical Session V(B) Post-pandemic World: Emerging Discourse in Language and Literature: Coordinator – Dr Atiqa Kelsy

The second part of the Fifth session of the two-day Multi-disciplinary International Conference on ‘Emerging New World Order in the Post-pandemic Scenario’ sponsored by ICSSR and in collaboration with DST and CSI was focused on the emerging discourse in language and literature in the post-pandemic world was held on 19 February 2022 at 10:30 am through Google Meet Platform. The Chairperson of the session was Prof A Joseph Dorairaj, Professor of English, School of English & Foreign Languages, Gandhigram Rural Institute-Deemed to be University, Gandhigram. The Keynote address was delivered by Dr Niraja Saraswat, Assistant Professor, Dept. of Humanities and Social Sciences, Malaviya National Institute of Technology, Jaipur. After the formal welcome by Rev Fr Dr A Rex Angelo, Principal, St Xavier’s College – Jaipur, the scholars presented their research on areas including transformation of digital literature, learning language through social media, effects of pandemic on teaching pedagogies, E-Readers, flipped classroom and language teaching in the post pandemic world. Fifteen papers were presented in the session which were followed by the remarks of the Chairperson who appreciated the scholars followed by the formal vote of thanks by Dr Atiqa Kelsy, Head, Dept of English, St Xavier’s College – Jaipur.

13.. UBA HOUSEHOLD SURVEY – LALYA KA BAS – Coordinator – Dr Rama Hirawat

Commencing on 15 February 2022, as a part of the Unnat Bharat Abhiyan organised by the Government of India, a 5-day survey was carried out by the students of St. Xavier’s College - Jaipur. The survey’s goal was to study the field and recognize the various problems prevailing in the village so that appropriate action could be taken to address them. To streamline the survey, different villages were allotted to each department. The Department of English was given Lalya ka Bas along with the Department of Political Science and Pass Course. The students of the two departments made visits to the village on a regular basis to accomplish the herculean task. A group of 10-15 students from each department, accompanied by professors and a local liaison who was a representative of ISREAC/UBA, travelled to the village to collect the necessary data from the residents. The data was collected both digitally and manually. As a result of the tireless efforts of the students, teachers and ISREAC/UBA representative, a total of 234 houses were surveyed, thus accomplishing the challenging task successfully.

14. Research Symposium: Coordinator – Dr Rama Hirawat

The Department of English organized Technical Session IV ‘Changing Dimensions of Literature: Impact of Rapid Globalization on Literature’ in the National Symposium- ‘Impact of Socio-Economic Policies on Global Development, on 10-11 March 2022 through Google Meet on 11 March 2022 The sub-themes for the technical session IV were, though not limited to:

● Role of Language and Literature in Contemporary Society

● Literature, Media and Cinema

● Voices from the Margins

● Corporate Control Vs Artistic Freedom

● Adaptations and Translations

● Socio-Political and Economic Aspects of Literature

Dr Urvashi Sabu, Associate Professor, PGDAV College, Delhi University, Delhi, congratulated all the 13 participants who presented their findings after a thorough research on the topics of their choice under their mentors. Nitika Singh won the best paper award for her paper titled ‘Investigating the role of translators as a driving force in Mirza Hadi Ruswa's Umrao Jaan Ada’

15. Phoenix Inked 2022: National Essay Writing Competition

Jaipuria Institute of Management, Jaipur

Department of English

St. Xavier’s College, Jaipur

Report

Jaipuria Institute of Management, Jaipur, in collaboration with the Department of English, St. Xavier’s College, Jaipur, organised the Second National Essay Writing Competition, ‘Phoenix Inked 2022’. It was conducted through essay submissions in the month of May’22, which were judged in two phases. First, at the college level and second, at the national level. Dr Ranjit Kaur was the teacher coordinator for the event. Vasudha Sharma and Raghav Arora were the student coordinators for this event.

Entries were accepted from UG & PG levels of all streams. The participants were to write an essay on any of the following topics:

1. E-learning: Can it be the future of the education system in India?

2. New Education Policy: A progressive policy with diverse challenges

3. Electronic Vehicles: The future of transport

4. Raising Legal Age of Marriage for Women

5. Is humanity enough to handle crises and serve people in need?

Rakshetsa Jha of MA English (Final) became the Overall First Prize Winner at the competition and won ₹ 5000 as a cash prize. Her essay, on the topic ‘Is humanity enough to handle crises and serve people in need?’ outshined numerous entries. The prize distribution ceremony was conducted on 15 August 2022 at Jaipuria Institute of Management, Jaipur. The event concluded successfully with a group photograph.

Dr Ranjit Kaur

Teacher Coordinator

Vasudha Sharma and Raghav Arora

Student Coordinators