Saturday 28 July 2012

Horn of Plenty

In Pic: Front Cover design of Cornucopia's first issue
Dear Students (past and present), 

This is the last call for sending in your creative writings/paintings for Cornucopia. You’re welcome to send in your creative vibes of all hues and colours. The third issue is being designed on a much larger/grander scale, if present indications are to be believed, and indeed, all of us @ TEA are literally overwhelmed by the creative inputs we’ve received thus far. The last date for receipt of your creative writings/paintings is Tuesday, 31 July2012. You may send in your creative articles/paintings/pencil sketchings to cornucopiamcc@gmail.com or to rufusmcc@gmail.com

Who can contribute: All students of MCC (past and present)

Guidelines:  Cornucopia welcomes any original unpublished work that can spark human consciousness - appropriate, elegant, innovative & original. Kindly avoid sending in overtly/harshly critical articles/cartoons that violate the ethos and decorum of the College. Don’t forget to key-in both your full name (and/or your pen name(s) if any), and mention specifically how you’d wish to be acknowledged in the name-line.

Viewing the Pre-final Copy: A pre-final copy of the third issue will be made available in the Department of English on Monday, 06 August, 2012 from 10.20 am to 3 pm. All contributors are welcome to browse through the same and notify the Editorial team of changes/corrections, if any, straightaway.

Creative Artists/Student Editors Wanted: Students who’ve got exposure to pagemaker/coreldraw, with highly creative cum aesthetic vibes, to do the Front/back page Cover design of Cornucopia.

Cornucopia requires Student-editors who are good at typewriting/proof-reading, for speedy typewriting and proof-reading of the first draft of all the articles. You will be responsible for scanning through each and every article, word by word, for errors in spelling/grammar etc.

Cover Page Photograph: Students are welcome to send in their photographs with good picture resolutions (with MCC Campus as the setting, obviously!) for adorning the front and the back covers of Cornucopia.

Release Date: The current Issue of Cornucopia is scheduled for release on Tuesday, 14 August 2012 (date is tentative) at a gala function befitting the event. Cash Prizes for winners of the Quiz and the Creative Writing Competitions will be given on the occasion.

Friday 27 July 2012

Ludic on a roll...:

Ludic had its first screening for the new academic year on Friday, 27 July 2012, at 2 pm to a grand response from film buffs, critics and audience alike. Dr. K. Ganesh welcome the gathering, and Prof. Monsingh then spoke on the art of film appreciation. Prof. Luke spoke next on the importance of theatre for literature students. The film Instinct that was screened today, drew an instinctive critical/ecocritical response from the enthusiastic gathering. The lines of Anthony Hopkins, (as the anthropologist) with the young psychiatrist throw light on the true nature of being and the true value of existence, like for instance, 
Did they think of me?
I thought of them, and l missed them. I liked them. I even needed them.
Each day they seemed to allow me to step closer. I was excited by my slow journey toward them.                
I felt privileged.
I had lost long ago
and was only now remembering.
Suddenly, just like that,

Thursday 26 July 2012

Ludic Invites You...

Ludic, the Film club of The English Association, will screen the film ‘Instinct’ on Friday, 27 July 2012 at 2 pm in the Seminar Hall/MPhil classroom. Students interested in film appreciation are welcome to participate. For more details, contact Dr. K. Ganesh / Prof. Monsingh / Prof. Luke of the Department of English. A short talk on Film Appreciation by an expert, will precede the screening. The screening will be followed by discussion time and tea.

Wednesday 25 July 2012

The Writing Experience...

The Writing Express…
Come… be a part of the Creative Writing Experience…
A Creative Writing Competition will be held
 under the aegis of The English Association
on Tuesday, the 31st of July 2012
at Selaiyur Hall Indoor Theatre at 12: 35 pm.
Interested students can take part in this competition by writing a short story, poem or an essay based on the settings, pictures and objects given.
The best three will be awarded prizes and all shortlisted entries
will feature in the next edition of Cornucopia.

Monday 23 July 2012

Guest Lecture by Dr. D. E. Benet

Dr. Benet, addressing our PG students


“Although there are lots of concerns about Higher Education, I desire that, our students here at MCC get the highest form of education. And, for that, you need to be getting into more and more challenging situations” said Dr. Stephen Jebanesan, even as he welcomed the guest lecturer of the day, Dr. D. E. Benet, to deliver a lecture on “Cracking the NET/SLET: Panoramic Perspective of English Literature”.

Dr. Benet gave a bird’s eye view of the nuances of English literature, followed by a glimpse into Australian/American/New Literatures. Then, in the afternoon session, he gave an introduction to Literary Criticism and Theory.

Emphasising the need for an aesthetic appreciation of literature, Dr. Benet said that, “for effective understanding of literature, a historical sense with a chronological perspective is very important. Instead of playing truant, if a student is regular to classes, he/she can answer 40% of the questions easily. Moreover, the new format of Paper III is meant to test one’s analytical skills, and hence a familiarity with the literary devices and the various movements in literature is very important,” he added. [Excerpts from his lecture, to follow]

Friday 20 July 2012

Guest Lecture - Invite

Dear students of I MA / II MA English Litt.,
You are invited for a guest lecture by Dr.D.E. Benet, Associate Professor of English, National College, Tiruchirapalli, on 'Cracking the NET/SLET'. 
Date: 23 July 2012
Venue: Selaiyur Hall Indoor Theatre
Time: 10 am
The lecture will be followed by question hour/discussion time as usual.
With all best wishes, 
The TEA Team

Tuesday 17 July 2012

Intra-Departmental Quiz - A Report

Intra-departmental Quiz in Progress...
The Intra-Departmental Quiz got underway today [17 July 2912] at 12:35 pm in the Selaiyur Hall Indoor Theatre. There was tough competition amongst the I BA/III BA/I MA Classes in the preliminary round, and the final five sweated it out in a dignified way, true to MCC style. The Fast Fire round proved the thriller and the decider, what with the I MAs clinching the First Place with gusto and with grace.  The II BAs were not far behind, giving a terrific performance in the first few rounds. I BAs were a revelation when it came to Dumb Charades and the Picture rounds. III BAs and II MAs deserve kudos and appreciation for giving their best in the film round and the fix the poem rounds respectively.  

We at TEA, (The English Association) give you a big round of virtual applause for your enthusiastic participation. Kudos! 

(For more photos of TEA Events/Activities, please check out our facebook page, TEA@MCC)

Monday 16 July 2012

Guest Lecture by Prof.VSV - Excerpts

Prof. VSV, enthralling the audience
Prof. V. S. Venkatramanan, former Professor of English, MCC, delivered the first guest lecture of the new academic year today [Monday, 16 July 2012], with fond reminiscences of his four-decade long association with the College. “My visit here today, brings me pleasant memories of the past” he said.

Excerpts from his Lecture on William Wordsworth:

Wordsworth is hailed as the high priest of Nature. Probably a hundred years ago, if you’d had an aerial picture of this College, in all probability you would have been struck by the barrenness of the landscape. The Scottish missionaries who founded this College gave a lot of importance to the natural surroundings. Thanks to their vision and commitment , today this place is like the Moghul gardens or the Garden of Eden, or a paradise on earth. Wordsworth too had a similar vision about life and Nature. Nature, for him, is a better teacher.

Sweet is the lore which Nature brings;
Our meddling intellect
Mis-shapes the beauteous forms of things:--
We murder to dissect.

Enough of Science and of Art;
Close up those barren leaves;                               
Come forth, and bring with you a heart
That watches and receives.

So, if you want to get real wisdom, you can’t get it through the intellect. You’ve got to transcend the intellect. A Botany class may dissect a picture of a rose and give the intricate structure of a rose. But for a literature student, even a very abstract concept like love, is like a red red rose. Hence, only when the intellect stops functioning, and we start functioning with a power above our intellect, we get real wisdom.

Wordsworth calls Nature “The anchor of my purest thoughts, the nurse, The guide, the guardian of my heart, and soul.” There’s a lot of difference between Wordsworth and the other poets. While the other poets of his time, observed society, men and manners and gave memorable expression to their experiences, Wordsworth was not a man of society. He was basically a mystic poet who gave expression to transcendental experiences. Hence he is rightly called the Father of the Romantic Movement in Poetry. His Preface is hence referred to as a Manifesto to the Romantic Movement.

Saturday 14 July 2012

Guest Lecture - Invite

Dear Students of I MA / II MA English Litt.,
You are invited for the first in a series of guest lectures for the new academic year, on Monday, 16 July 2012 at 10 am in the Selaiyur Hall Indoor Theatre.
Dr. V. S. Venkataramanan, former Professor of English, MCC, will deliver the lecture.
With all best wishes,
The TEA Team

Friday 13 July 2012

Intra-Departmental Quiz - Reg.

Dear Students of English Literature, 
The Annual Quiz Programme organised by TEA@MCC, is back. 
Please find below details about the event.
Date: Tuesday, 17 July 2012
Time: 12:35 pm
Prelims: No. of Teams per class: Two teams of three members each.
Finals: One team from each class will be selected based on the preliminary [elimination] round.
Venue: Selaiyur Hall Indoor Theatre
No. of Rounds: 10
Round I: English Literature, American Literature, Indian Literature
Round II: Books and Authors
Round III: Dumb Charades on Films, Books and Authors.
Round IV: Video Round on the Classics
Round V: Audio Round on Poetry
Round VI: Identify the Personality based on the given photograph
Round VII: English Language
Round VIII: Spelling Round
Round IX: Rapid Fire Round
Round X: Buzzer Round
With all best wishes, 
The TEA Team