MIDS Monthly Seminar - December 2014

Topic	Urbanization and Governance in China and India: Informal Settlements, Land Disputes, and Citizen Rights
Speaker	Dr. Xuefei Ren Associate Professor, Department of Sociology, Global Urban Studies Program, Michigan State University
Chairperson	Dr. M. Vijayabaskar Assistant Professor MIDS
Date & Time	December 18, 2014     Thursday     3.00 p.m.
Venue	Adiseshiah Auditorium, MIDS

Submission of Essays - Reg

Dear Students of I MA English Literature,

I haven’t forgotten the deadline! J 

And, a big thank you to all of you who’ve submitted your essays online to me. 

Others, who haven’t, please do submit the same by 19 December 2014 to my mail id at rufusonline@gmail.com 

For those of you who are yet to get your topics, contact your class representative Ms. Hela rightaway.

Thank you so much.

God bless.

Rufus

Dr.Juneja on Canadian Literary Culture

'The Colloquium' in Progress

Dr. Joe addressing our students on Theory

The first part of Dr.Joe's lecture was on traditional criticism, and the second part was an overview of the theoretical underpinnings of modern and contemporary literary theory.

Excerpts from his lecture:

Literary History is an irreconcilable binary of theory. M. H. Abrams who is the Father figure of Liberal Humanism, in his famous work The Mirror and the Lamp, brings out the four coordinates of criticism corresponding with four theories.

The first coordinate relates to the primacy of the Universe as the source (or fountainhead) of literature. It was Plato who first talked about the mimetic theory in literature. The word Mimesis is a Greek word meaning imitation. The world that we look around is not real. There is an ideal world – a prototype. So, writers imitate this world (the prototype).

Guest Lecture Invite...:

for two lectures in a row, by two eminent scholars
on Saturday, 09 August 2014.

Dr. Daniel David speaks on 

Myth, Legend and Romance from 9:30 am - 10:45 am.

After a short break for tea and interaction, the second session by 

Dr. Sivaraman, on 

Contemporary Indian Theatre, will start at 11:00 am and end by 12:30 pm. 

All UG, PG, MPhil and PhD Students are welcome...!

"To Write is to Know Who You Are...!"

Mr.Bishwananth Ghosh, Senior Editor, The Hindu, releasing Eclectic Representations

Mr. Bishwanath Ghosh, Senior Editor with The Hindu, was the chief guest at the inaugural of the English Literary Forum, today at 11 am. The occasion saw the release of the seventh issue of Eclectic Representations, the peer-reviewed International Journal from the PG & Research Department of English, Madras Christian College. In addition, a book that guides in effective preparation for UGC-NET-ENGLISH, containing a descriptive overview of literatures in English, alongside a detailed analysis of the previous years’ question papers [paper II & III], titled NET... SET… GO: Literatures in English was released by our Bursar.  

Excerpts from his address: 

Writing is not a glamorous profession. Rather, it is a lonely profession – wherein you might have a deadline staring at you, prompting you to be prepared all along! If you’re lucky enough, you’ll get published, and if you’re still lucky, you’ll also get to be famous!

Release of Seventh Issue of Eclectic Representations and NET Preparatory Book

Our Bursar, releasing the first copy of the UGC English Preparatory Book "NET SET GO... Literatures in English"

Guest Lecture Series - I: An Overview of Literatures in English

Dr. Benet gave the maiden guest lecture of this academic year, today at 11 am, on “Preparing for UGC-NET: A Panoramic View of Literatures in English”.

Excerpts from his lecture: 

Our mind has a way of connecting and associating information. How do we retain pieces of information, and string them together in order to have them recollected in the long run, forms the basis of preparing for any competitive examination.

There are two types of Principles in Memory: One is, the remembrance principle. I ask you and you are quick to respond. The second is the Recognition principle. You look at the answer in print and then you recognise the answer. It really helps if you can raise your memory from recognition principle to the remembrance part.

History of English Literature and History of Literary Criticism are both inseparable. Hence it is important to develop a historical sense of chronological time. Look out for major schools, major writers, major genres etc in your preparation.

'Another Cosmopolitanism' - Ashis Nandy in conversation with NS Madhavan

Ashis Nandy needs no introduction. One of those able few who have the guts and the spine to go threadbare against the establishment (yep, you may call him – antiestablishmentarian if you want), and provide alternate perspectives on cosmopolitanism and traditionalism.

N S Madhavan again is one writer who defies the diktats of the demagogue and seeks to be daring and outspoken in his views – to ‘leave the beaten track behind’ and carve a niche for himself by moving away from tradionalist representations in media and society.

When these two litterateurs indulge themselves in a rendezvous, it indeed is one rendezvous of sorts, and well, the literati are on cloud nine.

Yes, it was indeed a memorable day at the ‘Let’s Talk’ event today, which saw two great luminaries walk the talk on “Another Cosmopolitanism”.

the MC paved the way for the talk by justifying the title for the day: "Why should one speak on cosmopolitanism, of hospitality, of quiet systems: more so in the current context, where we see events of violence and enemity, of hostility instead of hospitality, of conflict instead of coexistence". 

Ashis Nandy observed that, each community has a preconceived notion that they are the best and hence they have a kinda blinkers that make them pass negative comments about the other community. They should also know that the other community also thinks on the same line about them. At the same time, people are accustomed to living with differences, and hence the spice of life.

N S Madhavan lamented the fact that there was a great influx of migrant labourers into Kochi in recent years from Bengal, Bihar and Assam. The people of Kochi had condemned them to ;death by ignorance’, which is a deplorable fact. Hence, these migrants go to the boat jetty, hop onto a boat, go to the park,  and return without talking to the locals. This is mainly because we have shut them out, although we cannot do without them. This is an example of ‘silent apartheid’ he observed.

Both spoke at length about the history of Kochi, about the secular fabric of the nation, and how the secular fabric is being threatened by present political developments, which, according to them, are a serious scar on India’s plurality.

To be contd…

Indian Identity - Critical Summary

“Indian Identity” – Shashi Tharoor

Introduction

Shashi Tharoor is the author of Nehru: The Invention of India, and former under secretary general of the United Nations. In this essay, Tharoor argues that in a secular country like India, everyone of us can be categorized as a minority, when we consider them in relation to their individual standing in society. As such, the essence of India lies in its plurality and it is forged in diversity, which has caught the world’s imagination and of which we Indians should be really proud of.

Kannada Script in Hindi on Independence Day

When India celebrated the 49th anniversary of its independence from British rule in 1996, its then prime minister, HD Deve Gowda, stood at the ramparts of Delhi's Red Fort and delivered the traditional independence day address to the nation. Eight other prime ministers had done exactly the same thing 48 times before him, but what was unusual this time was that Deve Gowda, a southerner from the state of Karnataka, spoke to the country in a language of which he did not know a word. Tradition and politics required a speech in Hindi, so he gave one - the words having been written out for him in his native Kannada script, in which they made no sense.

An Authentication of Pluralism in India

Reading a Kannada Script in Hindi on the Nation’s Independence Day is almost inconceivable elsewhere, but it was a startling affirmation of Indian pluralism. For the simple fact is that we are all minorities in India. There has never been an archetypal Indian to stand alongside the archetypal German or Frenchman. A Hindi-speaking Hindu male from Uttar Pradesh may cherish the illusion he represents the "majority community". But he does not. As a Hindu, he belongs to the faith adhered to by four-fifths of the population. But a majority of the country does not speak Hindi. And, if he were visiting, say, my home state of Kerala, he may be surprised to realise that a majority there is not even male.

Hinduism: No Guarantee of Majorityhood: Reasons

According to Tharoor, when the stock Hindu male mingles with the polyglot, multicoloured crowds thronging any of India's major railway stations, he will realise how much of a minority he really is. Even his Hinduism is no guarantee of his majorityhood, because caste divisions automatically put him in a minority. (If he is a Brahmin, for instance, 90% of his fellow Indians are not.)

Advertising One’s Ethnicity and Origin

If caste and language complicate the notion of Indian identity, ethnicity makes it worse. Most of the time, an Indian's name immediately reveals where he is from or what her mother-tongue is: when we introduce ourselves, we are advertising our origins. Despite some intermarriage at the elite levels in our cities, Indians are still largely endogamous, and a Bengali is easily distinguished from a Punjabi. The difference this reflects is often more apparent than the elements of commonality. A Karnataka Brahmin shares his Hindu faith with a Bihari Kurmi, but they share little identity with each other in respect of their dress, customs, appearance, taste, language or even, these days, their political objectives. At the same time, a Tamil Hindu would feel he has much more in common with a Tamil Christian or a Tamil Muslim than with, say, a Jat from the state of Haryana with whom he formally shares the Hindu religion.

India in 1947: A New Creation

What makes India, then, a nation? As the country celebrates the 60th anniversary of its independence today, we may well ask: What is an Indian's identity?

The prime exponent of modern Indian nationalism, Jawaharlal Nehru, would never have spoken of "creating Indians", because he believed that India and Indians had existed for millennia before he articulated their political aspirations in the 20th century. None the less, the India that was born in 1947 was in a very real sense a new creation: a state that made fellow citizens of the Ladakhi and the Laccadivian, divided Punjabi from Punjabi and asked a Keralite peasant to feel allegiance to a Kashmiri Pandit ruling in Delhi, all for the first time.

Indian Nationalism: the Nationalism of an Idea

Under Mahatma Gandhi and Prime Minister Nehru, Indian nationalism was not based on any of the conventional indices of national identity. Not language, since India's constitution now recognises 22 official languages, and as many as 35 languages spoken by more than a million people each. Not ethnicity, since the "Indian" accommodates a diversity of racial types in which many Indians (Punjabis and Bengalis, in particular) have more ethnically in common with foreigners than with their other compatriots. Not religion, since India is a secular pluralist state that is home to every religion known to mankind, with the possible exception of Shintoism. Not geography, since the natural geography of the subcontinent - framed by the mountains and the sea - was hacked by the partition of 1947. And not even territory, since, by law, anyone with one grandparent born in pre-partition India - outside the territorial boundaries of today's state - is eligible for citizenship. Indian nationalism has therefore always been the nationalism of an idea.

India: Sustained by a Pluralist Democracy

It is the idea of an ever-ever land - emerging from an ancient civilisation, united by a shared history, sustained by pluralist democracy. India's democracy imposes no narrow conformities on its citizens. The whole point of Indian pluralism is you can be many things and one thing: you can be a good Muslim, a good Keralite and a good Indian all at once. The Indian idea is the opposite of what Freudians call "the narcissism of minor differences"; in India we celebrate the commonality of major differences. If America is a melting-pot, then to me India is a thali, a selection of sumptuous dishes in different bowls. Each tastes different, and does not necessarily mix with the next, but they belong together on the same plate, and they complement each other in making the meal a satisfying repast.

India: One Land Embracing Many

So the idea of India is of one land embracing many. It is the idea that a nation may endure differences of caste, creed, colour, conviction, culture, cuisine, costume and custom, and still rally around a consensus. And that consensus is around the simple idea that in a democracy you don't really need to agree - except on the ground rules of how you will disagree.

Conclusion

According to Shashi Tharoor, the true identity of India lies in its plurality and in its celebration of diversity. The sight in May 2004 of a Roman Catholic political leader (Sonia Gandhi) making way for a Sikh (Manmohan Singh) to be sworn in as prime minister by a Muslim (President Abdul Kalam) - in a country 81% Hindu - caught the world's imagination. India's founding fathers wrote a constitution for their dreams; we have given passports to their ideals. That one simple moment of political change put to rest many of the arguments over Indian identity. India was never truer to itself than when celebrating its own diversity.

"The Eloquent Sounds of Silence" - Critical Summary

The Eloquent Sounds of Silence - Pico Iyer

Introduction

God’s one and only voice is silence, says Melville. Pico Iyer brings out the importance of silence in his essay “The Eloquent Sounds of Silence” by singing paeans to silence. According to Pico Iyer, when people go on retreat, to a high place and feel the warmth and joy of being lifted up in a cool and secure place far away from the madding crowd, they start to recite the standard litany: that silence is sunshine, silence is rapture, silence is golden, etc. But silence is not so easily won. Moreover, before rushing off to the hills, it is essential to remember that fool's gold (i.e the easily obtained iron pyrite) is much more common and that gold can be obtained only by a great amount of hard work, since it has to be dug out with great care and effort, from other substances. Such is the case with silence.

Silence is the Consecration of the Universe

According to Herman Melville, all profound things and emotions of things are preceded and attended by Silence, and hence silence is the general consecration of the universe. Just before his death, he came forth with his final utterance -- the luminous tale of Billy Budd - and showed that silence is only as worthy as what we can bring back from it.

Silence is Spiritual

We have to strive a lot to earn silence, and then, to work for it: to make it not an absence but a presence in our lives. Silence is something more than just a pause; it is that enchanted place where space is cleared and time is stayed and the horizon itself expands. In silence, we often say, we can hear ourselves think; but what is truer to say is that in silence we can hear ourselves not think, and so sink below ourselves into a place far deeper than mere thought allows. In silence, we might better say, we can hear someone else think.

It is no coincidence that places of worship are places of silence: if idleness is the devil's playground, silence may be the angels'. It is no surprise that silence is an anagram of license. And it is only right that Quakers all but worship silence, for it is the place where everyone finds his God, however he may express it. Silence is an ecumenical state, beyond the doctrines and divisions created by the mind. If everyone has a spiritual story to tell of his life, everyone has a spiritual silence to preserve.

Existentialism in 'Waiting for Godot': An Overview

Prof. Daniel David addressing our PG Students

Postcolonial Studies wrt Indigenous Studies: An Appraisal

Dr. Armstrong, Professor & Head, Dept of English, University of Madras, delivered a thought-provoking lecture on Contemporary State of Postcolonial Studies with reference to Indigenous Studies to our I & II MA students, today at 11 am.

Overview of Professor’s Lecture:

Dr. Armstrong

Dr. Armstrong began by outlining the domain of Postcolonial Studies, which focuses on the reading and writing of literature written in previously or currently colonized countries, and seeks to critically investigate what happens when there is a clash between two cultures. This clash is where one of them ideologically fashions itself as superior and assumes dominance and control over the other, Hence, the field of postcolonial studies has itself been hotly contested ever since its rise in the 1970s.

Although the term “postcolonial” avoided some of the terminological problems of its predecessors, namely Commonwealth literatures, World Literatures, New Literatures, etc, it sought to create problems of its own especially when related to Indigenous studies. Moreover, Dr. Armstrong, rhetorically asked, if the space for Indigenous studies in the broad field of Postcolonial studies was much less when compared to other areas like diaspora, comparative literature,  hybridity, post colonial gender studies etc?

While there are two types of Post colonialism – Oppositional Colonialism and Complicit Colonialism, the latter cannot be applied to indigenous texts. Only complicit colonialism provides a minimal space for the indigenous peoples interest.

"Truth in Drama"

Truth in Drama | Dr. Radmila Nastic on Pinter

#guestlecture

#MCC

Dr. Radmila Nastic, Professor of Philology and Arts, Serbia, gave a talk on “Truth in Drama” to our students, today, from 10.45 am to 1.30 pm.

Excerpts from her talk - 

Nobel laureate Harold Pinter is one of the greatest modern dramatists, who “cleaned the gutters of the English language, so that it ever afterwards flowed more easily and more cleanly”. 

His Nobel Prize acceptance speech titled, “Art, Truth & Politics” was in a way, a manifesto for his literary career. He says - 

There are no hard distinctions between what is true and what is false. 

A thing is not necessarily either true or false; it can be both true and false. 

I believe that these assertions still make sense and do still apply to the exploration of reality through art. 

So as a writer I stand by them but as a citizen I cannot. As a citizen I must ask: What is true? What is false?

Truth in drama is forever elusive. 

You never quite find it but the search for it is compulsive. 

The search is clearly what drives the endeavour. 

The search is your task. 

More often than not you stumble upon the truth in the dark, colliding with it or just glimpsing an image or a shape which seems to correspond to the truth, often without realising that you have done so. 

But the real truth is that there never is any such thing as one truth to be found in dramatic art. There are many. 

These truths challenge each other, recoil from each other, reflect each other, ignore each other, tease each other, are blind to each other. 

Sometimes you feel you have the truth of a moment in your hand, then it slips through your fingers and is lost.

When we look into a mirror we think the image that confronts us is accurate. 

But move a millimetre and the image changes. 

We are actually looking at a never-ending range of reflections. 

But sometimes a writer has to smash the mirror – for it is on the other side of that mirror that the truth stares at us.

I believe that despite the enormous odds which exist, unflinching, unswerving, fierce intellectual determination, as citizens, to define the real truth of our lives and our societies is a crucial obligation which devolves upon us all. 

It is in fact mandatory.

If such a determination is not embodied in our political vision we have no hope of restoring what is so nearly lost to us – the dignity of man,” observes Pinter.

Then, Dr.Nastic moved on to truth in Shakespeare, by citing from his four tragedies.

The famous dictum of William Shakespeare, wherein Polonius tell Laertes, 

“Above all to thine own self be true” – can be taken as a leitmotif for all of William Shakespeare’s plays.

Hamlet has been called the consciousness of the western world, and one of the world’s advanced drama, a genius of western consciousness. 

Hamlet’s tryst with the ghost reinforces his difficulty in finding truth. He is someone who is constantly searching for truth in humanity and in himself, and in so doing, he is trying to be honest with himself. 

He has three choices in front of him. To do nothing, and to suffer silently, or to commit suicide, or to do something. 

He chooses not to be a coward. In Act V Scene II, we find that he becomes fully aware of the consequences of his own choice. 

Thence he says: “There is special providence in the fall of a sparrow. If it be now, ‘tis not to come; if it be not to come, it will be now; if it be not now, yet it will come – the readiness is all. Since no man, of aught he leaves, knows what is’t to leave betimes, let be.”

Othello is yet another noble character – a noble Moor to be precise. Iago completely succeeds in poisoning the mind of Othello. Without learning the truth, he strangulates Desdemona in her bed. Truth comes to him after strangling her. Just before he stabs himself in the guts, he says thus -

Soft you: a word or two before you go.

I have done the state some service, and they know’t… Of one that loved not wisely but too well…

PS: The PG & Research Department of English wishes to thank Prof. Cherian Kurien (Retd. Faculty, Dept of English) for giving us the opportunity to meet up with Dr.Nastic. Thank you Sir.

To be contd…

The Nietzscheanization of the Left or Vice Versa - Critical Summary

The Nietzscheanization of the Left or Vice Versa 

Critical Summary

Introduction

Allan Bloom in his famous 1987 book The Closing of the American Mind describes how “higher education has failed democracy and impoverished the souls of today’s students”. The book has been divided into three parts, namely: 1.) Students, 2). Nihilism, and, 3). The University.

The present essay “The Nietzscheanization of the Left or Vice Versa” has been taken from the second part of the book titled, ‘Nihilism.’

Marx – No more Resonates in the Souls of Young Americans of Today

In this essay, Allan says that the whole world is divided into two parts, one of which traces its intellectual lineage back to Locke and the other to Marx. But, the present day young Americans find Karl Marx boring.

In addition, even in the power centres, where decisions and ideologies are made and implemented, Marx has been dead for a long time. Today, Marx’s famous “Manifesto” seems naïve, and out of place, and his “Das Kapital” does not persuade its readers anymore as it used to, in the past.

Although the Left still continue to call themselves Marxist, they no more find their nourishment in Marx. It comes from elsewhere. Marx does not resonate in souls of young Americans today, as do Sartre, Camus, Kafka, Dostoyevski, Nietzsche,  Heidegger or Rousseau.

The Term Ideology Passes from Contempt to Honour - from Marx to Nietzche

To Marx, the term ideology was a mask and a false system of thought elaborated by the ruling class to justify its rule in the eyes of the ruled, while hiding its real selfish motives. Hence, in Communist society there will be no ideology.

Because, only the pure mind, to use Nietzsche's formulation, has the possibility of knowing the ways things are. Hence, ideology is a term of contempt; it must be seen through in order to be seen for what it is.

However, by 1905, Lenin was speaking of Marxism as an ideology, which means that it too can make no claim to truth.

Hence, in less than half a century Marx's absolute had been relativized. This was the beginning of the inner rot that has finally made Marxism unbelievable to anyone who thinks. Marxism itself became ideology.

Today, ideology, in popular speech, is, in the first place, generally understood to be a good and necessary thing—unless it is bourgeois ideology.

Men and societies need myths, not science, by which to live. In short, ideology became identical to values, and that is why it belongs on the honor roll of terms by which we live.

Real Marxism becomes Vulgar Marxism

Hence, when one talks to Marxists these days and asks them to explain philosophers or artists in terms of objective economic conditions, they smile contemptuously and respond, "That is vulgar Marxism," as if to ask, "Where have you been for the last seventy-five years?"

No one likes to be considered vulgar, so people tend to fall back into embarrassed silence.

So, real Marxism of the past has now become Vulgar Marxism. Nonvulgar Marxism is Nietzsche, Weber, Freud, Heidegger, as well as the host of later Leftists who drank at their trough— such as Lukacs, Kojeve, Benjamin, Merleau-Ponty and Sartre—and hoped to enroll them in the class struggle.

The Effect of Nietzsche on Marxism

From this century onwards, the effect of Nietzsche slowly began to be felt within Marxism.

An example is the significance of revolution.

Revolution and the violence that accompanies are justified today, and it has taken the place of rebellion, faction, or civil war, all of which are obviously bad things, while revolution is the best and greatest event—in the popular imagination of Englishmen, Americans, Frenchmen and Russians, with the exception of Germans.

Importance on Nietzschean Term ‘Will’ in Marxism of Today

In the new order, Will has become the key word, to both the Right and Left. In the past it was thought that will is necessary but secondary—that the cause came first. But it was Nietzsche who formulated the new way most provocatively when he said, "A good war makes sacred every cause."

The causes have no status; they are values. While the older revolutionaries were ‘will’ing peace, prosperity, harmony and reason, i.e., the last man. The newer breed ‘wills’ chaos. Self-assertion or will, and not justice, was the crucial element.

Sympathy for Terrorists in the Nietzschean takeover of Marxism

In the new revolutionary charm of today, determination, ‘will’, commitment, caring, concern have become the new virtues. Hence, there is great sympathy even for terrorists, because "they care."

Therefore, it is shocking to observe that, young people, and older people too, who are good democratic liberals, lovers of peace and gentleness, have become ‘dumb with admiration’ for individuals threatening or using the most terrible violence for the slightest and tawdriest reasons.

They have a sneaking suspicion that they are face to face with men of real commitment, which they themselves lack. And commitment, not truth, is believed to be what counts.

The ‘Mutant Breed of Marxists’ of Today

Allan Bloom calls the present breed of Marxists as the mutant breed of Marxists, who have sought to derationalise Marx and turn Nietzsche into a leftist.

It was Georg Lukacs, the most prominent Marxist intellectual of this century, who set the ball rolling.

Marx adapted ‘forcefully’ in other Domains

Bourgeois is associated in the popular consciousness, especially in America, with Marx. The mature Marx had almost nothing to say about art, music, literature or education, but since the Nietzscheans spoke so marvelously well about all these things, these terms were quietly appropriated into Marxism.

To take another example: Freud talked about interesting things not found anywhere in Marx, and the whole psychology of the unconscious was completely alien to Marx.

But, Marx moved into the Freudian scene, by interpreting the cause of neuroses and his treatment of the maladjusted as bourgeois errors that serve enslavement to the capitalist control of the means of production.

How the Bourgeois became a friend of the Left!!!

"The last man" interpretation of the bourgeois is reinforced by a certain ambiguity in the meaning of the word "bourgeois." Bourgeois is associated in the popular consciousness, especially in America, with Marx.

Most of the great European novelists and poets of the last two hundred years were men of the Right; and Nietzsche is in that respect merely their complement. For them the problem was in one way or another equality, which has no place for genius.

Thus they are the exact opposite of Marx. But somehow he who says he hates the bourgeoisie can be seen to be a friend of the Left.

Therefore when the Left got the idea of embracing Nietzsche, it got, along with him, all the authority of the nineteenth- and twentieth century literary tradition.

From hating the Vulgar ‘Bourgeoisie’ to hating just Vulgarity

The later Marxists in Germany were repelled by the vulgarity of the bourgeoisie. One can easily see this in Theodore Adorno. But, as prosperity increased, the poor began to become embourgeoise. Instead of an increase in class consciousness and strife, there was a decrease. One could foresee a time, at least in the developed countries, when everybody would be a bourgeois. So another prop was knocked out from under Marxism. So, now, the issue is not really rich and poor but vulgarity. Thus, ironically, Marxists were coming perilously close to the notion that egalitarian man as such is bourgeois, and that they must join him or become culture snobs.

Nietzschean Marxism as Sophisticated Marxism

Thus, in other words, sophisticated Marxism became cultural criticism of life in the Western democracies, but none of it came from Marx or a Marxist perspective. It was, and is, Nietzschean, variations on our way of life as that of "the last man."

Conclusion

So, Nietzsche came to America. His conversion to the Left was easily accepted here as genuine. Nietzsche's naturalization was accomplished in many waves: some of us went to Europe to find him; Heidegger and Nietzsche now come under their own names, treading on the red carpet rolled out for them by their earlier envoys. Academic psychology, sociology, comparative literature and anthropology have been dominated by them for a long time. But their passage from the academy to the marketplace is the real story.

A language developed to explain to knowers how bad we are has been adopted by us to declare to the world how interesting we are.

Somehow the goods got damaged in transit.

Talk on Postmodernism, Media Studies and Subaltern Studies..:

Dr. Marx delivered a thought-provoking and spell-binding talk today, from 9.50 am to 12.50 pm, on Postmodernism, Media Studies and Subaltern Studies, to an ardent and enthusiastic audience, comprising students from III BA, I MA, II MA, M.Phil & PhD Scholars. 

Excerpts from his talk:

To Fanon, silence is dishonesty. Although there are millions of angles and thousands of opinions available to get a perspective of an object or a person, we always prefer to go by the binary, wherein one is prioritised over the other. The first problem of any language is knowability. It is seemingly knowable, but in reality it is not knowable. What then, is real? Reality is relative. In Akira Kurosawa's Seven Samurai, we have a clear case of different versions of truth given to the police by different people. 

A typical rainy day at MCC (today):

Inter Hall Sports Meet - 2014

Our Principal with Shri K. Baskaran

The Inter-Hall Sports Meet 2014 got off to a rousing start with the customary Commemoration Meet. Dr. Stephen Jebanesan, Head, Department of English gave the commemoration address. The Chief Guest of the Sports Meet was Shri K. Baskaran IAS., District Collector, Kanchipuram, an illustrious alumnus of our College. 

Professor J. Vasanthan - A Tribute

I am stunned when I look with respect and awe at a picture of Prof. J. Vasanthan. The fire in his eyes, the grace in his looks, the nobility in his visage, the determination in his firm lips, his royal bearing and his majestic posture compel me into a wild guess of what an enigma of a professor he must have been!

Loved all, loved by all, hated none, and hated by none.

J.Vasanthan, started his teaching career at Madras Christian College, and later retired as Professor of English with the American College, Madurai. His passing away recently in Madurai, has created a void which cannot be replaced now or in the future. Such was his style! such was his verve! such was his commitment to his vocation!

JV (as he was fondly called by his students and admirers) was a versatile personality - a professional cartoonist, writer, actor, professor all rolled in one. He also had a wonderful sense of humour and an artful way with words. One could sit with him, at his dinner table, and listen to him recollecting fond memories of days past in MCC, or talk about Tom and Jerry, or bring out the aesthetic and the sublime in Shakespeare, or Milton or Wordsworth, or Keats, with abundant verve and gusto. He was teacher to famous stalwarts in academics, like Dr. Nirmal Selvamony, Dr. Benet, Dr. Premila, Prof. Daniel David, to name a few, and eminent politicians like Prakash Karat, etc.

Chennai Book Fair - 2014

The Chennai Book Fair is getting better and better, by the year, going by present indications. The YMCA Grounds that played host to the Fair this year, was a lot more effective in crowd management and parking management. Unlike last year, when volunteers from BAPSI controlled the parking lots using their own volunteers, this year saw the traffic constables and SIs doing a really commendable job in traffic management and parking management. They facilitated neat parking of cars and bikes.

Celebrating the Eternal Woman...

Dr. Dasan delivered the key note address on “Celebrating the Eternal Woman:  A Note on the Heroism of the Feminine Psyche” at the National Seminar on Women’s Writing in English, held at St.Mary’s College, on 10 January 2014.

Excerpts from his address:

This keynote address aims at the figural portrayal of the female self. While attempting to highlight the contrasting perceptions between the ‘female self’ as a biological and natural construct and ‘the woman’ as a social construct, it underscores that ultimately it is the paradoxical differences in gender sexuality, differences which simultaneously reiterate the beauty and richness of the biological complementarity ingrained in the very act of the creation of man and woman, which prevail in terms of true humanity. I am one of those who subscribe to the view that the social construct of woman, woman as objectified Other, ‘reified as a sexual and linguistic commodity fixed, written about and traded among men’ by the metaphysical Self, ought to be dismantled and deconstructed, and the natural construct of the female self, attuned to the biological and the eternal feminine, should prevail as a liberating force.