National conference on MIGRATION AND IDENTITY: THE URBAN SUBJECT

Transcription

1 National conference on MIGRATION AND IDENTITY: THE URBAN SUBJECT Daulat Ram College, University of Delhi 28 th and 29 th January 2016 Concept Note Let him who has not a single speck of migration to blot his family escutcheon cast the first stone...if you didn't migrate then your father did, and if your father didn't need to move from place to place, then it was only because your grandfather before him had no choice but to go, put his old life behind him in search of the bread that his own land denied him... José Saramago, The Notebook Migration is moving from one place to another, forced or willed, that renegotiates and reformulates space and identity anew for the site of migration as well as the subject of migration. In a world mapped by geo-political boundaries, migration is often accompanied by discourses of growth and development. However, migration is not a recent phenomenon. Neither is it always willed or desired. From the very early gathering practices of the human race to the contemporary global village, migration has been a definitive aspect of human civilization. Corollary to migration is the concept of identity. Identity has many sources and forms. If on the one hand migration or constant mobility forced or otherwise is symptomatic of residing on a moving planet, identity is supposed to be a fixed axis around which this mobility is negotiated. Migration, especially in an industrial and post-industrial world, has often led to the creation of an urbanity and urban space characterized by the many negotiations of subjectivity and identity. The identity of this urban subject can then be located in the dialectics of migration. The urban subject in return becomes the entry point to understand the determinants, processes and outcomes of human migration in all its manifestations, paving the way for a greater understanding of human mobility by unravelling the nature of both intra-nation and international migration and its role as an intrinsic part of broader processes of development, social change and globalization. The conference aims at investigating Who is an urban subject? in order to locate its meaning and identity by critically engaging with the discursivity of migratory practices and multi-dimensional identities. The debates of migration, identity, and the urban subject have often resurfaced in literature and literary theory, be it the earlier tales of loss and survival in a new locale or the newer diasporic constructions of home and belonging. An investigation of the area through the premise of literary

2 works leads us toward a certain inter-disciplinarity wherein geo-political, geographical, historical, economic, and political questions cross-pollinate to emerge as new civic imaginations. The conference aims at inviting the literary and other disciplines to examine these instances of intense human activity. Sub-topics: Migration and Identity Linguistic Identities and Migration Politics of or political Migration History of Migration Migration and social space Migration and labour History of Urbanity Urban Development and Migratory Practices Proposal for paper presentation of twenty-minute duration are invited from research scholars, teachers and academicians on any of the sub-themes mentioned in the concept note. Important Dates: Last date for the submission of Abstract: 25 th November, 2015 Notification of the acceptance/rejection of the abstract: 5 th December, 2015 Last date for the submission of full paper (both soft and hard copies): 30 th December, 2015 Submission Guidelines: Please submit your abstract in the following format: Last Name, First Name Department, Organisation/Institutional affiliation Id (Follow the same format in case of multiple authors)

3 Abstract Title (in Bold) Abstract Times New Roman, Font size 12 point, maximum 300 words. Please do not include references. Keywords Include a 50-word biography in the same file. Please follow the latest edition of MLA Handbook. Abstracts should be submitted via to [email protected] Please keep Conference in the subject line of the mail. Registration: Delegate/Teacher/Research Scholar: Rs. 1000/- Student (UG, PG): Rs. 500/- The conference proceedings in the form of a book with ISBN number containing selected papers presented at the National Conference would be published. For any other query please contact: Convener: Dr. Deepshikha Mahanta Bortamuly T-I-C, Department of English, Daulat Ram College Mobile: [email protected] Co-Convener: Dr. Namrata Jain Department of English, Daulat Ram College Mobile: [email protected] --0--

4 Day 1 Morning: 9-10am Registration 10-11:30am Inauguration & Keynote Address Session1: Seminar Hall 11:30am-1:00pm Prof. G.J.V. Prasad 1:00-1:30pm Lunch Session 2A: CLT 1:30-3:00pm Prof. Simi Malhotra Session 2B : BLT 1:30-3:00pm Linguistic Identities and Migratory practices Prof. Hany Babu 3:00-3:15pm Tea Break Session 3A: CLT 3:15-4:30 pm Session 3B: BLT 3:15-4:30 pm Day 2 9:30-10:30 am Keynote Address Session 1: Seminar Hall 10:30am-12:00 pm Political Migration or Politics of Migration Prof. Saugata Bhaduri Session 2: Seminar Hall 12:00-1:30 pm 1:30-2:00 pm Lunch Session 3A: CLT 2:00-3:30 pm Migration, Memory, and Trauma Prof. Tanmoy Bhattacharya Session 3B: BLT 2:00-3:30 pm History of Migratory Practices Dr. Priya Kumar Session 4: Seminar Hall 3:30-4:30 pm (2 Paper Presenters) 4:30-5:00 pm Valedictory 5:00 pm High Tea NATIONAL CONFERENCE ON MIGRATION AND IDENTITY: THE URBAN SUBJECT DAULAT RAM COLLEGE DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH 28&29 TH JANUARY 2016 SEMINAR HALL

5 MIGRATION AND IDENTITY: THE URBAN SUBJECT TOPICS: Let him who has not a single speck of migration to blot his family escutcheon cast the first stone...if you didn't migrate then your father did, and if your father didn't need to move from place to place, then it was only because your grandfather before him had no choice but to go, put his old life behind him in search of the bread that his own land denied him... José Saramago, The Notebook Migration is moving from one place to another, forced or willed, that renegotiates and reformulates space and identity anew for the site of migration as well as the subject of migration. In a world mapped by geopolitical boundaries, migration is often accompanied with discourses of growth and development. However, migration is not a recent phenomenon. Neither is it always willed or desired. From the very early gathering practices of the human race to the contemporary global village, migration has been a definitive aspect of human civilization. Corollary to migration is the concept of identity. Identity has many sources and forms. If on the one hand migration or constant mobility forced or otherwise is symptomatic of residing on a moving planet, identity is supposed to be a fixed axis around which this mobility is negotiated. Migration, especially in an industrial and post-industrial world, has often led to the creation of an urbanity and urban space characterized by the many negotiations of subjectivity and identity. The identity of this urban subject can then be located in the dialectics of migration. The urban subject in return becomes the entry point to understand the determinants, processes and outcomes of human migration in all its manifestations, paving the way for a greater understanding of human mobility by unraveling the nature of both intra-national and international migration and its role as an intrinsic part of broader processes of development, social change and globalization. The conference aims at investigating Who is an urban subject? in order to locate its meaning and identity by critically engaging with the discursivity of migratory practices and multi-dimensional identities. Migration and Identity Linguistic Identities and Migration Politics of or political Migration History of Migration Migration and social space Migration and labour History of Urbanity Urban Development and Migratory Practices The debates of migration, identity, and the urban subject have often resurfaced in literature and literary theory, be it the earlier tales of loss and survival in a new locale or the newer diasporic constructions of home and belonging. An investigation of the area through the premise of literary works leads us toward a certain inter-disciplinarity wherein geo-political, geographical, historical, economic, and political questions cross-pollinate to emerge as new civic imaginations. The conference aims at inviting the literary and other disciplines to examine these instances of intense human activity. For Further Details Please Contact: Dr. Deepshikha Mahanta Bortamuly (Convenor) / [email protected] Dr. Namrata Jain (Co-Convenor) / [email protected]