Department of eNGLISH
The Department of English, which started in 2014 with BA English Language and Literature, was upgraded to the postgraduate level in 2020 with MA in English Literature. Both the programmes aim to instill a passion for literature and to enhance the learning of English language. The department has a very efficient team of eminent faculty headed by Prof. M. T. Joseph. The committed faculty work with the students as a team, extending helping hands in achieving their curricular and co-curricular goals in a short span of time. Our students have received first ranks in the university examinations for consecutive years.
The department offers Functional English for Professionals as an add-on course, which will help the students in their future prospects and career plans.
Vision:
- Aiding the students to procure a copious exchequer of literature.
Mission:
- To be a succour for the students to be enriched with experiences offered through education.
- The Department of English aims at a holistic development of its students with radiant spotlights on the aggrandisement of literature and the development of the finest next generation.
National Webinar on Advertising
The Department of English conducted its first national webinar on 14 August 2020 on the topic “Advertising: The Evolution, Impact, Dynamics & Possibilities”. About 80 people, including students and teachers, attended the webinar. Mr. Shelton Pinheiro, who has been in the field of advertising for 25 years and has worked for three or four firms including multinational companies, was the speaker.
He began by talking about dynamics or changes happening in ads. The early perception was that ads should present glorifying lies about a product which can clearly influence people. Presently, there has been an affinity towards reality, as part of a total change in culture. Mr. Shelton showed us a tribal ad showing a real farmer, Milma ad by Fahad Fazil and Dileesh Pothan as actors, and a Human by Nature campaign of Kerala Tourism which caste real people of the locale as actors, as instances. According to Shelton, visual ads have to be more entertaining rather than communicating. They can be for a cause also. LEVI’s ad initiating a Wall Street protest was shown as an example. Mr. Shelton also talked about earlier ads being static and presently being shifted to the digital medium. Now ads can be seen even in posts, stories, tiktok and reels. According to Mr. Shelton, the latest evolutionary change happening in advertisement is the evolving of microstory format. Mr. Shelton ended his beautiful speech by telling us that it is attitude that makes us stick to the field of ads.
The webinar which lasted for one and a half hours was exciting and engaging with its visually packed content and Shelton’s amusing and light-hearted proposition. At the end of the session, students could pour out their queries to which Mr. Shelton gave warm, lively responses.
International Webinar on Historical Fiction
Coordinated by the Post Graduate Department of English and the Department of History in Mother Theresa College, an international webinar was conducted on Saturday, 10 October 2020, on the topic “Historical Fiction and its Contemporary Relevance”. Dr. Koshy A. V., Assistant Professor of English in Jazan University of Saudi Arabia, was the invited speaker. Dr. Koshy is the present editor of Fasihi magazine and has been nominated for the Pushcart Prize for Poetry, USA and Lifi Publications’ The Hindu Literary Prize for Fiction. His major works are “A Treatise on Poetry for Beginners”, “Samuel Beckett’s English Poetry” and “The Significant Anthology”.
Dr. Koshy commenced his talk by quoting the renowned writer James Joyce and his “Ulysses” in which Dedalus says “History is a nightmare from which I am trying to awake.” According to Dr. Koshy, reality is the real nightmare and history is the restoration to vitality. Historical fiction provides us with ways and means to deal with reality and hints at what should be done and what should not. He stated Albert Camus’s novel “The Plague” as a guiding historical fiction for the present pandemic period. He then differentiated the ways in which students and historians look at history. Historians regard history as a narration of past events whereas we, the students of literature or writers, remake or reinterpret history the way we want.
Reading history can sometimes be boring. But reading historical fiction is interesting, as it is a way of lying that brings us closer to the reality or historical facts. Thus historical fiction is a blend of reality and fiction. Works of this kind can have historical settings and real, historical characters. Time, place and social milieu have to be portrayed accurately for which the writer needs extensive research. There have been authors who wrote realistic novels of their time which later became renowned works of historical fiction. Charles Dickens’s “Hard Times” is an instance. Dr. Koshy does not forget to identify historical fiction with present day theory. According to him, historical fiction is a post modern thought and anything can be historical and anything can be fiction. What he meant is that we can identify instances of history in non-historical as well as non-literary works.
The webinar undoubtedly stirred the thoughts of those who listened as is evident from the question-answer session which followed. Participants who were attending the webinar on the Zoom platform as well as people who were watching it on YouTube live raised some relevant doubts. Moderators asked those questions to the speaker to which he gave liberal responses. Ms. Anamika S. , Assistant Professor of English, was the host of the programme. Dr. Sathiyaraj A. , HOD History, welcomed the guests. The principal Dr. K. M. Francis inaugurated the webinar and Prof. M. T. Joseph, HOD English, delivered the felicitation speech. The programme ended with the vote of thanks delivered by Mrs. Saira Kadavil, Assistant Professor of English.
TALK BY THE CREATOR OF ‘BUTTERFINGERS’
The Department of English hosted a special expertise talk on ‘Writing Skills’ on August 22, 2019. The special invitee was Mrs. Khyrunnisa Vijayakumar, former lecturer of All Saints College, Trivandrum. Mrs. Khyrunnisa with her flamboyant personality interacted with the students of English department. She presented various points on the topic writing skills and added many scores to reading skills also. Her charismatic speech enlightened the audience. The two hour talk, that started from 11 a.m. , was a complete lively session with active orator–student interaction.
Certificate Course in ‘Functional English for Professionals’
A course designed to make yourself competitive to achieve your professional goals.
Objective:
- To improve the student’s language skills and refine their fluency with accuracy
- To focus on the key aspects of writing skills, enabling the student to communicate with confidence
PG Click here
UG Click here
ACHIEVEMENTS
Adya.P
BA English Language and Literature
University of Kerala
2015 - 2018
Gayathri A.R
BA English language and Literature
University of Kerala
2016-2019