NEWSLETTER – JUNE 2007

MELUS-MELOW 2007

INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON LITERATURE IN TIMES OF VIOLENCE (March 22-24, 2007)

At the Department of English, Panjab University, Chandigarh, India

A REPORT

MELUS-INDIA (The Society for the Study of the Multi-Ethnic Literature of the United States – India Chapter) and MELOW (The Society for the Study of the Multi-Ethnic Literatures of the World) held an International conference in Chandigarh, India, on 22-24 March 2007 The major theme of the conference was LITERATURE IN TIMES OF VIOLENCE. The sub-theme for MELUS-India was “Literature in Times of Violence: The American Response” and for MELOW it was “Contemporary World Literatures in Times of Violence”.

Before proceeding any further, it may be relevant to take a retrospective look at the history and background of the event.

MELUS-India is now ten years old. It was founded in 1997 as the India Chapter of MELUS, the Society for the Study of the Multi-Ethnic Literature of the United States. Academics, particularly those who work in American Studies, would be aware of this organization which, under the leadership of Katherine Newman, came into being in the ’seventies as a reaction to WASP-centered teaching and research in the US. As the society grew, it expanded beyond the borders of the USA, reaching out to scholars and researchers across the Atlantic, into Europe where MELUS-Europe came into being as its first chapter outside the US. In 1997, MELUS-India, the second chapter followed, becoming part of this international chain.

Like the ‘parent’ organization, MELUS-India expresses the collective desire of students and scholars to form a global network for mutual interaction. One of its important aims is to encourage the pursuit of art and literature from de-centered perspectives. MELUS-India has a membership of more than a hundred academics and the numbers are steadily growing. To date the Organization has already conducted eight successful well-attended international conferences. On March 22-24, 2007, in Chandigarh, it convened its eighth conference which was attended by delegates from different parts of the country and from abroad.

MELOW (the Society for the Study of the Multi-Ethnic Literatures of the World) grew as an off-shoot of MELUS-India at its March 2005 Conference. There was a strong feeling taking root among members of MELUS-India that an association just for the Literatures of the USA was not enough. American literature needed to be studied from a comparatist perspective and evaluated vis-à-vis other literatures of the world. At the same time, the ‘American Studies’ scenario in India had changed. It was not what it was twenty years ago, when everyone was doing American Studies and happy enough with American Studies per se. With the emergence of new areas of study, and with the academic focus shifting to fresh, unexplored areas, it is now no longer possible to remain isolated from events and developments around us; enthused with the spirit of inquiry, MELUS-India members wanted to remove all blinkers, look around, re-vision the world, and re-assess their positions in the changing times.

So the members of MELUS-India together floated a parallel organization and called it MELOW (Society for the Study of the Multi-Ethnic Literature of the World). MELOW is now a registered body that co-exists with MELUS-India, organizing activities and conferences in conjunction. Managing the affairs of MELUS-MELOW (for convenience, this is how the twin societies will henceforth be referred to) is a team of senior university-level professors from across the country. It has an International Advisory Board that keeps it connected with similar organizations abroad and a membership of more than a hundred, comprising senior, middle level, and research scholars. In other words, the Society has sound credibility not only in India but also in the international arena. Its conferences are announced on the internet via internationally known listservs. It publishes selected essays presented at the conferences. It has a website, www.melusmelow.org which is updated periodically.

The aim of MELUS-MELOW is to establish a global network of like-minded scholars engaged in intellectual pursuits. It has made a niche for itself in the international arena, judging from the number of participants from abroad every year, and collaborates with other similar bodies in India, in the US and in Europe. It pays a special attention to upcoming, young scholars, giving them a forum where they can interact with senior academics. With effect from 2007, a special award has been instituted for the best paper presented by a young scholar at the conference.

THE CONFERENCE OF 2007:

The major theme of the Conference: “Literature in Times of Violence”.

Out of the quarrels with ourselves, if we believe Yeats, literature is created. In fact it is not just the quarrel with ourselves that is responsible for the production of literature, the turbulence of the times also contributes much to it. We live in times of upheaval when one is assaulted physically, emotionally and psychologically from all quarters. Despite the trauma, however, one survives and plods along the best way possible. Artists continue to produce works of art, musicians create music and writers compose their masterpieces. But, one may ask, how does literature respond to the legacy of mass violence and political conflict? Does the creative mind buckle under the pressures or does it rise above them all to create mournful music? And how does the reader respond to the various tensions that go into the making of great literature? What models are available for understanding these literary responses to the turbulence of the times? Do poetry, fiction, drama and film help us find words and images to understand national and international catastrophes? Can literature narrate mass violence? Does it try to escape violence? Can it be a substitute for violence? Is it a cure or a panacea? Or the symptom of a deeper malaise? The MELUS-India 2007 Conference explored these and related issues, taking up diverse genres of American Literature. The MELOW 2007 Conference explored the same issues, focusing on literatures of the world over the last fifty years. Literature cannot do away with violence completely. However, it can help us cope with it. It can give solace and make life more bearable. The two Conferences (MELUS and MELOW) were held in tandem. While the first focused on American Literature, the second explored the same theme in world literature. Keynote speakers were Emory Elliott (Distinguished Professor Of English, University Of California, Riverside, CA, USA) and Alok Bhalla (Professor Of English, Central Institute of English and Foreign Languages, Hyderabad).

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE CONFERENCE:

This year’s gathering was larger than usual in terms of numbers. A total of almost two hundred delegates attended the conference, of which at least thirty were foreign nationals who had traveled to India especially for the occasion. Prof. RC Sobti, Vice Chancellor, Panjab University graced the Inaugural Session as the Chief Guest and expressed his pleasure at the conduct of a truly impressive convergence with wide international representation. He was appreciative of the commendable work that the Department of English has been consistently doing in this direction for a long time and assured the organizers all possible help from the administration. Ms Sarina Paranjape who represented the USEFI, was the Guest of Honor on the occasion.

The conference began on a solemn note with a “shraddhanjali,” a tribute to the late Professor Isaac Sequeira whose absence was strongly felt throughout the conference. MELUS-MELOW has dedicated its latest publication – selected papers from the 2005 conference – to the memory of its patron, Prof Sequeira. Right from the inception of MELUS-India, Isaac Sequeira had taken on the role of the guiding light. He was always there when needed, attended all the conferences, gave necessary advice and direction from time to time. As a friend, teacher and role-model, he was a person everyone looked up to. He passed away suddenly on the 7th of September, 2006, leaving behind a big void in the world. We, at MELUS-MELOW will miss him!

Tributes to Prof Sequeira have been coming in from all corners of the globe. In particular, it may be mentioned that a former colleague at the ASRC, Hyderabad, M. Tahir, has a blogsite (http://dearer.blogspot.com/2006/09/prof-isaac-sequeira-1930-2006.html) dedicated to him. In appreciation of his life-time contribution to American Studies in India, the USEFI awarded him a posthumous award in early March 2007. The plaque was presented in Hyderabad to Prof. Sequeira’s nephew, Hector Sequeira. USEFI also brought out a special obituary for the grand old man in the Fall 2006 issue of their newsletter. (http://www.fulbright-india.org/uploads/IF%20Fall%202006.pdf) MELUS-MELOW has announced a special fund in his name called the Isaac Sequeira Memorial Fund (see details on the website) and invited contributions from all his friends and well-wishers. The aim of this fund is to give an award (cash prize and certificate) to a promising young scholar who presents the best paper at the conferences. Generous contributions for this fund have come in; Prof Sequeira’s nieces from Australia, Hazel, Henrietta and Hilda, have made generous contributions in the name of their dearly loved uncle. As a result, we are hopeful of meeting our target soon. At some point, when we have adequate funding, we would also like to have an invited participant/delegate in Prof Sequeira’s name.

At the inaugural session, Sharon O’ Brien, Professor, Dept. of American Studies, Dickinson College, USA, paid a rich tribute to him and appreciated the profound expertise of Prof Sequeira who was not only an “academic parent” to a lot of established scholars in the country but also dedicated to his mission: despite a crippling financial crunch, he had continued to keep the doors of the erstwhile ASRC open with zeal, commitment and optimism.

Another noted stalwart of American Studies in India to be honoured at the conference was the late Prof. Darshan Singh Maini, one of the pioneers of the discipline, who had retired as the Head of the Department of English, Punjabi University, Patiala. Prof. Maini’s wife was present on the inaugural session of the conference and so was his son who had flown in from the Middle East especially for the event. Ms Sarina Paranjape, Program Officer, USEFI, spoke of Prof. Maini’s legendary scholarship in the field of American Studies and presented a memento to Mrs Maini and Mr MS Maini.

Prof. GR Kataria, President MELUS-India, in his Presidential address pointed out that the organization endeavors to improve relations between different peoples and emphasized the need for an environment academically sound and politically correct because only in such a milieu can the spirit of research and scholarship flourish. The canon of White Male Eurocentric literature has been dismantled and MELUS has provided a wonderful forum to bring the literary art of ethnic minorities into the limelight. Quoting many poets, novelists and dramatists who wrote pertinently on the theme of war and violence, Prof. Kataria pointed out that the human metal is tested in times of violence.

Dr. Emory Elliott, Professor and Director, Center for Ideas and Society, Department of English, University of California, Riverside, USA, delivered the MELUS keynote address. Entitled “American Studies in a Turbulent World,” his was an objective appraisal that admitted the pretence of utopian myths created by America and critiqued the gaps between the outer façade and actual realities. Prof. Alok Bhalla from CIEFL, Hyderabad delivered the MELOW keynote address on “Violence and the Politics of Religious Identities in Partition Fictions.” He underscored the dissimilarities in the fictional representations of the partition of the Indian subcontinent and other partitions in Europe. Referring to the myths and realities of the partition, he established that nowhere before the event was the Indian partition seen as the inevitable consequence of long lasting communal hatred.

Through twenty-five tightly-packed sessions, plenary and parallel, delegates presented their papers and engaged in a serious exchange of ideas. The theme of the conference being interdisciplinary, there was a lot of scope for crossing boundaries and making intertextual, comparisons and analyses. In the globalized scenario today it is not possible for a discipline to remain isolated from world affairs; there is an urgent need to widen horizons and relate to the areas across borders. Conferences organized by MELUS-MELOW keep this aim in view and encourage their participants to undertake interdisciplinary explorations. Further, such a gathering of scholars encourages camaraderie, fellow-feeling and mutual support. The members come together like a family, exchange ideas and concepts, channelizing their enthusiasm and energy in a positive direction, contributing to the formation of an academic network that goes round the globe, making it one large, extended family.

OTHER ACTIVITIES AT THE CONFERENCE:

A BOOK EXHIBITION was held in the foyer of the English Auditorium. This was a great boon, particularly for those who had come from far-off places which do not have easy access to the latest publications. In their free moments delegates could browse through the titles and make necessary purchases. A FILM SHOW was organized by Somdatta Mandal as an extension of the paper she presented in a plenary session of the conference.

Non-academic events at the conference included a CULTURAL PROGRAM in the evening, followed by a special dinner, a SOUND AND LIGHT SHOW which is a very new event in Chandigarh, a CITY TOUR on the Hop-on-Hop-off double-decker operated by Chandigarh Tourism. A GROUP PHOTO (not an easy task, considering our numbers!) was taken at the Open Air Theatre of Panjab University’s Dept of Indian Theatre, courtesy its gracious Chairperson, Neelam Mansingh. An amphitheatre of sorts, it formed an impressive natural backdrop to the large number of delegates who braved the midday sun to pose for perpetuity in a picture!

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS:

This was a self-funded conference in which all the money spent on the conference came from Delegate and Membership Fee contributed by the participants. However, MELUS-MELOW received some sponsorship from affiliated colleges of Panjab University. A BROCHURE carrying advertisements from sponsors was published to mark the occasion.

Some TRAVEL GRANTS for selected participants came from the American Center, New Delhi. MELUS-MELOW would like to express its gratitude for the support.

We are also grateful to the USEFI and its Executive Director, Prof Jane Schukoske, for continued support of our activities. Fulbright House was represented by Ms Sarina Paranjape at the conference. We look forward to further interaction with them in the coming years, too.

FUTURE PLANS:

Our conferences are planned at least a year in advance. The next conference will be held in Shantiniketan, WB. The dates are 28, 29 and 30th November 2008. As soon as Dr Somdatta Mandal (who will be the Local Secretary) can work out the details with her colleagues, they will be announced on our website: www.melusmelow.org

Until then, keep a sharp lookout! And take care!

Ciao, ciao!

MANJU JAIDKA (Secretary)

(This Newsletter has been compiled with the help of the participants who attended the Refresher Course at the Dept of English, PU, Chandigarh, in March 2007, and also participated in our Conference. Ms Sukhpreet Bhatia of MCMDAV College, in particular, deserves a special word of thanks for her efforts at putting together the information.)

THE ISAAC SEQUEIRA MEMORIAL PRIZE FOR 2007

There is a tie for the 2007 Prize which is shared by

• Dr. Roshan Lal Sharma of PG Govt College, Solan

And

• Dr Namrata Sharma of Doaba College Jalandhar

Their papers were adjudged the best presented by younger scholars (below 40) at the 2007 conference.