UGC sponsored Two Day National Level Interdisciplinary Seminar on

Religion and Popular Culture in the Indian Sub-Continent
 

Religion and faith have always been, and continue to be, vital aspects of the phenomenon we call popular culture. This is of special relevance in the Indian sub-continent, a region well-known for its popular religious cultures and forms. The aim of this seminar is to explore the pathways of these at once diverse and overlapping discourses and practices, focusing on their historical, political and ethical implications; their relation to mainstream and canonical components. The latter strategy is of crucial importance in a socio-political analysis of the complex body we identify as culture, since the relative positioning and shifts of cultural practices within any society throw critical light on the notion of culture itself - the way it is conceptualised in different contexts and at different moments, the politics behind such formulations, and the fissures submerged under a seemingly homogeneous term. The complex hierarchy of faiths and cultural practices in the Indian sub-continent simultaneously highlight and conceal the way identities have been engendered, and are constantly being (re) invented. We seek to investigate the multiple ethical and political histories of these negotiations, in particular, the bearing these have on the idea of a unitary identity, which, in its turn, is part of contemporary popular perception. The various syncretic traditions, the departures from official versions of religion and culture, the reasons and effects of such alienations, are germane to our project of studying identity-formation in this region. The increasing entanglement of aggressive religion and exclusivist politics in this area makes it imperative to be aware of the marginalisation of popular local forms. Whether rural or urban, in the form of oral or print literature, in the performing arts such as folk theatre and music, in popular media such as television or film, or in the visual arts, sub-continental ideologies are constantly being debated and impacted upon by religious ideologies. The influence of religion on culture and of culture on religion assume central importance in this context, and our purpose, in particular, is to bring out the ethical and political fallout of such power-knowledge transactions in this region.

We invite submissions from a diverse range of disciplines and critical perspectives. Presentations may be in the form of papers, performance pieces, lecture demonstrations, and multi-media approaches.


Proposals:
We accept the following proposals:

1. Individual papers/projects: please submit an abstract of no more than 259 words.

2. Performances and creative presentations: creative writing, visual art, film and dramatic performance.

• Send your abstracts/proposals to english@bethunecollege.ac.in

• Proposals should include title, contact information, and institutional affiliation

• Student papers are welcome

• The deadline for submitting proposals is November 30, 2010.

Seminar Schedule
 

	Day One
	December 7, 2010
	10.00 A.M.-10.45 A.M.	Registration
	10.45 A.M.	Welcome Address by Dr. Manjusha Sinha Bera, Officer-in-charge, Bethune College
	11.00 A.M.	Inauguration of Seminar and Exhibition
	11.20 A.M.	Keynote Address by Professor Gautam Bhadra, Rabindranath Tagore National Fellow
	12.20 P.M.-12.30 P.M.	TEA
	12:30 P.M.	Prof. J. L. Shaw, Senior Lecturer, Department of Philosophy, Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand
	01:30 P.M.-02.15 P.M.	LUNCH
	02:15 P.M.	Prof. Prasanta Ray, Professor Emeritus, Departments of Political Science and Sociology, Presidency College, Kolkata.
	Religion and Popular Culture in the Metropolis
	03.15 P.M.-03.30 P.M.	TEA
	03.30 P.M.	Panel Discussion: In the Name of God
	Panel Coordinator: Dr. Rachana Chakraborty, Associate Professor, Department of History, Calcutta University.
	Panelists: Tajuddin Ahmed, Assistant Professor, Purulia College, The Road Less Travelled: Seeds of Islamic Feminism in Early 20th Century Indian English Fiction by Muslim Women. Abdullah al-Mamun, Research scholar, Centre for Studies in Social Sciences, Kolkata, God Willing: The Politics of Islam in Bangladesh. Asmita Das, M. Phil. student, Dept. of Cultural Studies, English and Other Foreign Languages University, Hyderabad, Bollywood, Identity and Religion.
	04.20 P.M.	Exhibition

     Vote of Thanks