Ganderbal, Oct 13: The Department of English at the Central University of Kashmir (CUKashmir) on Monday commenced a three-day online international conference titled “From Words to Worlds: English Language and Literatures – Reimagining Margins, Ecologies and Digital Futures.”
Prof. Sandhya Tiwari, Head of the Department of English and convener of the conference, delivered the welcome address and presented the concept note, outlining the role of English in exploring Dalit, tribal, gender, ecological and digital perspectives.
Presiding over the inaugural session, Vice-Chancellor Prof. A. Ravinder Nath highlighted the transformative power of language and appreciated the department’s initiative to bring global perspectives on marginal voices, environmental humanities and AI-driven digital futures to the Kashmir Valley.
Prof. Y. L. Srinivas, Vice-Chancellor of Samakka Sarakka Central Tribal University, Telangana, attended as chief guest and stressed the need to preserve endangered and lesser-known languages as repositories of cultural memory and identity.
Prof. Shahid Rasool, Dean Academic Affairs, highlighted the relevance of borderland narratives and the intersection of technology and pedagogy in English language teaching.
The conference has attracted participation from scholars across eight Indian states and countries including Indonesia, the UAE and Tajikistan. The programme features plenary lectures, panel discussions and research paper presentations on postcolonial studies, ecocriticism, digital humanities and language revitalisation.
The academic sessions began with a plenary lecture by Dr. Ni Kadek Surpi of Universitas Hindu Negeri, Indonesia, on Sanskrit adaptation and English-mediated Vedic translation in Indonesia. Dr. Amitabh Vikram Dwivedi of Shri Mata Vaishno Devi University delivered a lecture on descriptive linguistic fieldwork and the revitalisation of lesser-known languages and cultures.
The first technical session, chaired by Dr. Nagaraju Mandly of the University of Hyderabad, featured six research presentations on language learning, cultural identity, gender, linguistic competence and artificial intelligence.
Presentations examined storytelling and African identity, Dalit feminist consciousness in Bama’s Karukku and Sangati, naming and hegemony in Kipling’s Lispeth, linguistic competence in dramatic discourse, and algorithmic bias in generative artificial intelligence.
The inaugural session was attended online by delegates, faculty members, research scholars and students.
