Reading means something different for everyone. Each person develops their reading skills as per their requirements. Some read to find information while others read to mine information. Some read to learn, and some read to laugh, some read to be entertained and some to escape. From reading the labels on new products to newspapers to novels, the objectives of reading can be plenty.

The Department of English is bringing Prof Manan Ahmed – Associate Professor, Columbia University to shed light on the reading approach and the reading skills of a historian in an interesting and interactive session.

Date: February 17, 2022

Time: 07.00 pm IST

About the Speaker:

Manan Ahmed, Associate Professor of History at Columbia University in the City of New York, is a historian of South Asia and the littoral western Indian Ocean world from 1000-1800 CE. His areas of specialisation include intellectual history in South and Southeast Asia, critical philosophy of history, colonial and anti-colonial thought. Two of his books The Loss of Hindustan: The Invention of India (2020) and A Book of Conquest: The Chachnama and Muslim Origins in South Asia (2016) are published by Harvard University Press.

Abstract:

“Reading Skills” brings to mind dreadful reading comprehension passages given in schools and courses in communication skills. However, reading is much more about finding answers to given questions. It is about finding the questions to ask of a passage, blog, article, literary texts, and historical texts. In this talk and interaction, Prof Manan Ahmed would walk us through a historian’s approach to reading. The programme is intended to be a part of the department’s larger initiative to organise interactions around “Language and Society” to address all kinds of conversations about language, communication, writing, speaking, thinking, and at a deeper level, about connecting with others.

Click here to join this exclusive session and develop an insight on reading through the experiences of our esteemed speaker.

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The Department of English at SRM University-AP invites you to an engaging webinar on November 26, 2021, at 11.00 am. Mr Jairam Ramesh, Member of Parliament representing the state of Andhra Pradesh, will be the guest speaker of the day.

Writing is a process of pain and pleasure. Every writer approaches, experiences, and survives it in a unique way. In this talk and interaction, Mr Jairam Ramesh would share his idea and process of writing. His talk would be followed by an interaction about his latest book The Light of Asia: The Poem That Defined The Buddha (Penguin, 2021). The talk is intended to be a part of the Department’s larger initiative to organise interactions around “Language and Society” to address all kinds of conversations about language, communication, writing, speaking, thinking, and at a deeper level, about connecting with others.

About the Speaker:

Jairam Ramesh is presently a Member of Parliament and Chairman of Parliament’s Standing Committee on Science and Technology, Environment, Forests and Climate Change. He was Union Minister between 2006 and 2014 and held several portfolios including Commerce, Power, Environment and Forests, Drinking Water and Sanitation and Rural Development. He played a key role in global climate change negotiations in 2009 and 2010. He is also the author of several well-known books some of which are Green Signals: Ecology, Growth and Democracy in India, Old History, New Geography: Bifurcating Andhra Pradesh, To the Brink and Back: India’s 1991 Story, Indira Gandhi: A Life in Nature, Intertwined Lives: PN Haksar and Indira Gandhi, A Chequered Brilliance: The Many Lives of V.K. Krishna Menon and The Light of Asia: The Poem that defined the Buddha.

We encourage you to make use of this exclusive opportunity to interact with Mr Jairam Ramesh and understand the nuances of the writing process on November 26, 2021, at 11.00 am.

Register here!