News & Updates | Department of Literature and Languages

The art of writing can be branched out into different types depending upon the purpose of each piece of writing. You might have come across varied styles of writing such as creative writing, academic writing, technical writing and many more. Have you ever tried to deduce the difference between all these writing styles? Well, we offer you an informative session that will help you gather a better understanding of different styles of writing.

The Department of English has scheduled a webinar on the topic “Academic Writing & Creative Writing” under the theme “Language and Society” with Prof Vanessa Sasson as the keynote speaker.

Date: May 05, 2022

Time: 6.30 PM IST

Academic writing and creative writing seem to be pulling the act of writing and the writers in two different directions. A lot of writers, especially aspiring writers, tend to think of both genres as catering to very different audiences and fulfilling very different needs in very different contexts. Does that mean you can be only one and not the other? Do you have to choose? And how do you decide what to commit to? In this talk, Prof Vanessa Sasson will share her experience of writing in both capacities and discuss the joys and challenges of both.

About the Speaker

Vanessa R Sasson is a professor of Religious Studies in the Liberal Arts Department of Marianopolis College where she has been teaching since 1999. She is also a Research Fellow at the University of the Free State and a Research Member for CERIAS at UQAM. She has published widely as a scholar, with a number of academic books to her credit. Her most recent book was published by the University of Hawaii Press (2021) and is entitled, Jewels, Jewelry, and Other Shiny Things in the Buddhist Imaginary. Yasodhara and the Buddha (Bloomsbury, 2021) is her first novel. She is currently completing the sequel.

Join the Webinar to master the art of writing!

Embracing one’s transgender identity is a tremendous act of courage in a world that refuses to acknowledge their very existence. The narrations of their trials and tribulations continue to prevail despite the measures taken by the state machinery to assert their rights or the transgender revolution that spilt over in recent times. So long as the society continues to deny them a conducive space to exert their existence, the transgender community will have to endure hardships in all walks of life. The present-day researchers have increasingly shifted their focus on the LGBTQIA+ community to unravel their survival tales and awaken the population to their basic human rights.

Dr Anu Kuriakose, Assistant Professor from the Department of English, has also been looking into transgender lives and the anomalies in their representation. Her research analyses the inclusion and representation of transgender people in Indian films with a specific focus on the shift in representational politics and inclusive strategies in films of late. She has recently published a paper titled “Deconstructing the Trans-Inclusivity Myth in Chandigarh Kare Aashiqui” in the Economic and Political Weekly.

The article offers a critical reading of the Hindi film Chandigarh Kare Aashiqui (2021), which appears to maintain an inclusive outlook towards the queer community. Through the article, Dr Anu draws attention to the glaring presence of transphobic and homophobic attributes even in such progressive films. Her research attempts to analyse whether there have been any significant shifts in trans representation and inclusion in contemporary cinema.

She has also published two chapters, “The Impact of COVID 19 Pandemic on Employment and Livelihood Opportunities of Transgender Community in Kerala” and “The Double Marginalization of Transgender People During the COVID 19 Pandemic”, in the books COVID-19 Pandemic and the New Normal and Keralam in the Path of Survival respectively. The works recount the unspoken sufferings underwent by the transgender community in Kerala during the pandemic times. The chapters were co-authored by her peer, Dr Vinshi P K.

Her upcoming research plans include addressing gender diversity and inclusion in academic discourses in the vernacular of Kerala and critically reviewing the representational politics of trans femininity in visual cultural texts. By researching the portrayals of transgender community, Dr Anu intends to enhance awareness on the deviant representation of queer community in the realms of literature.