Call for Papers

International Conference on Teaching English Literature and Interdisciplinarity

Organised by

East West University and Association of Teachers of Literatures in English, Bangladesh 28 & 29 July 2023, Dhaka

Interdisciplinarity refers to an approach to teaching and research that brings different academic disciplines in dialogue with one another. Although there might not be fundamental changes in the purpose of studying and teaching, English departments across the world are increasingly becoming interdisciplinary by engaging with diverse disciplines such as history, philosophy, psychology, anthropology, sociology, gender studies, gerontology, urban studies and so on. Even a cursory historical mapping of the academic trajectory of English Studies reveals how it has incorporated ideas, insights and methodologies from other disciplines in order to interpret texts and, by extension, life and the world around us. Emerging contemporaneously with the institutionalisation of theory and cultural studies in the 1970s, the notion of interdisciplinarity underpins shared interpretive and theoretical approaches and methodologies across related academic disciplines

The principle of interdisciplinarity automatically acknowledges the essential interconnectedness among various areas of knowledge, promoting inclusivity and flexibility in discursive coverage as well as pedagogical perspectives. When used as an interpretive tool/method, interdisciplinarity promises multiple possible meanings of a text, and at the same time allows its practitioners to engage with issues that go beyond strictly ‘literary’ and involve larger humanity. This results in widening the impact of our works as teachers and scholars of English literature.

The upcoming conference, which is being organised jointly by the Department of English, East West University and Association of Teachers of Literatures in English, Bangladesh (ATLEB), aspires to provide the practitioners of English Studies from diverse academic locations with an occasion for further explorations into different aspects of teaching English and interdisciplinarity.

Our suggested topics include but are not limited to:

• Literature and Cultural Studies
• Women and Gender Studies
• Postcolonialism, Neocolonialism, Decolonisation
• Gerontology
• Marxism
• Literature, Power and Hegemony
• History and Literature
• Literature and Philosophy
• Environment and Ecocriticism
• Literature, Film and Media Representations
• Literature and Performative Arts
• Literature and Pedagogical practices
• Glocalization of English
• Alternative narratives/modes of writing
• Language/Narrative and oppression
• Global English(es) as a challenge to pedagogical practices
• Nationalism, Transnationalism and Literature
• Cross-cultural use of languages in multimodal forms
• Literature and/in translation
• Digital Humanities

Please send your abstract (200- 250 words) and your short bio (50-100 words) to:

conference.interdisciplinarity@gmail.com 

Please mention your preferred sub-theme(s) while submitting your abstract.

Last date of abstract submission: May 7, 2023

Confirmation/ Acceptance of abstract: May 31, 2023

Duration of paper presentation: 15 minutes

 Registration Fees and Details:

    Local Presenters: BDT 2000

    ATLEB & EWU Presenters: BDT 1500

    Student Presenters: BDT 1000

    International Presenters: USD 50

Registration will open on June 5, 2023.

The Keynote Speakers are:

Professor Claire Chambers, University of York, UK

Professor Rajeev S Patke, National University of   Singapore