New directions in English studies

The recently held symposium on English studies in India at Hyderabad captured the exhilaration and satisfaction that comes from grappling with the essential dimensions of this crucial language issue, says PADMINI DEVARAJAN.

AT A time when the leading management mantra is change or die, what did the delegates who converged at the symposium on New Directions in English Studies at the campus of the Central Institute of English and Foreign Languages, Hyderabad, deliberate for three days? Certainly, the academics found a valid forum to discuss the fuzzy area inhabited by the term ``English Studies'' that has never ceased to bother them with its semantic range, a spectrum coloured with historical, cultural, social, ethnic and such bands, in the changing Indian context. At a time when the whole dynamic of engineering and technology is responding to wide-ranging changes, and information availability and management becomes crucial, this symposium manifested an urgent need to assess and modify the content and delivery of English studies in India.

What made the deliberations more meaningful was the presence of Prof. Sukanta Choudhury Prof. of English, Jadhavpur University, who delivered the Keynote Address. Prof. Choudhury made it clear that the delegates could voice their concerns, doubts, and suggestions, regarding the content of the curriculum. Being a member of the UGC curriculum development Committee, he could recommend these to the committee.

Prof. Venkata Reddy, Chairman, Indian Association for English Studies (IAES), was happy that this jointly organised symposium with CIEFL would lead to purposeful and functional changes in the area of English Studies. The Vice Chancellor of CIEFL, Prof. Pramod Talgeri, wondered whether the new dominance of Indian and other languages called for a replacement of English. The Constitution had wished for a replacement of English; but by a surreptitious cultural hegemony, English continues in a decontextualised state, divested of its nativeness. The CIEFL, he pointed out, supports efforts in areas where English is needed, especially the commodified type of English in imparting skills of English even to non- western countries. This brings along with it not only foreign exchange but also goodwill. CIEFL promotes serious thinking about English studies, to evolve training programmes and courses at the primary or secondary levels. It is capable of providing guidance in precise, relevant and appropriate courses for rural areas. But the danger is of the smaller marginalised cultures with rich cultural heritages losing their mother tongue to suffer cultural displacement. One has to be cautious of the other languages of the country. Are we to promote interstate communication at the cost of regional languages? There is also the prospect, of Indian languages losing their social and functional roles as they feature only in family circles, or religion and literary expression. Beyond this there is no scope for them to grow. Has the new Indian English decontextualised itself from the nativeness and recontextualised itself with native languages?

In a brilliant overview, Prof. Choudhury related the various facets and issues in this area and foresaw the immense possibilities and directions ahead. Curriculum development meant an open ended approach to the new emerging areas. Indian Writing in English had earlier occupied a status in the fringes and only slowly gained respectability and free entry into the curriculum. There is a new status for Indian Writing in English and other English literatures from former colonies. Can research move from set courses to newer areas? Can continental literatures in translation be included under English studies? Could this mean inclusion of Indian Literatures in English translation? There should be a move towards interdepartmental activities in the institutes of learning where the English departments co-exist with other departments.

Prof. Meenakshi Mukherjee aptly called the boundaries of English studies as porous. For teachers of the English faculty, there had always been questions about what is to be taught, how to teach and why teach the texts. These questions sought to redefine the entire domain against the disciplinary boundaries. Whatever might be the approach, be it the pure literary, formal, sociological, psychoanalytical, structural or linguistic, the transactional nature of English studies is apparent. It also easily appropriates literatures in Indian languages in translation. The inter-lingual and inter-disciplinary nature makes knowledge of other languages crucial. She talked of the ``historicity'' of the story and the ``storyness'' of the history. Journals in Indian languages carried nationalistic ideas as much as they also revealed the internalised nature of British thought. The aim of literary studies is to help students to decode the texts and learn to resist the manipulative forces. The porous borders cannot be closed or dispensed with either.

Prof. Rajeswari Sunder Rajan gave a synoptic retrospect and an overview of the changes and points of crises in English studies especially in the 1980s and 1990s. The IT boom, the mandal reforms, the opening of the economy, anti-colonial, anti- imperial, feminist and other perspectives, had opened up new dimensions to the subject of English studies. Prof. Yasmeen M. Lukmani felt that the current trends in research in ELT should ultimately lead to improve academic writing in general.

Prof. U. R. Anathamurthy spoke of the influences of both the mother tongue and English in the psyche and thought process of any individual, especially during the impressionable and growing years. He recalled these subtle effects that had nurtured and shaped his sensitivity in a very special manner. The impact of a poem on a reader is of a concentric kind, while the poet's effort is to be a liberating experience that fuses his poetic vision and language with newer and newer rhythms in a unique manner. Prof. Probol Dasgupta rightly showed that the contemporary history of English is related to the interfaces with other languages. The growing realisation that ceases to support the purists has led to an opening up in English classes.

Is it possible to re-situate English language studies, English Language teaching, and translated works in the contemporary context? Is it right to view English as the mother of all humanities as it had always played a hegemonic role? Many presenters tackled language-teaching techniques, and wondered about designing a language curriculum. The computer and the multi-media could be seen as an effective tool in this area. On the debate of language versus literature, all agreed that neither could function in mutually exclusive pockets. There were also presentations on literature studies that revealed specialist depth and scholarship.

The symposium captured the exhilaration and satisfaction that comes from grappling with the essential dimension of this crucial issue of English Studies. As the curriculum needs have changed, the academics present have realised the changing aspects of their professional roles. The intellectual excitement that was generated in the panel discussions during the final lap of the symposium, portends the changes that are likely to influence the curriculum to become more sensitive to the innumerable changes that constantly overtake us. There is hope that the clarity, analysis and insight of the discussions might have a bearing on the design and expanded content of the new curriculum, and not remain a mere window dressing.

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