Katra, Mar 26. Dr. Amitabh V. Dwivedi, Faculty at Shri Mata Vaishno Devi University, presented paper titled, “Register of Games: A Study of the Language of Games in India” while participating in Two Day National Seminar at University of Kashmir. More than 50 delegates & presenters across the country participated in the event, and where around 36 research papers were presented and 4 plenary sessions were conducted. The Seminar was organized by the Department of Linguistics, University of Kashmir. The delegates across the country presented their papers and held discussions on issues pertaining to Applied Linguistics, Stylistics and Lexicography. The scholars focused on diverse concepts and approaches related to the core theme. Dr. Dwivedi’s paper laid emphasis on saving traditional games and revitalizing cultural heritage.

SMVDU Katra: Dr. Amitabh V. Dwivedi, Head, School of Languages & Literature, SMVDU and a Linguist, chaired an academic session at GDC Udhampur in a Two-Day National Conference on ‘Routing the Rootless: Exploring the Literatures on the Indigenous Cultures” on 02 December 2017. During the interactive session, ten paper presenters, including college lectures and research scholars, presented their papers on Indigenist Cultures, Dalit Studies, and Decolonized Methodologies. Dr. Dwivedi emphasized that such activities are important for establishing a culture of knowledge sharing among academicians and research scholars. Further, he thanked the convener Prof. Anuradha Kalsi and the organizing secretary Prof. Kamaldeep Kaur for inviting him as a Resource Person.

Ms. Surbhi Sharma, researcher, School of Languages & Literature, attended ‘One week GIAN course’ on “Twentieth Century Narrative: Five African American Practitioners” organized by School of Languages, Literature and Culture Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. Prof. Amritjit Singh, former President MELUS and SALA, & Professor of English and African American Studies at Ohio University, was the course instructor. He delivered his lectures on the topics such as understanding the significance of African American writing in the 20th Century; Exploring issues of class, ideology and gender in American culture; and Encouraging and supporting comparative readings between African American and Ethnic American Literature and Indian Literatures. The SMVDU researcher made a presentation on the topic- ‘Writing of W.E.B Du Bois: On our Spiritual Strivings”. The course really benefited her in updating the knowledge of her research area.

SMVDU Katra: The Research Students of the School of Languages & Literature at Shri Mata Vaishno Devi University, Katra, namely Ms. Akanksha Sharma; Ms. Ayushi; Ms. Parul Priya; Ms. Akanksha Badyal; Mr. Ravi Parihar; Ms. Subah Gautam; Ms. Adishree Vats; and Ms. Surbhi Sharma attended and participated in the Two-Day Young Writers’ Festival organized by the Sahitya Akademi in association with the Department of English, Central University of Jammu on 29-30 November 2017. The Festival had Poetry and Story Reading Sessions in various Indian languages: Dogri, Hindi, Punjabi, English, Kashmiri, Rajasthani, Urdu, and Sanskrit. The young researchers of Shri Mata Vaishno Devi University, Katra really got inspired after listening to different writers’ works and got motivated. Dr. Amitabh V. Dwivedi, Head, School of Languages & Literature thanked Prof. Deepshikha Kotwal, Dean of School of Languages, Central University of Jammu, for providing the Research Students with this wonderful opportunity.

SMVDU Katra: Dr. Amitabh V. Dwivedi and Dr. Anurag Kumar, the faculty members of School of Languages and Literature, Shri Mata Vaishno Devi University, presented their papers on Rethinking Translation and Dalit Humanism & Counter public respectively in XX International Conference on Humanities Across Cultures organized by Princeton University & Louisiana State University in collaboration with Forum on Contemporary Theory. The sessions were chaired by Prof. Gayatri Chakraborty Spivak, University of Columbia, Prof. Hans Ulrich, Stanford University, Prof. William Pederson and Prof. Simon Gikandi, Louisiana State University, and others. More than hundred delegates participated from Africa, Latin America, US, Europe, and South Asia.

Dr. Quleen Kaur Bijral, an alumnus of Shri Mata Vaishno Devi University, was recently invited as a Chief Guest at the English Language Week celebrated by Model Academy, the Prestigious School of MIER. Dr. Quleen has pursued and successfully concluded her Ph.D. study under the supervision of Dr. Vandana Sharma, Dean and Head of Department of Languages & Literature, SMVD University. The highlight of The English Language Week, as an important annual literary/cultural event of Model Academy was 'Meet the Author' in which Dr. Quleen, columnist and author from Jammu was invited to interact and share her experiences with the students. Rupa Gupta, Management Representative, Pramod Srivastava, Principal Model Academy along with Usha Gadoo, Vice Principal welcomed the author and commended her for her pioneering achievements and accomplishments.

In the session, Dr. Quleen enthralled the audience with the creative, exciting and vibrant joy of writing. While sharing her interesting experiences and anecdotes, Dr. Quleen also narrated the journey of her maiden novel “The Witch Some Witch” published by Partridge India, a Penguin Company. She further impressed upon the audience, the aesthetic as well as educative importance of reading and writing which can empower one with an agency to speak, interact and better the world. This was followed by an insightful interactive session where the students asked curious questions about her book 'The Witch Some Witch' – the primal theme, hero of the novel, message and genre. At the end of the session, Dr. Quleen on popular request also enthralled the audience with a performance of her self-composed Urdu ghazal which was lapped up with a resounding applause.

The English Language Week was packed with an array of fun filled activities that provided the students with a platform to showcase their language skills through various ingenious activities using English as medium of expression. The students of Middle wing from classes 6th to 8th presented William Shakespeare's one act play,' The Merchant of Venice'. It was a treat to see young children dress up in different characters of the play and speak Shakespearean dialogues while performing their parts. The students of Senior Secondary wing from classes 9th to 12th participated in the debate competition on the topic 'Demonetisation a Utopian Idea'. The winners of various competitions were awarded with certificates of honour. Rupa Gupta, along with Pramod Srivastava, Usha Gadoo, and Manjari Sehgal, Manager Academics, attended the programme on the concluding day. The programme was coordinated by Manju Vali, Convenor Co-Curricular Committee along with English language teachers, Samy Bajaal, Sumeera, Ambica and Priya Malhotra.