Fatema Aftab Miah
DEH Orientation: Spring 2024
The start of DEH’s academic semester started off with the Orientation Program that welcomed both BA and MA students alike on Jan 18, 2024. Much like its predecessors, the program housed a theme, this one being “Spring to Excellence”.
Ms. Arifa Ghani Rahman, Head and Associate Professor of the English Department, gave a welcome speech to commence the program, providing students with guidance on how to make the most of their time at the institution and develop into people they can be proud of. Shortly afterwards, Professor Kaiser Haq, Dean of the School of Arts and Humanities, as well as Professor Shamsad Mortuza, Special Advisor to the ULAB Board of Trustees, followed suit with their respective words of encouragement to the fresh faces of ULAB.
The Orientation Speaker of the event was DEH alumna, Ms. Shamael Mortuza, who is currently working as an ESL/EAP instructor for adult learners in the Greater Toronto Area in Canada. During her speech, Ms. Mortuza advised the students of the department – especially those with interest in the realm of linguistics – to never hesitate in making their voices heard in a classroom and hold true in the face of new experiences.
The event was concluded with a beautiful collage of a song and a recitation by Afifah Farzana of MA Batch 241.
Spring 2024 Graduate Seminar
Every semester, MA students in the English program are nominated by their course instructors to present research papers they produced for class at the Graduate Student Seminar, which is hosted by the Department of English and Humanities. The caliber of the papers they have produced determines their nominations and the presenters are given an opportunity to not only present their work, but to also inspire others to participate in the department’s initiative of sharing research findings.
10th Curriculum Integration Program, Spring 2024
One of the most happening events to have occurred this term was the online CI forums on the topic “Navigating Geopolitical Realities: The Role of Language and Literature”. The event was hosted by Golam Kader Zilany, Senior Lecturer at DEH, who was also the coordinator of the program.
The first online forum was held on February 12 with Sudeep Chakravarti, Associate Professor and Director of the Centre for South Asian Studies, as the forum speaker. After explaining the intricacies of geopolitics, Mr. Chakravarti continued to deliver a very informative and moving presentation on the topic.
The second forum was also held online, taking place on the 19th of February. ULAB’s very own Dean, School of Arts and Humanities, Professor Kaiser Haq was the speaker of the session. Professor Haq delivered insights on his perspective of the issue as well as formulated potential strategies for redefining language and literature.
Book Launch: Bangla File by John Drew and The New Frontier by Kaiser Haq
On the 6th of March, ULAB proudly hosted an event that launched two new books, one by Professor Kaiser Haq, Dean, School of Arts and Humanities, and former faculty and Cambridge-based poet, John Drew.
John Drew was able to join the event via zoom and discuss the process and efforts that went into the creation of his latest publication, Bangla File, which is a collection of poignant essays and verses. He was then followed by Professor Haq who engaged the audience in a conversation regarding his new book titled The New Frontier.
The other discussants of the book launch were Syed Manzoorul Islam, Professor Emeritus, Department of English, University of Dhaka, Sudeep Chakravarti, Associate Professor and Director of the Centre for South Asian Studies and Angshuman Kar, Professor, Department of English and Cultural Studies, University of Burdwan.
Debate Competition called “Battle of Bards”
ULAB’s English Zone hosted an interactive debate session on April 3, 2024, to assist students in learning the fundamentals of debating. Two groups of students were formed. Every debater had four minutes to offer their arguments for and against the assigned topic. Experienced debaters – Abrar Farhan Zaman, Batch 191 and Sahedul Islam Hira, DEH Alumni – judged
the debaters and offered helpful insights and remarks.