English

Faculty

Principal Dr. Marie Fernandes M.A. DH.E, Ph.D Professor
(H.O.D)
Ms.Susan Lobo M.A, M.Phil, S.E.T Asst. Professor
Dr.(Ms.)Preeti Oza M.A., M.Phil., Ph.D., P.G.Diploma Mass Communication & Journalism. Asst. Professor

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Conferences

The Department of English organizes an annual UGC Sponsored International/National Conference on various themes attracting huge participation and paper presentation by academicians from all over the country. 

UGC-sponsored national conference ‘Routing the Rootless: Explorations into the Literatures of Indigenous Cultures’   11 September 2015

Keynote speaker: Ms. Jumiyr Basar

The conference highlighted the trials and tribulations of indigenous people all over the world, and focused on their representation in literature. Renowned nativist and theoretician, Dr. Ganesh Devy, sent us a paper we could read out in absentia. The paper, ‘Sita in the Kunkna Ramakatha’ enlightened us about a little-known account of Sita from an alternative perspective. Our other paper presenters, comprising faculty members from different colleges in the city, threw light on indigenous literature from India, Australia and the Caribbean.

New Picture (3)

Keynote Speaker Jumiyr Basar and Mr. Kanji Patel with the members of the department at the release of the department journal Ruminations

1. UGC Sponsored National Conference on “Pulitzer Prize Winning Women Writers”         12-13 September 2014

Keynote Speaker: Dr. Soonu Kapadia

The Conference saw participation from various universities all over India. Papers presentations ranged from Pulitzer Prize Winning African American writers, Confessional Poetry, Journalism and Indian Diasporic Writings.

2. UGC Sponsored National Conference on ‘Faith and Ideology in Literature’                            30 – 31August 2013

Keynote Speaker: Kiran Nagarkar, reputed novelist, addressed and mesmerized his audience on this subject, particularly in relation to his novel God’s Little Soldier.

Chief Guest: Fr. Albert Menezes s.j

Dr. Shireen Vakil and Prin. Dr. Sr. Ananda Amritmahal made a Comparative Study of Some Indian and European Mystic Poets

The Conference attracted a range of interesting papers on related subjects

– Bhakti and Mystic Poetry, Negro Spirituals and Fundamentalism in Literature.

3. UGC Sponsored International Conference on “Myth and Cult in Literature”  27-28 September 2012

Key note Speakers: Mr. Amish Tripathi famous Indian author, known for his novels: The Immortals of Meluha, The Secret of the Nagas and The Oath of the Vayuputras. The three books collectively comprise The Shiva Trilogy.

Dr. Coomi Vevaina, Head, Department of English, University of Mumbai.

Chief Guest: Dr. Dorothy Figueira, Honorary President, International Comparative Literature Association; Editor: Rechérche Litteraire / Literary Research; Professor, Comparative Literature at University of Georgia, USA.

85 papers were presented by delegates participating from 3 Countries, 39 Universities and 58 Colleges.

4.UGC Sponsored National Seminar: Literature: From Script to Screen.  9-10 September 2011

Keynote Speaker: Dr. Zankar, Director of Whistling Woods and Former Professor FTII Pune, Dr. Indraniyl Chakrovarty, Script Writer, FTII.

Scholars presented papers on a variety of subjects. They discussed how literary texts were altered and interpreted differently by film producers, for the medium of film is very different from the written word.

Perfume – In Search of the Fifth Sense by Pooja Sudhir,   Pune and The Gentle Art Of On-Screen Murder :Investigating The Screen Adaptations Of Agatha Christie’s Detective Fiction by Sucharita Sarkar were some of the very interesting papers that were presented.

UGC 11-1

5. UGC Sponsored International Seminar: Contemporary Criticism: Theory and Practice    18 September 2010

Keynote Speaker: Prof. Prafulla Kar – Retd. Head, Department of English, M.S. Unuversity, Baroda. Director, Centre for Contemporary Theory, and Balvant Parekh Centre for General Semantics and Other Human Sciences. Editor of Journal of Contemporary Thought

Guest of Honour: Dr. Roberto Bertilaccio, Cultural Attaché, Consulate General of Italy in Mumbai. Visiting Lecturer, Department of French, University of Mumbai.

UGC 10-1

6. International Conference: Gay and Lesbian Literature   21 November 2009

Keynote Speaker: Beth Milton, Vice Consul General – American Consulate.

Guest of Honour: Adv. Flavia Agnes

7. International Conference: Reality and Fantasy in Children’s Literature – 16 September 2008

Keynote Speaker: Dr. Clare Bradford, Deakin University, Australia.   

Publications

Journals:

Newsletter:

ELAN (English Literary Association Newsletter): Our newsletter (initiated in 2008-09) publishes the creative output of our students, thereby giving them a space to display their writing skills. It also gives them an opportunity to develop and hone other skills that are involved in bringing out a departmental publication.

 

                              

 

Film Week

2015-16 Children’s Cinema in India

  • I am Kalam
  • Makdee

The annual film week, based on the theme of children’s cinema in India was conducted in December and screened the above-mentioned films to highlight a marginal subject in Indian cinema, childhood and children.

2013-14: War Cinema

  • The Boy in the Stripped Pajamas.
  • Schindler’s List
  • The Diary of Anne Frank.

St. Andrew’s was proud to be one of the few colleges selected for the promotion of the critically acclaimed film ‘Ship of Theseus’, made by Anand Gandhi and promoted by Kiran Rao. Students engaged in a stimulating debate on the issues raised by the film, issues such as religion and morality, the organ donation racket, blindness and seeing

2012-13 :

Students were taken to the theatre for a screening of the film ‘Midnight’s Children’             based on the Booker Prize-winning novel by Salman Rushdie

TYBA Students completed a four week Film appreciation Certificate Course as a part of students’ Development Programme conducted by Shamiana, an NGO working for Film and Literature awareness in Sep 2012.

2011-12: Satire

  • Jaane bhi do yaaro
  • Gulliver’s Travel
  • Charlie Chaplin’s Modern Times.

2010-11: Feminism

  • She Devil
  • Mother India
  • Breakfast at Tiffany

Guest Lectures

2015-16

On 29 August. Sampurna Chatterjee, poet and translator, read out her poems and shared experiences related to those poems

On 8 September, debut novelist, Nim Gholkar, author of `’The Diary of an Immigrant Bride’,  born in a Maharashtrian community in Mumbai and now settled in Australia, spoke about her struggle to balance raising three children, working full-time  in the marketing department of a pharmaceutical company, and  writing a full-length novel.

On 12 December, Sooraj Bishnoi, a postgraduate student, conducted a session with student participants, making them construct a story by contributing bits and pieces related to pictures each of them had been given.

In February 2016, guest lectures were conducted by Dr. Shefali Shah (in association with K.C. College) and  Dr. Shireen Vakil (in association with Wilson College) on ‘Film and Literature’ for TYBA students.

2013-14

Guest lect -14-1Our ex-student Alfred Lee, a professional copywriter, spoke to our students on the highs and lows of Copywriting as a profession.

  • A series of guest lectures by –Dr. Indraneel             ( Faculty-FTII).
  • Dr. Shefali Shah ( HOD, English Department.    St. Xaviers College) and Ms. Pryianka                     (Cordinator- FTII, Pune)

 2012-13

  • The famed playwright, Mahesh Dattani, read from his award-winning play ‘Final Solutions’ and interacted with our students on theatre and performance.  24 September 2012
  • Career Guidance- Our ex-student, Adryan Gonsalves, delivered a lecture on law as a lucrative and satisfying career option after graduating with English Literature. 12 January 2013

 

2011-12

  • ‘Satire in Film’ by Jerry Pinto.
  • ‘Cinematography’ by Amitabh Singh (Professional Cinematographer)
  • ‘Formula for Academic Success’ by Fr. Bento
  • Series of guest lectures on Film by Prof. Hira Stevens

2010- 11

An interactive session with our ex-students

Guest Lect 2011-1

 

 

 

 

 

Literary Week

2015-16

  • Spell Bee (25 January)
  • Literature Quiz (29 January)
  • Twisted Tales (28 January)
  • Treasure Hunt (5 January).

2013-14

  • Treasure Hunt
  • Word Games Contests
  • The Nonsense –Verse Contest
  • Spelling Bee contest

2012-13

  • Puzzled Play (Word games Contest) -7th Feb 2013
  • Victorian Secrets (Treasure Hunt)- 6th Feb 2013
  • Sale of T-shirts and bookmarks with quotations from Literature
  • Polaroid Prose (Picture Composition Contest) 4th Feb 2013
  • So you think you can Spell’ 2nd Feb 2013
  • Debate: Capital Punishment is the Only Effective Deterrent for Rapists

Other activities

  • Treasure Hunt
  • Writing Contest
  • Word Games
  • Spelling Bee
  • Debate
  • Elocution
  • Play Performance- Adaptation of Shakespeare’s Midsummer Night’s Dream

2011-12 

  • Spelling Bee
  • Essay writing
  • Extempore Literary Week
  • Create your own super hero
  • Fancy Dress
  • Harry Potter Quiz

2010-11

  • Twist in the Tale – Students wrote unconventional versions of conventional fairy tales. 17 January 2011
  • Declamation Contest – Students recited monologues from plays, poems, extracts from novels 18 January 2011
  • Inter- Faculty Debate 19 January 2011

Drama

  • Theatre 11FYBA and SYBA students jointly staged an adaptation of William Shakespeare’s ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ on 5 February for staff and students, and again on 23 February for the family and friends of the cast.
  • Students performed the last scene of ‘A Doll’s House’ by Henrik Ibsen- 20 January 2011

An enactment of the Rape of the Lock SYBA students 2011

 

Workshops:

Dr. Shefali Shah (Retd HOD, Dept. of English, St. Xavier’s College, Mumbai) conducted a workshop on Flash Fiction on 2nd July. The workshop, organised under the aegis of Literature Live.

The Department organized a workshop with the Board of Studies in English, University of Mumbai, on the Credit and Grading System for Communication Skills in English on 11 July 2011.

Communication Skills Workshop 11 July 2011

Drama 11-1

Citizen Journalism Workshop from

22 to 24 July 2011

  • A syllabus revision workshop for Business Communication (F.Y.B.Com) on 13 February 2012.

 drama 11

Other Activities

  • TEFF (Teach English for Free): TEFF:The Teach English for Free programme (initiated in 2009-10), in order to give our students a golden opportunity to share their knowledge with less privileged members of society. Students who participate in this programme are expected to complete 25-30 hours of teaching Basic English to their students. Under this initiative, 30 hours of teaching underprivileged children was completed by students who had registered for the -programme.
  • Reading programme is aimed at encouraging students to develop the reading habit and read widely beyond the syllabus. Students who register for this programme are required to complete reading 15 books from a prescribed reading list.
  • Writer’s Den- Our Departmental Notice Board displays write-up, poems and essays contributed by students.
  • The Litter Box: Our departmental blog (initiated in 2009-10) is a part of our attempt to extend the learning process outside the confines of campus classrooms, enabling students to share their views on a wide range of events and experiences in cyberspace.

Blog: Language, Literature and Beyond… Linked with the blogs of Department of English, JNU, Delhi and Department of English,

Eminent Speakers
List of Eminent Academic Scholars and Prominent Visitors to the      English Department

2000- 2001

  1. Sunanda Pal, Head, Department of English. SNDT University, Mumbai.    “Feminism in Indo-English and Black American Literature”.

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  1. Kathleen Miranda, Department of Linguistics and language Development, San José, State University, USA. “Business Language for the Workplace”

 

2001-2002

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  1. Eunice D’Souza, Eminent Poet and Writer. Former, Head, Department of English, St. Xavier’s College, Mumbai. Read from her new novella Dangerlok.

 

#2002- 2003.

  1. Ketu Katrak from Irvine College, California, Chair of Asian Writers in Diaspora – “Women Diasporic Writers of Asian Origin”

 

2003-04

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  1. Norman Page. Retd, Head of Department of Modern English, University of Nottingham, U.K., and University of Alberta, Canada. Dr Page is an eminent scholar and has over sixty published works. Lecture on Tennyson
  1. Soonu Kapadia, retired, Head, Department of English. Lecture on the Oxford Movement. 2 January 2004.

2004-2005

  1. #Jabeen Merchant, Film and Video Editor conducted a workshop on “Feminism” and screened a movie “ Unlimited Girls” directed by Paromita Vohra

 

The following were speakers at our conference ‘Divergent Voices: Themes and Trends in American Literature (1900- 1950)’, organized in collaboration with Bombay English Association, 19 November 2004.

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  1. Chief Guest Dr. Norman Page. Retd, Head of Department of Modern English, University of Nottingham, U.K., and University of Alberta, Canada. Dr Page is an eminent scholar and has over sixty published works.
  1. Indu Kulkarni. Principal and Head, Department of English, Bhavan’s College. “The Metaphysical Strain in Modern American Poetry – A Study of Denise Levertov’s Poetry”

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  1. Coomi Vevaina, Reader, Department of English, University of Mumbai. “Puppets must Perform or Perish: A Feminist Archetypal Analysis of Kate Chopin’s The Awakening”
  1. Tazeen Canteenwalla, Head, Department of English, Sophia College. “Harlem: An Affirmation of Identity”
  2. Jyoti Moghe, Bhavan’s College. “The Depression Years and After: The Plays of Clifford Odets”

 

2005-06

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  • Kiran Nagarkar – Eminent novelist. Read from his novels, Ravan and Eddie and November 2005

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  1. Dr Eunice de Souza former Head of Department of English, Xavier’s College and a well reputed poet, critic and novelist. Read from her poems. January 2006

 

2006-0 7

  1. Kiran Nagarkar- Eminent novelist. Read from his novel    God’s Little Soldier.   9 January 2007
  1. Helen Cross – English writer and winner of the Betty Trask Award. Read from her novel My Summer of Love. 13 January 2007

2007-08

  • # Adam Klein, a Fulbright scholar from San Francisco and a former Peace Corps Volunteer in Bangladesh delivered two lectures. “Current Issues in Writing Fiction” and “Literature and Human Rights”. 28 September 2007.

2008-09

  1. Meghna Gandhi from Trinity College conducted a workshop on Drama in September 2008

The following were speakers at our conference on Reality and Fantasy in Children’s Literature 16 September 2008

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  1. Clare Bradford, Deakin University, Melbourne and President, International Research Society for Children’s Literature, Australia. Keynote speaker. “Aboriginal Literature for Children: From Dreaming Stories to New Technologies”

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  1. Ahalya Samtany, H.R. College. “ Children’s Literature as Transmitter of Cultural Values: Focus India”.
  1. Anju Makhija. Eminent Poet, Playwright and Translator. “Reality Stories: A Writer’s Perspective”
  1. Shefali Balsari-Shah Head, Department of English, St. Xavier’s College. Paper on Randa Abdel-Fattah’s works Does My Head Look Big in This and Ten Things I Hate About Me

2009-10

  1. Beth Milton, Vice Consul General – American Consulate. Keynote speaker for Gay and Lesbian Literature
  1. Flavia Agnes at seminar for Gay and Lesbian Literature
  2. #Peter Sokolowski – Editor Merriam-Webster Dictionary. Enlightened students on the effective use of the dictionary. He also spoke about the making of dictionaries, the evolution of American English and the future of English Language.
  3.  Jasmine D’Costa – Writer. Toronto, Canada. Read from Curry is Thicker than Water
  4.  Abhigyan Jha – TV and film writer, director and co-founder of the Publishing House ‘Undercover Utopia’ Read from For the Class of 2010”: A Handbook for the 21st Century Teenager.

2010- 11

28. Dr. Prafulla Kar (Retd. Head, M.S. University, Baroda and Director Centre for Contemporary Theory) – Keynote speaker at our conference on ‘Contemporary Criticism: Theory and Practice’

29. Roberto Bertilaccio, Cultural Attaché, Consulate General of Italy in Mumbai, Guest of Honour at our conference on ‘Contemporary Criticism: Theory and Practice’

The following 30, 31, 32 were speakers at our conference ‘From Script to Screen: Literature in Convergence – 9 and 10 September 2011

  1. Mr. A. Zankar – Director, Whistling Woods School of Media
  2. Mr. Bapu Sarvagod Award-winning Film-maker
  1. Mr. Jerry Pinto, Columnist, Literary Critic and Novelist
  1. Mr. Amitabh Singh on ‘Cinematography’ on 3 September 2011.
  1. Mr. Mahesh Dattani, Award-winning Playwright                         24 September 2012 

#The following 35, 36 and 37 were speakers at our conference ‘Myth and Cult in Literature” 27 and 28 September 2012

  1. Dr. Dorothy Figueria, President, International Comparative  Association and Professor,   Comparative Literature, University of Georgia, USA – Keynote Speaker.

#36. Mr. Amish Tripathi, Renowned Author of the Shiva trilogy – Guest of Honour

#37. Dr. Coomi Vevaina, Head, Department of English, University of Mumbai

The following 38, 39, 40, 41 and 42 were speakers for the conference on “ Faith and Ideology in Literature” 30-31 August 2013

  1. Mr. Kiran Nagarkar, Novelist and winner of the Sahitya Academy Award and the . Keynote Speaker
  1. Fr. Albert Menezes. s.j. Theologian and Scripture scholar.

#40. Dr. Shireen Vakil. Former Head, Department of English,      Sophia College,

  1. Dr. Sr. Ananda Amritmahal, Principal and Head, Department of English, Sophia College,
  1. Dr. Avinash de Souza, Psychiatrist and Psychotherapist.
  1. Dr. Soonu Kapadia, Former Head, Department of English, Elphinstone College, Key Note Speaker at Conference “Pulitzer Prize Winning Women Writers” -12 &13 September 2014
  1. Dr. Sunanda Pal on ‘Racism in American. Literature’ on                                 17 December 2014.
  1. Ms. Jennifer Thomas, Curriculum Developer, on ‘Challenges and Opportunities: Working in the Education Sector’ on 28 January 2015