UGC GRANT FOR LITERATURE RESEARCH

UGC GRANT FOR LITERATURE RESEARCH

The Department of English, Kakatiya University, has recently been sanctioned Rs.32.5 lakh for five years under the Special Assistance Programme of UGC to carry out collective research in the area titled “Multiculturalism in Indian Literatures in English” with three thrust areas: a) Women's Writing and Feminist Movement b) Dalit Writing and Movements and c) Bhakti Literature and Literature of Marginality. Prof M. Ragagopalachary will act as the co-ordinator and Prof. G. Damodar as the deputy co-ordinator.

The project seeks to bring out the diversity of Indian literatures of different languages with a view to relating them to matters of culture, ideology, nationality, ethnicity, social class and/or gender as part of the Indian multicultural ethos. The perspective of multiculturalism enables it to explore deep structures of meaning, value systems, beliefs underlying art and literature. Multiculturalism also questions the dominant ways of seeing things and presents alternative views of the world. The Department intends to organise seminars/workshops/lectures by visiting fellows on themes having a close bearing on thrust areas focusing on ideological issues of caste, gender, religion, and social movements affecting Indian literatures written in different languages and regions with a view to bringing out the cultural diversity of our country.

Wherever the translations in English of the Indian writers are not available, the faculty will undertake the task, depending on their expertise, of drawing on expert advice and help. The project hopes to enlighten students and scholars about the nature of Indian literatures, ideological and cultural deep structures lying behind them. The seminar participants will be drawn from different disciplines of literary and cultural studies identifying those who have made significant contribution to the relevant areas. The findings of the seminar will be used for sharpening research tools and strategies on the thrust areas. The Department will use the knowledge and expertise gained out of its research activities as inputs in teaching various courses in the Department. also propose to include courses and papers covering the thrust areas in the curriculum. The Department will publish papers and prepare monographs on the findings of research on the thrust areas. 

                                                            Prof. John Kurakar