iterature, memory and gender take centre stage at IIT Bhilai conference
The Department of Liberal Arts at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bhilai recently organized a two-day national conference titled Gendered Modalities of Remembering in South Asian Literatures. This event took place at the Nalanda Lecture Hall and brought together faculty members and research scholars from various universities across India. The primary focus of the conference was to explore memory as a gendered and embodied practice within South Asian cultural and literary contexts.
Keynote Lectures
The conference commenced with a keynote lecture by Professor Simi Malhotra from Jamia Millia Islamia. Her talk, titled Remembering Two Centuries of Women’s Movements in India: Memory and the Rethinking of Feminist Historiography, examined feminist historiography through the lens of memory. Professor Malhotra emphasized the importance of remembering as a significant practice in narrating gendered histories in South Asia, particularly in the context of women’s movements over the past two centuries.
The second day featured a keynote by Dr. Snober Sataravala, Vice Principal of St. Mira’s College for Girls in Pune. Her presentation, titled Remembering the Margins: Gender, Minority Memory, and the Politics of Representation in South Asian Literatures, drew upon extensive cinematic, textual, and oral narratives. Dr. Sataravala explored how minority communities are either remembered or erased in literature, highlighting the role of literary works in recovering marginalized histories and diverse ways of remembering.
Thematic Panels
Throughout the conference, academic discussions unfolded across five thematic panels, each addressing different aspects of gendered memory in literature.
Panel 1: Gendered Voice and Indigenous Aesthetics
The opening panel focused on gendered voice and indigenous aesthetics. It examined folk and tribal art practices as embodied and living archives of memory. This discussion highlighted how indigenous narratives contribute to the understanding of gendered experiences and collective memory.
Panel 2: Gendered Counter-Narratives of Violence
The second panel addressed gendered counter-narratives of violence, exploring how literary and cultural texts articulate survival, resistance, and affective memory. Participants discussed ways in which these narratives move beyond official historiographies, providing alternative perspectives on experiences of violence.
Panel 3: Caste and Gender Intersections
The third panel turned to questions of vulnerability, caste, and identity. It highlighted the intersections of caste and gender in literary testimonies and narrative memory, showcasing how these factors shape individual and collective experiences in South Asian societies.
Panel 4: Kinship, Domesticity, and National Memory
The fourth panel brought kinship, domesticity, and national memory into focus. Discussions centered on maternal legacies, everyday spaces, and gendered notions of duty as significant sites of remembrance. This panel emphasized the role of domestic spaces in shaping collective memory and identity.
Panel 5: Diegetic and Vernacular Expressions of Memory
The conference concluded with a panel on diegetic and vernacular expressions of memory. This session explored alternative mnemonic repositories that challenge dominant, text-centric forms of remembering. Participants discussed how vernacular narratives can provide a richer understanding of memory and identity in South Asian contexts.
Conclusion
Collectively, the panels highlighted how gendered memory functions as an active practice shaped by various factors, including embodiment, affect, socio-cultural hierarchies, and narrative form. The conference underscored the critical role of literature and cultural texts in amplifying marginalized voices and creating counter-narratives that challenge dominant modes of remembrance in South Asia. By fostering discussions around these themes, the conference contributed significantly to the ongoing discourse on memory, gender, and literature in the region.
Note: The insights and discussions from this conference are vital for understanding the complexities of gendered memory in South Asian literatures and the importance of inclusive narratives in historical discourse.
