Peer Webinar: Chapter 14

The Department of English, The Bhawanipur Education Society College organized, Peer Webinar: Chapter 14 on 22 December, 2022 at 7 pm. The speaker was Mr. Pema Gyalchen Tamang; his paper was titled ‘Reimagining Darjeeling Himalayas: Navigating conflict in the Eastern Himalayan borderlands’. The webinar, held on Google Meet, was attended by the faculty members and the PG Semester III students, of the Department of English.

Peer Webinar is a monthly initiative undertaken by the Department of English, The Bhawanipur Education Society College, to provide multiple perspectives and possibilities in academic research and critical thinking, for the postgraduate students. In his paper, Mr. Pema Gyalchen Tamang attempted to subvert the image of Darjeeling created so far through literature and popular media. The paper aimed to contextualize the region within the postcolonial issues of South Asia.

The paper first introduced the histories of Darjeeling and briefly analyzed works, both historical and part of pop culture, that have contributed to the formation of the romantic image of Darjeeling. Tamang then drew theoretical insights from celebrated anthropologist and scholars like Prof. Linda Tuhiwai Smith and James Clifford to form his method of analysis. The paper then attempted to use literature from the region, particularly the works of Indra Bahadur Rai & Chuden Kabimo, to reimagine Darjeeling while resisting its romantic imaginations. In doing so, Tamang showcases the various conflicts of identity, as well as, the violence, especially during the 1980’s, in the region.

Peer Webinar continues to enrich the faculty members and students on interdisciplinary topics while encouraging exchange of scholarly ideas and fresh perspectives.