The Department of English of The Bhawanipur Education Society College organized a special lecture delivered by Prof. Niladri R.Chatterjee, of Kalyani University, on 5th of April, 2023 for its Undergraduate and Postgraduate students. The lecture was held in the college premises, in Room 129-A. It was attended also by faculty members of the Department of English.
Mr. Soumyajit Chandra, Faculty of the Department of English introduced the esteemed speaker and a formal welcome was extended to him by Ms. Sonal Kapur, Assistant Professor, Department of English. Several students joined the lecture after a formal registration.
The lecture began with the speaker’s extensive discussion on ‘binaries’ and the creation of binaries. Prof. Chatterjee then mentioned how social stigma, impurity and untidiness come to be associated with some sexual identities. With this, he turned his discussion towards queer identities and the politics of the representation of queer identities in society. Additionally, Prof. Chatterjee also emphasized the need for Feminism, charted the history of the Feminist movement, Stonewall Riots and talked at length about the decriminalization of Article 377 of the Indian Penal Code. He also refuted all kinds of binaries and stated that all identities are, in fact, non-binary and therefore, all-inclusive.
In the course of his very engaging talk, Prof. Chatterjee then talked about the concept of ‘rhizome’ propounded by Gilles Deleuze and Felix Guattari to underscore the idea of being in the middle – or ‘intermezzo’ which, according to Prof. Chatterjee, would help one to understand queer or non-binary identities. That identities are not fixed or rooted to a singular worldview was focused on.
In the last segment of his lecture, Prof. Chatterjee drew a very interesting reference to the queerness of Shiva and Vishnu (Mohini) as explicated in Indian mythological iconography through Ardhanariswara. He talked in great detail about the queer Harihara, and Ayappa, the queer child of Harihara (Hariharaputra) to substantiate his idea of queer identities, thereby emphasizing that post-structuralist thought enables us to contest the idea of set identities that are often binary in nature. Finally, he mentioned Homi K. Bhabha’s ‘Third Space’ which helps one to understand the politics of polarity and evade it successfully.
The lecture was followed by a Q&A session in which students engaged with the speaker in an intelligent discussion. Dr Gargi Talapatra, Head of the Department of English, then thanked Prof. Chatterjee for his visit and lecture.
The event was followed by tea for students and online feedback forms were circulated among them. Students enjoyed thoroughly which made the lecture a grand success.
The Annual Convocation of the Bhawanipur Education Society College (BESC) was held with full solemnity on October 4th, 2018. Three hundred and twenty-nine students earned their stripes at the ceremony which was graced by the Chief of Staff, eastern Command, Lieutenant General Sunil Srivastava. The BESC, since its very inception has charted its own path …
March 1st, 2019. New Concept Hall. Shiladitya Roy, an avid theatre buff unveiled the third edition of the BESC Theatre Festival in which more than twenty colleges participated. Live actors, presenting their take on an event live or imaginary, before a live audience, that too in real time is no easy feat to accomplish, pointed …
November 13th, 2019. Jubilee Hall. Rashmi Bansal is one of the most celebrated names among the non-fiction writers of the me-now generation. Within a very short span of time, this IIM (Ahmedabad) alumna has literally flooded the market with a tidal wave of best sellers that started with Stay Hungry, Stay Foolish” and was followed …
Event Details Conveners: Ms. Shawni Dutta, Faculty, Department of Computer Science, The Bhawanipur Education Society College. Dr. Yeasin Sikdar, Faculty, Department of Chemistry, The Bhawanipur Education Society College. Date & Time : 28.02.2022, 12:30 PM-5:30 PM. Venue: Concept Hall, The Bhawanipur Education Society College. Participating Departments: Physics, Chemistry, Computer Science, Electronics, Mathematics, Economics, Statistics. …
The Politics of Impurity: Special Lecture by Prof Niladri R. Chatterjee
The Department of English of The Bhawanipur Education Society College organized a special lecture delivered by Prof. Niladri R.Chatterjee, of Kalyani University, on 5th of April, 2023 for its Undergraduate and Postgraduate students. The lecture was held in the college premises, in Room 129-A. It was attended also by faculty members of the Department of English.
Mr. Soumyajit Chandra, Faculty of the Department of English introduced the esteemed speaker and a formal welcome was extended to him by Ms. Sonal Kapur, Assistant Professor, Department of English. Several students joined the lecture after a formal registration.
The lecture began with the speaker’s extensive discussion on ‘binaries’ and the creation of binaries. Prof. Chatterjee then mentioned how social stigma, impurity and untidiness come to be associated with some sexual identities. With this, he turned his discussion towards queer identities and the politics of the representation of queer identities in society. Additionally, Prof. Chatterjee also emphasized the need for Feminism, charted the history of the Feminist movement, Stonewall Riots and talked at length about the decriminalization of Article 377 of the Indian Penal Code. He also refuted all kinds of binaries and stated that all identities are, in fact, non-binary and therefore, all-inclusive.
In the course of his very engaging talk, Prof. Chatterjee then talked about the concept of ‘rhizome’ propounded by Gilles Deleuze and Felix Guattari to underscore the idea of being in the middle – or ‘intermezzo’ which, according to Prof. Chatterjee, would help one to understand queer or non-binary identities. That identities are not fixed or rooted to a singular worldview was focused on.
In the last segment of his lecture, Prof. Chatterjee drew a very interesting reference to the queerness of Shiva and Vishnu (Mohini) as explicated in Indian mythological iconography through Ardhanariswara. He talked in great detail about the queer Harihara, and Ayappa, the queer child of Harihara (Hariharaputra) to substantiate his idea of queer identities, thereby emphasizing that post-structuralist thought enables us to contest the idea of set identities that are often binary in nature. Finally, he mentioned Homi K. Bhabha’s ‘Third Space’ which helps one to understand the politics of polarity and evade it successfully.
The lecture was followed by a Q&A session in which students engaged with the speaker in an intelligent discussion. Dr Gargi Talapatra, Head of the Department of English, then thanked Prof. Chatterjee for his visit and lecture.
The event was followed by tea for students and online feedback forms were circulated among them. Students enjoyed thoroughly which made the lecture a grand success.
Related Posts
BESC Convocation – Reaching for the Skies!
The Annual Convocation of the Bhawanipur Education Society College (BESC) was held with full solemnity on October 4th, 2018. Three hundred and twenty-nine students earned their stripes at the ceremony which was graced by the Chief of Staff, eastern Command, Lieutenant General Sunil Srivastava. The BESC, since its very inception has charted its own path …
Theatre Festival – Inauguration
March 1st, 2019. New Concept Hall. Shiladitya Roy, an avid theatre buff unveiled the third edition of the BESC Theatre Festival in which more than twenty colleges participated. Live actors, presenting their take on an event live or imaginary, before a live audience, that too in real time is no easy feat to accomplish, pointed …
Stay Hungry, Stay Foolish
November 13th, 2019. Jubilee Hall. Rashmi Bansal is one of the most celebrated names among the non-fiction writers of the me-now generation. Within a very short span of time, this IIM (Ahmedabad) alumna has literally flooded the market with a tidal wave of best sellers that started with Stay Hungry, Stay Foolish” and was followed …
National Science Day
Event Details Conveners: Ms. Shawni Dutta, Faculty, Department of Computer Science, The Bhawanipur Education Society College. Dr. Yeasin Sikdar, Faculty, Department of Chemistry, The Bhawanipur Education Society College. Date & Time : 28.02.2022, 12:30 PM-5:30 PM. Venue: Concept Hall, The Bhawanipur Education Society College. Participating Departments: Physics, Chemistry, Computer Science, Electronics, Mathematics, Economics, Statistics. …