International conference begins on Magic of the Waste Land, Ulysses and Jacob’s Room
ALIGARH : Marking the centenary of the annus mirabilis of modernism, the Department of English, Aligarh Muslim University, organized a two-day International Conference on the “100 years Waste Land, Ulysses and Jacob’s Room”.
In his message as the President of the programme, AMU Vice Chancellor Prof. Tariq Mansoor remarked, “Literature is a social enterprise which drives change and motivates people to take action. Writers such as Thomas Stearns Eliot, James Joyce and Virginia Woolf have kept the socio-historical and cultural aspects of the time at the core of their moral and social duty and hence survived the test of time”.
He hoped the conference would help persuade readers and writers to expand their understanding and knowledge of ongoing discourse.
Welcoming the guest speakers, Prof. Asim Siddiqui, Chairperson, Department of English said that James Joyce’s Ulysses, T.S. Eliot’s Wasteland, and Virginia Woolf’s Jacob’s Room fronted the modernist movement in 1922, although the label came later.
Prof. Siddiqui mentioned how, even after 100 years since the publication of Ulysses, The Waste Land and Jacob’s Room, the theme is still relevant. He cited various versions of modernism and talked about high modernism, which is associated with Europe.
He underlined the glorious history of the Department of English which was established in 1877 and was first headed by Sir Walter Raleigh. He specially mentioned the work of Prof. Najma Mehmood who wrote a book on Virginia Woolf, Prof K.S. Mishra who wrote about the plays of T.S. Eliot and Prof Z. Usmani who wrote a 32-page long essay on Ulysses. He also highlighted the contribution of Prof Asloob Ahmad Ansari and Prof Masood ul Hasan.
Quoting Eric Hobsbawm, the chief guest, Prof Motilal Raina, Punjab University, Chandigarh, held that the starting point of modernism could be considered 1848 and 1849. He called the time period an epoch in social and political history when Communist Manifesto was published. He further added that it was the period when the enlightenment of the age of reason existed side by side with the fear of the savage and the primitive in cultured Europe.
He enlightened the audience with information about modernism which differs from culture to culture and civilisation to civilisation. Prof. Raina referred to Russian Literature, specifically the renowned author, Fyodor Dostoevsky. He also remembered the old members of the department, such as Prof Masood ul Hasan and Prof Zahida Zaidi and expressed his love for the campus.
The Convenor, Dr Kishwar Zafir introduced the theme of the seminar and highlighted the objective of celebrating the centenary milestone. She said the three publications have been characterized as complex and intricate and are considered befitting subjects for literary studies as the work by Eliot is related to the anxiety of existence and it communicates futility, meaninglessness, desperation, desolation and disillusionment of modern life.
The guest of honour, Prof Anisur Rahman spoke about the difference between modernism and modernity. He said that modernism might happen to anybody at any time because it is a condition of one’s own individuality.
Another guest of honour, Prof. Amritjit Singh recalled his earlier visit to AMU and congratulated the Department of English for organising the two-day international seminar.
In his remarks, while quoting a Sanskrit sloka, Prof Arif Nazir, Dean, Faculty of Arts said “Knowledge and kingdom cannot be compared; a king is honoured in his country whereas an intellectual is honoured everywhere”. He eulogized the relevance of The Wasteland, Ulysses and Jacob’s Room in the contemporary perspective, adding that T.S Eliot’s “The Wasteland” is one of the best poems of the 20th century that responds to human life in the present situation.
Dr Adiba Fayyaz extended a vote of thanks.