Enrichment Lecture on “Literary Research: Emerging Areas of Critical Inquiry in Humanities/Liberal arts”

The Department of English, on 25 February 2019, hosted Prof. Akshaya Kumar for an Enrichment Lecture on “Literary Research: Emerging Areas of Critical Inquiry in the Humanities/Liberal Arts (an inter/multi-disciplinary approach)”. Prof. Kumar is a Faculty member of the Department of English and Cultural Studies at Panjab University in Chandigarh. Focussing on research as an important part of the life of a scholar, he advised the students to beware of being caught in stereotypical academic fashions. To work on something, he emphasised, there should be a problem to be answered. A serious researcher should not aim merely to fulfill the obligation of the ‘slogan’ without committing to first undertaking serious research.

He went on to observe that research, as a practice, is in a crisis of relevance. Where research means the asking of uneasy questions, it becomes important first to understand how the examination of a topic is going to empower us as a civilization. Towards this end, Prof. Kumar made a point of stating that no informal research is impractical as long as it is followed through with perseverance. He also cautioned the students towards maintaining honesty in research and urged them not to shy away from unexpected results, as these would only serve to further the scholar’s own understanding of the subject.

Towards the end, Prof. Kumar brought up the topic of hypertextuality, emphasizing the need for reaching out to a broader base for ideas as well as to enable a trans-disciplinary outlook for seeking answers to research questions.