Prakruti Bhatt's Assignments

Imagine a blank page. Imagine that you are told to write, paint, draw, anything you wish to. At first, this exercise would make one feel happy with the fact that they are free to express whatever and however they wish to. But the next moment the same freedom would lead to confusion. What should I write about? What should I paint/draw? Without the constraint of a context, creating or inventing something would seem nearly impossible for many of us. A constraint isn't always an imposition or bondage. It can also be seen as a foundation for creative impulse. To better understand this idea, watch the following video on the power of creative constraints: The Oulipo group created by Raymond Queneau and  François Le Lionnais in Paris in 1960 championed this idea of creating literature within the constraints of linguistic, mathematical and logical boundaries. Oulipo is a French acronym for "Ouvroir de littérature potentielle" and can be translated in English as "The Workshop...

Here's the research paper I presented at the International Conference on Memory in a Digital Age organized by the Department of Memory Studies, IIT Madras on 23rd September 2022. The conference was held for three days and its sessions provided an insight into the various perspectives through which digital technology and digital culture affects human memory. 

As a part of my specific area of research, I have opted to work on the field of Electronic and Digital literature. And since it is important to study how publishing, as a significant process of literary production, functions in the Digital Age; I have prepared this presentation to provide an insight into the Digital Publishing Sphere and the element of the Attention Economy within the same. Electronic/Digital Literature.pptx from Prakruti Bhatt

Being a research scholar working in the field of Electronic and Digital literature, I have encountered questions regarding the modality of the texts produced through the digital platform as well as works which are 'born digital'. Hence, in this presentation I have attempted to address these questions. The presentation also attempts to explain how multimodality is a crucial aspect to consider while studying works created on and for the digital space. Digital Humanities.pptx from Prakruti Bhatt

Often while conducting a research study in the field of Literature, research scholars are faced with the problem of not finding enough scholarly articles and reliable reading resources for justifying their arguments. Snowballing is one method which can address and solve this issue to some extent. Hence, this presentation focuses on introducing Snowballing as a significant method of research and contextualising it for the field of literary research. Research Methodology.pptx from Prakruti Bhatt

  Topic for Research:- Electronic Literature-From Creation: An Exploration of the Literature Born out of Human-Machine Intermediation 2.  Annotated Bibliography of selected works in an alphabetical order Callus, Ivan and Mario Aquilina. "E-literature." Cambridge Companion to Literature and the Posthuman . Ed. Bruce Clarke and Manuela Rossini. Cambridge University Press, 2016. 231. web. 15 May 2022. < https://www.google.co.in/books/edition/The_Cambridge_Companion_to_Literature_an/ydx7DQAAQBAJ > E-lit has been defined by N. Katherine Hayles as literature that is ‘digitally born’. This chapter by Ivan Callus and Mario Aquilina therefore, explores the question of whether it can be considered a post-human phenomenon. To fulfil this objective, they consider E-lit as a post-literary space and its affinities with the seemingly post-human aspects of literary output in the Digital Age. They conclude the chapter with the statement: “E-lit is itself as complex and diverse a metaph...

The Global Initiative of Academic Networks in Higher Education is a program initiated by the Government of India and it is aimed at ' tapping the talent pool of scientists and entrepreneurs, internationally to encourage their engagement with the institutes of Higher Education in India so as to augment the country's existing academic resources, accelerate the pace of quality reform, and elevate India's scientific and technological capacity to global excellence.' [click on the image below to visit the official website] It is an effective medium of learning for students, research scholars and academicians alike. It is particularly helpful to research scholars in understanding their specific area of research in a better light as well as in staying updated with the nuances of the same. It is also a useful medium to know and communicate with scholars and experts sharing similar areas of interest as one's own; which in turn helps in exploring various ideas and perspectives...

"As the sun rose over Washington, Langdon looked to the heavens, where the last of the night time stars were fading out. He thought about science, about faith, about man ." Yes that's what the book is about. Science, Faith and Man. And that's why its arguments, reflections, ideas are relevant in our times. Science, Religion, Literature/Art and Philosophy are considered the four foundations of human life. And Brown presents a crisis where all four of them are shaken. And yet, is able to end his work with one word i.e. Hope .  We live in times when so many false statements, arguments, etc are based on pseudoscience. People, especially students and academics, find it difficult to distinguish between what is true and what is false in terms of scientific explorations and research. Also dreadful is the reality of people praising their ancient cultural knowledge, considering it better than the modern technological advances. In India, considering all technological adv...

Walter Scott is my favorite Romantic. Especially because I love Historical fiction and when you talk about this genre you can't miss out its pioneer. Whether it is the Heart of Midloathian or The Bride of Lammermoor, Scott always has a fascinating story to tell; providing a new perspective towards the historical event he deals with. The blend of reality, or more specifically, history and fiction which he presents in his works has always attracted me. Though I haven't traditionally studied any of his works, I've read them for my personal liking. And which is why, I'm introducing, what is popularly known as his masterpiece; Waverly. Here's a quick overview of what the novel is about: The protagonist is a young Englishman, Edward Waverly. Neglected by his pro-Hanoverian father he is raised by his elderly uncle, the Jacobite leaning Sir Everard Waverly (yes! they have similar sounding names!). Having obtained a commission in the army he is sent to Scotland in 1745....

                                                    You would have already got an idea of what I'm going to talk about by these pictures. Yes, the two Indian epics. My discussion would be on what are the genres of Virkavya and Vikaasshil Mahakavya; and how Ramayana and Mahabharata are an example of those genres. Virkavya: There are specific factors responsible for the rise of this type of poem. In the early stages of the cultural history of a race, poetry revolves around divinities and their personifications. Therefore they are looked upon as heroes or warriors. The same is applied to heroic warriors of that race. Their deeds of valour are sung and handed down from generation to generation as poetic narratives. However, for the creation of a Mahakavya or epic, these small narratives often seem to combine; just as small streams evolv...

To read the original poem click here Romantic Literature attracts you a lot during the early years of your encounter with the field of study. Similar kind of a thing happened with me. I was fascinated by the elements of simplicity and beauty of language which romanticism idealized for literary expression. So much profound is the effect of romanticism on my mind, that my early steps in creative writing reflected its characteristics. In fact, it is common for a beginner in creative writing to write poems or stories on time of the day, natural phenomena and natural cycles, with a wide range of ethos and pathos. Keeping this in my mind, here's my impression on the poem of William Collins' Ode To Evening. Collins' can't be considered a 'pure' Romantic, if I can put it that way. He wrote during the transition period from Neo-Classical to Romantic in literary history. Thus, his work reflects Classical allusions and references on one side and complex imagery as wel...

This post is a response to the views shared here What I really liked out of the three Ted Talks by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie was her talk on the dangers of a single story. She explains how a single story about someone can soon become a generalization and can cloud our understanding regarding a person or place. Her ideas reminded me of the Foucoultian idea of power and knowledge. Our understanding of the 'Other' is constructed by the generalizations we have made regarding that place or person. Here's how, according to Adichie, we create a single story: "Show a people as one thing, as only one thing, over and over again." What happens as a consequence of this is what we call a generalization of an identity. This happens not just in terms of demographic parameter but also in terms of gender, race, and other markers of identity. I would like to share a personal experience here. So, before I was even introduced to the texts of African Literature, I sensed th...

New literatures from Prakruti Bhatt

African literature from Prakruti Bhatt

Mass communication from Prakruti Bhatt

Published in 1980, J.M Coetzee's Waiting for the Barbarians, can be considered a relevant text in our times because of its portrayal and discussions on how power relations work in a culture, nation or human society at large. The novel follows the experiences of an unnamed magistrate who works for an unnamed Empire. Through the magistrate's experiences Coetzee presents the horrifying realities of colonial life; of the violent tortures exacted upon the supposed 'Barbarians'. The novel is a good example of the postcolonial discussion on how the 'Other' is constructed and narrated as well as looked at by the one in power. The most intriguing part of the novel was the Magistrate's experience with the Barbarian girl. After being exploited and physically tortured by Colonel Joll, the girl is looked at with pity by the Magistrate when he finds her begging in the streets. He takes her to his room and treats her wounds. The Magistrate's feelings towards the...

The three day expert lectures with Prof. Attanu Bhattacharya were truly informative as well as inspiring. Not only did the students learn a lot about ELT but also about the current trends in the field of research in language and literature. Attanu sir's interactive teaching technique made the entire class attentive and curious to know more about the subject. Following are some of the points that were discussed: ELT- Historical Perspective: Attanu sir discussed how language learning was an important aspect of education even in the ancient times; and also how it formed an essential part of education even before the rise of traditional educational system. He also discussed how the classical languages like Greek, Latin, Sanskrit, German were taught and why were they important to teach. He also discussed how logic, philosophy, rhetoric, grammar, etc. were  also incorporated in the early language classroom to understand how they affected language learning. Literature for Language T...

Hello Readers! We all know, how, with the arrival of the internet as well as rapid technological advances, language learning has become easier than ever. We no longer need well built and equipped classrooms to learn language. Neither do we need a set time to do so. There are numerous web tools available today which make language learning, a fun and learn activity. This post is dedicated to the discussion of such web tools. Following are the web tools (some old, some new) and the description of the language element they focus on: 1) Duolingo : This tool helps with learning a foreign language. This tool allows users to use their home language/mother tongue, and learn a foreign language. It focuses mostly on listening and speaking skills. The tool is available in, both, website as well as mobile application format. It also includes gamification element and allows the learner to set day to day learning goals. 2) Penzu: This tool focuses on the reading and writi...

This post is in response to the questions asked here Click here to have a brief overview of the novel 2) Adrian's definition of history can be agreed with to a great extent. Even though this definition isn't really his (he quotes Patrick Lagrange, a French historian), the definition can be agreed with to a great extent. If we were ever asked to prove whatever we consider as history, we would realize how the half of it would be nearly impossible to prove. The reason being the 'inadequacies of documentation' as the definition mentions. Another important aspect is that of memory. One can never be sure of one's memory. Because a memory can be looked at differently by different people. In fact half of what we consider our memory are things told to us by others; and not what we have actually witnessed. Therefore it can be said that memory is bound to be imperfect. It is seldom reliable. But then the question remains: Why then is history, a certainty? Well one answer ...