CONFERENCE

XXII Annual

International Conference

Rajasthan Association for Studies in English

on

Literature, Society and Political Consciousness

14-15 November 2025

Organized by

Government College Jayal

Nagaur, Rajasthan

About the Institution

     Government College Jayal, founded on 29th August 2013, is a public higher education institution, strategically positioned 45 kilometres from the district headquarters of the district, Nagaur. Affiliated with MDS University Ajmer, the institution offers undergraduate and postgraduate programs across disciplines. At the undergraduate level, it offers courses in Science and Arts, while at Post Graduate level, it offers courses in Hindi Literature, Political Science, Geography and History.

Concept Note

      Freedom in a democracy is the glory of the state, and, therefore, in a democracy only will the freeman of nature deign to dwell, said Plato. The world today is majorly, at least structurally, a democratic world. The post colonial world has seen the rise of democracies everywhere. New countries emerged with their constitutions and electoral forms. In the postmodern world, the smaller voices got prominence and a tendency to de-centre the centre and bring to the centre the marginalized was observed in many parts of the world. But the democratic structures can survive the forces of suppression and autocracy only when people at large leave aside their indifference and participate in the processes and institutions of democracy. A glowing political consciousness among the populace is a prerequisite of a throbbing democracy. Plato said that one of the penalties for refusing to participate in politics is that you end up being governed by your inferiors. The measure of a man is what he does with power.This opinion, expressed around some three thousand years ago, stands the test of time and deserves a lot of reflection in contemporary times.

      Literature of the world has always been a mirror to the transformations taking place in the surrounding world. It has portrayed not only what appears outside but also what transpires within the human mind. Much before the appearance of the written word, literature existed in the oral form and did convey the emotions, sentiments, experiences and observances of the people. This literature remains in public memory even today and is reverberated in day-to-day conversations. In literature, political consciousness relates to a very broad understanding of the world. Sometimes it goes beyond the temporal to encompass the ethereal and the supernatural. It relates to a world order which includes the real, the tangible and even the intangible dream world of human imagination. The epic poets like Homer, Dante and Milton can be cited as examples of the creators of a different cosmos with their unique power politics. Already, writers have started advocating intercultural communication and cross-border interaction to enable better understanding between different races and nationalities. The last century witnessed two bloody wars and the most unfair lust for power. The greed for capturing natural resources is continuing even after that and has resulted in the creation of power blocks, lobbies and pressure groups.

      When we talk of political consciousness, we aim at the creation of an understanding of the relationship between humans and the natural world. What kind of world do we want to build for ourselves? It is a consciousness of the concepts of justice, power and equality. In today's world, where Artificial Intelligence seems to have opened up a new world of opportunities and challenges, we need to understand the Man-machine interface and guard against the mechanization of human intellect and emotions. The machine has entered the political sphere in manifold ways, influencing human behaviour and power relationships. It has transformed our bedrooms, dining tables and community halls. In what subtle ways machine has started governing us is also a question to ponder over. Has all this happened because of man's overemphasis on his own centrality in the universe? The fallacious understanding that 'man is the crown of all creation' and that everything in nature is for human consumption has created a world of endless greed. Can the maximization of production and consumption and accumulation of wealth through this process, in the name of development, lead us to a sustainable world?

      These are some of the ideas which we would like to discuss and debate in the XXII Annual International Conference. Some of the sub-themes are as follows. They are just suggestive. Original unpublished research papers on these and other related themes are welcome. The papers printed in Times New Roman font size 12 need to follow the MLA IX edition for references. Some of the sub-themes are:

  1. Political Consciousness in the Literature of Colonial Times
  2. Understanding Political Consciousness through Classics
  3. Literature and Social Classes
  4. Machine Literature and Human Intellect
  5. Anti-war Literature
  6. Creating Cross-Cultural Communication Strategies
  7. Unfolding Myths to Understand Politics of Power
  8. Post-Humanism and Literature
  9. Literature and Politics of the Marginalized
  10. Black Literature and the Question of Identity
  11. Literature and the Struggle of the Indigenous People
  12. Cinema, Theatre and the Visual Art Forms as Tools for Generating Political Consciousness.
  13. Women Power and Political Consciousness

Registration fee                                  

Research Scholars/ students:                Rs. 1500

Academics/Teachers :                            Rs. 2000

Spot Registration:                                   Rs. 2500

Registration link:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeKaxV9pJl2qE7uCYXlBECpuRAzvS0wFokK7VJGfRhcXbXu7Q/viewform

 

The Venue

Government College, Jayal

Google Map Link

 

Contact Person:

Ms. Seema Soni
Organising Secretory
Assistant Professor (English)
Government College, Jayal,
Nagaur 341023, Rajasthan, INDIA
Mobile: +91-9680017778