New Delhi, May 8 Translation studies, cultural mediation and language politics topped the agenda at a National Young Researchers’ Seminar organised by the Department of Foreign Languages, Jamia Millia Islamia, an official said on Friday.
Held at the India-Arab Cultural Centre (IACC), the seminar brought together over 48 young researchers from various prestigious institutions, including Jawaharlal Nehru University, the University of Delhi, Panjab University, Amity University, SRM University, and others, to deliberate on a wide range of themes.
The topics of discussion included translation studies, cultural mediation, language politics, intercultural communication, literature, and global cultural exchange, said a statement issued by JMI Chief Public Relations Officer Professor Saima Saeed.
The inaugural session featured a welcome address by Professor Md. Faizullah Khan, Head of the Department of Foreign Languages.
Khan emphasised students’ perspectives on cross-cultural communication in the globalised and digitalised world.
The session was attended by Anisur Rahman, a former professor from the Department of English, JMI, as the Chief Guest.
In his inaugural address, Rahman noted that “no platform is more enriching than engaging with young researchers and learning from them,” while also underscoring the importance of interdisciplinary research and a multilingual approach.
Guest of Honour Professor Kiran Chaudhry highlighted the relevance and timeliness of the seminar’s theme, noting the growing frequency of cultural encounters in today’s world and the urgent need to reflect on pluralism.
She discussed the transition in foreign language teaching from a “monocultural” to a “pluralistic” approach, sharing valuable insights into contemporary foreign language pedagogy.
In her keynote address, Professor Sonya Surabhi Gupta (Retd.), Department of Foreign Languages, Jamia Millia Islamia, remarked that identity has a lexical foundation, namely, language.
She elaborated on the nexus between language and power and emphasised the role of foreign languages “in defence of cultural humanism”.
She also identified the 1970s as a turning point for the indigenisation of foreign languages in India.
Professor Simi Malhotra, Department of English, Jamia Millia Islamia, delivered the Chair’s remarks, highlighting the significance of organising a seminar on such a pertinent theme and emphasising that cultural understanding is the need of the hour.
The seminar included multiple parallel technical sessions covering interdisciplinary themes such as Translation, Language & Cultural Mediation; Society, History & Interdisciplinary Perspectives; Cultural Diplomacy & International Relations; Literature, Identity & Self–Other; Language, Education & Politics and Media, Popular Culture & Representation, said the statement.
--IANS
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