Everchanging world order and its position in the continuum rely on ongoing events and the functioning of different states—country, government, nation, authority, community, land, etc.— embedded within the global makeup. The 2^nd International Conference of the Department of English, Shahjalal University of Science and Technology, Sylhet 3114, Bangladesh, to be held on January 27-28, 2023, conceptualizes the narratives related to the terms—Refugee, Resistance, and Recognition— and their articulations in global literary spaces both as distinct and interrelated concepts in the premises of art, literature, language, (social) media, law, and politics in [Post]postcolonial perspectives.

The Refugee and its attendant complexities—difficulties in ensuring political and social justice, expediting repatriation procedure, and teeming with claimants of refuge—is a critical predicament worldwide. This conference casts a critical look into the refugees ­—a much-debated issue subject to multidisciplinary and scholarly approaches­—in terms of the subjects’ ‘positionality’ at the intersections of class, caste, religion, race, and gender. Instead of approaching the refugee crisis through a one-sided lens, the conference plans to address refugees all over the world as a ‘man-made crisis,’ which might endorse and create space to ask questions such as i) Can we study the issue as a site whereby refugees assert their voices claiming their rights in different ways? ii) How do their movements shape the contours of the geopolitical economy and unsettle/influence the insider/outsider dichotomy? iii) What representations do they get —their lot, agency, and voice —in the host and other literary spaces?

Besides these, we will further look into the narratives of Resistance and its articulation in literary representations, connecting it to the refugee crisis and also as a distinct concept. Here, we look for the narratives of dissent and unruly to conceptualize the interrelation between the refugee and the process of resistance. We will ponder how resistance has been conceptualized in the fields of rebellion and nationalist political movements against encroaching power structures? How are spatial and teleological narratives of resistance taking place in micro/macro spaces or Global North/South to bring forth/make the invisible power structures visible?

And the subsequent stage brings forth the process of recognition. Here, we delve into the tales of resistance in personal, social, and national as well as international spheres leading to the state of recognition, be it in terms of involuntary giving in or voluntary yielding. The arena of recognition might encompass a temporary win over a disciplining authority as well as a permanent reshuffling of the encroaching policies or mechanisms of world politics. However, we do not intend to romanticize the notion of recognition; instead, we question the criterion of being eligible to be recognized and of being ineligible. Thus, we look for the nuances and politics behind the recognition process. In addition, we consider the process of recognition in different geographic locations and everyday circumstances where newer forms of center/periphery dichotomy reclaim their spaces.

Critically and theoretically, we adopt [Post]post-colonial, albeit an askance, lens in conceptualizing the forgoing trio. Instead of maintaining an unequivocal stance on the term post-colonial, placing it on the teleological past, we aim to cast a dubious look at the parenthetical term ‘post.’ Here, the term ‘post’ does not signify colonialism as a matter of past, as something ‘over.’ Rather we see it as an unremitting phenomenon pervading all aspects of our life, albeit in newer forms like Neocolonialism or Artificial Intelligence (AI). However, our present conjecture on the term may not be beyond the realm of skepticism. This conference invites scholarly engagement with [Post] post-colonial framework whereby its pastness and presentness will be discussed and debated. Thus, it entertains an all-encompassing perspective of the viewers, reviewers, learners, critics, and readers.

Prospective research sub-topics for the conference include, but are not limited to:

1. Refugee and the New World Order                                    

2. Refugee and Politics of Resistance

3. Recognition and Toleration

4. 1971: War, Violence, and Trauma

5. Pandemic, Resistance, and Recognition

6. Displacement and Dislocation

7. Narratives of Resistance

8. Intersectionality and World Politics

9. Memory, Nostalgia, and Remembrance

10. Power and Subalterns

11. Home and (Un)home

12. Humanity, Border, Border-policing, and Marginalization

13. Ecocriticism, Anthropomorphism, and Resistance

14. Transnationalism, Transculturalism, and Translingualism

15. Gender, Transgender, and Vulnerability

16. Bangladeshi Writings in National and Global Perspectives

17. Nationalism, Cosmopolitanism, Neocolonialism, and Artificial Intelligence

18. Resistance and Intersection of Class, Caste, Race, Culture, and Region

19. Revisiting [Post]postcolonial: Limitation and Possibilities

20. Language, World Englishes, and Resistance

21. Language and English Education in Bangladesh

22. Climate Change and Displacement Migration

23. Refugee and International Migration Policy

Important dates and information:

Conference Date:  January 27–28, 2023

Abstract Submission Deadline: July 20, 2022

Notification of the Acceptance of Abstracts: August 16, 2022

Full Paper Submission Deadline: November 20, 2022

Registration Deadline: December 10, 2022

Registration Fees:

Presenter: BDT 1000 (Student); BDT 1500 (Independent Researcher); BDT 2000 (Faculty)

Participant: BDT 1000; Foreign Presenter/Participant: USD$ 25

Formal paper should be designed to be delivered in no more than 20 minutes. Please submit 200 words abstract by July 20, 2022. 

Conference queries should be sent to con2023-eng@sust.edu. For more information and update, please follow us on Twitter (https://twitter.com/2ndConf_SUSTEng) and Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/engsust.edu)