State University of Bangladesh, TESOL Society jointly organise Distinguished Lecture Series-10

The Department of English Studies (DES), State University of Bangladesh (SUB) in collaboration with TESOL Society of Bangladesh recently organised the Distinguished Lecture Series-10, titled ‘Linguistic and Epistemic Justice in Postcolonial South Asia’ on ZOOM.

The Distinguished Lecture Series (DLS) is an initiative taken by the Department of English Studies to ensure the dissemination of knowledge in the diversifying field of English language and literature.

Shyam Sharma, Associate Professor and Graduate Program Director, Program in Writing and Rhetoric, State University of New York, graced the event as the speaker on 23 September.

He urged the necessity of using multiple languages in South Asia to upend the hegemony of existing dominant languages.

Shyam Sharma feels that Bangladesh’s social context and purpose will decide the language the people of the country use, not any external political power.

For him, dominant languages function as barriers instead of bridges when it comes to effective dissemination of knowledge.

In the webinar, he was vocal about the linguistic and epistemic justice done through a multilingual society. Additionally, Maswood Akhter, Professor, Department of English, Rajshahi University, shared his thoughts and enriched the discussion by responding to participants’ questions.

The event started with a welcome speech by Paren Chandra Barman, DES, SUB, and was followed by his introduction of the speaker and the discussant.

Professor Sayeedur Rahman, President, TESOL Society of Bangladesh and Professor, Institute of Modern Languages (IML), University of Dhaka, Hamidul Haque, Head and Senior Assistant Professor, Department of English, American International University-Bangladesh along with faculty members from various universities in Bangladesh attended the programme.

The event was anchored by Sarwat Azad Bristi, Lecturer DES, SUB.