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Crossings A Journal of English Studies

University of LIberal Arts Bangladesh, Deaprtment of English and Humanities, Journal

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Crossings: A Journal of English Studies is an annual double-blind peer-reviewed journal of scholarly articles and book reviews. Crossings invites contributions in the fields of language, applied linguistics, literature, and culture from scholars and researchers mainly affiliated with higher education.

ISSN: 2071-1107

EDITOR
Prof. Shamsad Mortuza, PhD
Pro-Vice Chancellor and Head, Department of English and Humanities, ULAB, Bangladesh
[email protected]

EXECUTIVE EDITOR
Arifa Ghani Rahman
Associate Professor, Department of English and Humanities, ULAB, Bangladesh
[email protected]

ASSISTANT EDITORS
Nishat Atiya Shoilee
Lecturer, Department of English and Humanities, ULAB, Bangladesh
[email protected]

S M Mahfuzur Rahman
Lecturer, Department of English and Humanities, ULAB, Bangladesh
[email protected]

EDITORIAL BOARD
Prof. Kaiser Haq, PhD
Dean, School of Arts and Humanities, and Professor, Department of English and Humanities, ULAB, Bangladesh
[email protected]

Prof. Syed Manzoorul Islam, PhD
Professor, Department of English and Humanities, ULAB, Bangladesh
[email protected]

Dr. Mahmud Hasan Khan
Associate Professor, Department of English and Humanities, ULAB, Bangladesh
[email protected]

ADVISORY BOARD
Prof. Fakrul Alam, PhD
UGC Professor, Department of English, University of Dhaka, Bangladesh
[email protected]

Prof. Ian Almond, PhD
Professor of World Literature, School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University in Qatar
[email protected]

Prof. Ulka Anjaria, PhD
Professor, Department of English, Brandeis University, USA
[email protected]

Prof. Claire Chambers, PhD
Professor, Global Literature, University of York, UK
[email protected]

Prof. Azirah Hashim, PhD
Professor, English Language Department, Faculty of Languages and Linguistics, University of Malaya, Malaysia
[email protected]

Prof. Malashri Lal, PhD
Professor, Department of English, University of Delhi, India
[email protected]

Prof. Muhammad A. Quayum, PhD
Adjunct Professor, College of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences, Flinders University, Australia
[email protected]

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Papers by Crossings A Journal of English Studies

Afsana Rahman Women and Madness

Domains of Kanuri Loanwords in Margi

Crossings: A Journal of English Studies

The socio-cultural contact between Kanuri and Margi led to an inevitable borrowing of words from ... more The socio-cultural contact between Kanuri and Margi led to an inevitable borrowing of words from Kanuri to Margi. As such, this research paper deals with the investigation of the different domains of incidence in that the borrowing took place. In collecting data for the research, an unstructured interview was used (along with a tape recorder) to record the articulation of the informants for transcription purposes. Brann’s (2006) 16 Domains of Incidence was adopted as the model of approach in this research. The data collected showed that there are eight domains where loanwords from Kanuri to Margi took place. The domains include school, office, market, temple, club, home, color, time and direction, weather and climate. The work identified 78 Kanuri loanwords in Margi. The numbers of loanwords identified in each of the domains are: school 7, office 6, market 10, temple 8, club 2, home 29, colour time and direction 13, weather and climate 3. The findings of the research established tha...

Some Thoughts on Afghanistan

Crossings: A Journal of English Studies

I spent a life-changing year in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in the 1990s, a visit that formed my intellect... more I spent a life-changing year in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in the 1990s, a visit that formed my intellectual perspective and inspired my career trajectory. Thus, I have long been fascinated by other people – especially women – who have spent time amid other cultures, and then experienced mixed feelings on returning to their native countries. Lately I have been reading the work of two adventurous women journalists, a generation apart from each other: British Yvonne Ridley (born in County Durham in 1958) and Dutch Bette Dam (b. Leeuwarden, 1979)

Living Amidst the Catastrophes of “the Living Contradiction”

Crossings: A Journal of English Studies

Two hundred years after Marx’s birth, we find ourselves living amid thecatastrophes of what Marx ... more Two hundred years after Marx’s birth, we find ourselves living amid thecatastrophes of what Marx terms “the living contradiction.” I argue here thatMarx’s immanent critique of capitalist society’s “economic law of motion”remains the indispensable basis for any coherent understanding of capital todayand, hence, of any revolutionary project to bring about capital’s demise andsupersession. This essay develops a careful reading of a discrete section fromGrundrisse where we find key elements of Marx’s critique in concentrated form. Ifocus on the way that Marx consistently frames capital as contradiction – a set ofbarriers or limits that capital posits, presses past, and in superseding, posits againat a higher level of contradiction – culminating in Marx’s formulation of capitalas “the living contradiction.” In conversation with contemporary value-formtheory I consider what makes this contradiction living; in particular I considerthe intertwined phenomena of class decomposition and surplu...

The Hotel Narrative in Turkish, Mexican, and Bengali Fiction

Crossings: A Journal of English Studies

This webinar was presented on November 27, 2020 at the Fall 2020 Seminar Series organized by the ... more This webinar was presented on November 27, 2020 at the Fall 2020 Seminar Series organized by the Department of English and Humanities (DEH), University of Liberal Arts Bangladesh (ULAB). The lecture was transcribed by Khadija Rubaiyat Tasmia (Supervisor, The English Zone, ULAB), Mashiur Rahaman, Vincent Dip Gomes, and Shahriyer Hossain Shetu (students of DEH). It is based on a chapter taken from Ian Almond, World Literature Decentered: Beyond the ‘West’ through Turkey, Mexico and Bengal (Routledge, 2021). The lecture may be viewed at https://www.facebook.com/125162620861384/videos/222975315894460.

Not Winnin' Anymore: Boys from the Blackstuff and the Literature of Recession

Crossings: A Journal of English Studies, 2020

This article addresses representations of working-class life in Britain during the 1980s; specifi... more This article addresses representations of working-class life in Britain during the 1980s; specifically, experiences of recession, unemployment, and difficulty in the workplace. The primary text considered is the television drama series Boys from the Blackstuff (1982), written by Alan Bleasdale; more briefly this is linked to James Kelman's novel The Busconductor Hines (1984), and to the post-industrial landscape of the poetry of Sean O'Brien. In the wake of the socialist criticism of Raymond Williams, the article explores how the "Industrial Novel" of the 1840s may be succeeded, in the Thatcher years, by the literature of recession and deindustrialization.

Living Amidst the Catastrophes of "the Living Contradiction": Theses on Marx at 200

Crossings: A Journal of English Studies, 2020

Two hundred years after Marx's birth, we find ourselves living amid the catastrophes of what Marx... more Two hundred years after Marx's birth, we find ourselves living amid the catastrophes of what Marx terms "the living contradiction." I argue here that Marx's immanent critique of capitalist society's "economic law of motion" remains the indispensable basis for any coherent understanding of capital today and, hence, of any revolutionary project to bring about capital's demise and supersession. This essay develops a careful reading of a discrete section from Grundrisse where we find key elements of Marx's critique in concentrated form. I focus on the way that Marx consistently frames capital as contradiction-a set of barriers or limits that capital posits, presses past, and in superseding, posits again at a higher level of contradiction-culminating in Marx's formulation of capital as "the living contradiction." In conversation with contemporary value-form theory I consider what makes this contradiction living; in particular I consider the intertwined phenomena of class decomposition and surplus population as the phenomenal expressions of what value-form theorists have termed "asocial sociality," the characteristic condition of commodity-subjects under capital. Ultimately, I contend that Marx remains the seminal theorist of capitalism, and that his immanent critique of the capital-relation and the value-form remains not merely relevant, but necessary and indispensable if we are to understand, and, more important, survive the pervasive crises of the present.

Karl Marx on India: A Postcolonial Perspective

by Crossings A Journal of English Studies and Fakrul Alam

Crossings: A Journal of English Studies, 2020

This paper focuses on some of the writings of Karl Marx on India in English to indicate something... more This paper focuses on some of the writings of Karl Marx on India in English to indicate something of the extent of his astonishing knowledge of the subcontinent's political and socioeconomic history, and to highlight the incisiveness of his critique of British rule in India. In the process, it attempts to show Marx's (and Friedrich Engels') sensitivity as well as understanding of the plight of Indians under the East India Company's rule, and his quite overt and powerful denunciation of British excesses during the Sepoy Mutiny. In addition, the paper underscores the importance of these writings for us in South Asia, and stresses their continuing relevance in our time. It also emphasizes Marx's mastery of details of Indian history, land laws, and topography. Moreover, it accentuates the rhetorical persuasiveness with which he makes his case against British rule in India and underscores his command over English prose. The paper ends by suggesting that all postcolonial scholars dealing with the subcontinent as well as students of Marxism can benefit by studying Marx's pioneering role in critiquing British colonial rule in India.

Inspired by the Bengal Renaissance: Rokeya's Role in the Education and Emancipation of Bengali (Muslim) Women

Crossings: A Journal of English Studies, 2020

Rokeya Sakhawat Hossain (1880-1932) is often considered as one of the most significant figures in... more Rokeya Sakhawat Hossain (1880-1932) is often considered as one of the most significant figures in the education and emancipation of Bengali (Muslim) women, especially during the early decades of the twentieth century. A contemporary of Rabindranath Tagore (1861-1941), Sarat Chandra Chattapadhyay (1876-1938) and Kazi Nazrul Islam (1899-1976), she was not only a brilliant writer but also one who passionately fought for the rights and dignity of women, as well as for women’s social, economic, and intellectual empowerment. Here I would like to argue that Rokeya’s efforts in educating and emancipating Indian women in general, and Bengali Muslim women in particular, were part of a larger social reform program or movement which began in Bengal in the early decades of the nineteenth century and lasted through the first half of the twentieth century, eventually resulting in a change in the course of Bengal’s history, as well as in the fate and circumstances of Bengali (Muslim) women. In other words, I contend that Rokeya was influenced and inspired by this movement in taking up the gauntlet against the deeply entrenched patriarchy that shaped the mind and habits of her society.

The Hotel Narrative in Turkish, Mexican, and Bengali Fiction

Crossings: A Journal of English Studies, 2021

Today I am going to talk a little bit about the hotel in world literature. I am going to go thr... more Today I am going to talk a little bit about the hotel in world literature. I am going to go through it as quickly as possible without getting too bogged down in the minutiae of what the text says. We are looking at three hotel novels. Th e talk is based on a chapter of my new book, World Literature Decentered. I think it is important to start by saying why I am talking about Mexico, Turkey, and Bengal. Th e book largely comes out of a series of frustrations with current concepts of world literature and world history, concepts which I, and an increasing number of scholars, feel are overwhelmingly Euro-American in nature. I always begin by saying that the West is ten percent of the planet or that Europe and America make up ten percent of the planet. So the non-West is not some token minority that needs our attention – it is the overwhelming majority of this world. So that really is the wider context here. Instead of theoretically deconstructing notions of world literature, I am trying really to performatively engage with it through three non-Western regions, and those three regions, those three literary traditions if you like, are Turkey, Bengal, and Mexico. And there are about five topics that I choose: I look at melancholy, I look at the ghost story, I look at Orientalism ... but one of those chapters is on the hotel.

Some Thoughts on Afghanistan

Crossings: A Journal of English Studies, 2022

I spent a life-changing year in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in the 1990s, a visit that formed my intellect... more I spent a life-changing year in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in the 1990s, a visit that formed my intellectual perspective and inspired my career trajectory. Thus, I have long been fascinated by other people – especially women – who have spent time amid other cultures, and then experienced mixed feelings on returning to their native countries. Lately I have been reading the work of two adventurous women journalists, a generation apart from each other: British Yvonne Ridley (born in County Durham in 1958) and Dutch Bette Dam (b. Leeuwarden, 1979).

Language, Chronotope, Other Spaces and Times, and Identity

Crossings: A Journal of English Studies, 2022

The purpose of this paper is to explore the intricate relationship between the spatial dynamics o... more The purpose of this paper is to explore the intricate relationship between the spatial dynamics of real and imagined spaces, and to understand how language and identity evolve and emerge within these spaces. To do so, both face-to-face and digital conversations from an intensive three-month-long ethnographic research in Bangladesh, in which 29 participants took part, are analyzed with reference to Bakhtin’s concept of the chronotope. The analysis reveals that while participants engage in conversation within the contextual realities and spatial dynamics, they also equally refer to other spaces and times. These spaces work as reference points that enable the participants to bring extra layers of meaning to the meaning-making processes of their language practices. The participants also approximate or transgress the linguistic and cultural boundaries within the social and spatial realities of the present with reference to the socially and culturally appropriate norms and propriety of other spaces. The paper hence concludes that the spatial contextualization of language and the negotiation of identity are relational, very much in an organic relationship with other spaces and times, both imaginary and concrete, and fluid and fixed. Thus, the paper contributes to the recent development in sociolinguistics research that strongly suggests including space as an important dynamic of language, its meaning-making processes, and individual and collective identity.

Keywords: Bangladesh, chronotope, identity, language, space

Scholarship 2.0: Countering the Hegemony of English for Making Knowledge Production Locally More Valuable in the Global South

Crossings: A Journal of English Studies, 2022

Scholars have shown how the politics of English(es) can perpetuate structures of unequal power, m... more Scholars have shown how the politics of English(es) can perpetuate structures of unequal power, marginalization, and injustice (as well as being used to counter them). Yet, scholars in the global south remain complacent and complicit about the status quo. Focusing on social justice and equity, this paper, based on the plenary given at the Entangled Englishes Conference in Dhaka, will show how we can disentangle ourselves from the hegemony of English(es) and its localized power politics. Sharing what I call a “scholar 2.0” framework, I show how practically confronting the hegemony of English(es) requires transcending individual interest and ego, mobilizing all languages in the interest of local society and professions, and engaging in translanguaging and critical global citizenship. Only by producing new knowledge for our own communities and societies – in many languages and new local venues – can we give life and meaning to our critical perspectives on language.

Keywords: hegemony, English(es), translanguaging, scholarship, knowledge production

"Entanglements and Assemblages of English": Keynote by Alastair Pennycook:

Crossings: A Journal of English Studies, 2022

This paper takes up the concepts of entanglements and assemblages of English as a way to understa... more This paper takes up the concepts of entanglements and assemblages of English as a way to understand the multiple ways in which English is connected to, and part of, social, cultural, political, and material worlds. This way of thinking is more useful than approaches to English that focus primarily on the language in isolation (even if pluralized or diversified) or alternatively look at English as a mere reflection of already-defined relations of political economy. A backstreet sign for an English school in the Philippines, for example, suggests an assemblage of tangled wires, cheap English, desire, neoliberal goals, English frenzy, domestic workers, call centers, social stratifications, and unequal resources. Implications for looking at English in Bangladesh along similar lines will also be discussed. Developing the ideas of assemblages and entanglements, this paper argues that new approaches to materiality and the interconnectedness of things can take us forward in a search for alternative ways of thinking about the distribution of unequal linguistic resources. The paper concludes with a discussion of the possibilities of disentangling English.
Keywords: assemblage, entanglement, English, decoloniality

Crossings Vol. 13, No. 1 (Special Volume: Entangled Englishes in Translocal Spaces)

CROSSINGS: A Journal of English Studies, 2022

This special volume of Crossings is special in every sense of the term. It attempts to address th... more This special volume of Crossings is special in every sense of the term. It attempts to address the numerous loci where Englishes are found entangled. It goes beyond identifying English as a linguistic and cultural resource to engage with the voluminous debate on the after-life of English that once had its heyday as a colonial tool. It, therefore, promotes other Englishes and explores new directions of scholarship while problematizing the meaning-making process. The concern for disproportionate access to English and its consequent empowerment and disempowerment of language users in translocal spaces also find its voice in this volume. Papers selected for this special issue were originally presented at a conference titled “Entangled Englishes in Translocal Spaces” on September 2-4, 2021. Organized by ULAB’s Centre for Language Studies and Department of English and Humanities, the conference brought together scholars from all continents to participate in an academic gala that promised: “a discursive platform to explore possible ways of ‘de-elitisation’ of Englishes for sustainable development of human resources.” The keynote speaker, Dr. Alastair Pennycook, set the tone for both the conference and this issue. Pennycook extends his version of vital materialism scholarship that he employed earlier to understand the nuanced relational agencies of English in the Philippines to a Bangladeshi context and examines how Englishes are connected, both materially and non-materially. The plenary speaker, Dr. Shyam Sharma, calls for Scholarship 2.0 to challenge the language knowledge hegemony and identifies the Global South as the new realm for alternative knowledge. This is exemplified in two other papers selected for the volume. Paolo Coluzzi critiques the western-centricity of academic journals that control the double helix that Sharma mentions. Monisha Biswas’s identification of the presumed prestige associated with the use of English for communication on Facebook offers another example.
The other conference plenary speakers, Dr. Shaila Sultana and Dr. Sender Dovchin use three-month-long ethnographic research on 29 participants to establish Bakhtin’s concept of chronotope in suggesting how shared experiences over time and space could give them a shared knowledge and craft their relationship and affiliation. Asif Kamal locates the literary space in the syllabi of Bangladeshi universities to argue that the language skills of students can be developed through their exposures to literary texts while Zarin Tasnim and Risala Ahmed make a case for humanistic approaches to teaching. The discussion on sociolinguistics thus neatly segues into the literature section where the language question is located in the contested spaces of different genres. This issue of Crossings makes a serious attempt to identify various trends and shifts in knowledge production and circulation concerning the use of Englishes. We expect our readers and scholars to disseminate the findings and give the volume the visibility it deserves in various metric-controlled indices.

Crossings Vol. 12

Crossings: A Journal of English Studies, 2021

Volume 12 of Crossings upholds the journal’s commitment to rigorous scholarship. Over the last “e... more Volume 12 of Crossings upholds the journal’s commitment to rigorous scholarship. Over the last “era,” the peer-reviewed journal has offered a platform for critical dialogue and debate, participated in by both eminent and emerging scholars. The previously published volumes show how English Studies has evolved in the last decade or so. The connectivity and mobility of scholarship, thanks to the growth in technology, have further impacted the change. Twelve years ago, we started as a local journal, and now we can claim to be a truly international open-access journal as reflected by our editorial board and contributors.

In this volume, Prof. Ian Almond’s talk given at ULAB is featured as an occasional paper. Prof. Almond reflects on the hotel as a site of stories with a particular focus on the “political, psychological, and existential” implications of hotel narratives to remind us of an experiential reality that we often take for granted.
The literature and cultural studies section critically engages with both cutting-edge thought and traditional ideas. Topics range from the film trilogy The Matrix to Naya scroll printing in India; Emily Dickinson’s negotiations of patriarchal expectations in the nineteenth century to the abolition of gender in speculative fiction; the “still activism” in the indigenous narratives of North America to the tribal resistance to State oppression in India; tracing Bengal in East Africa through the avant-gardist experiments in the 1960s to locating Keatsian Romanticism in our national poet Kazi Nazrul Islam; from domicile loci of a homemaker in Ismat Chugtai’s novels to the docile representation of women in young adult fiction. The current discussion on biopolitics and eco-concerns permeate the volume with textual analysis. The section truly represents the changing paradigm of English Studies and subconsciously captures the essence of world literature.

The language section includes a careful semiotic analysis of Bangladeshi TV programs, an insightful piece on the loan words in the Saharan language Kanuri as well as skill-based teaching in a Bangladeshi classroom.

The book reviews introduce us to the short stories of Shakti Ghosh and a festschrift published on Prof. Amritjit Singh.

Crossings Volume 11 (2020)

Crossings: A Journal of English Studies, 2020

Chinese astrology divides life into ten-year cycles, believing that each section has its own forc... more Chinese astrology divides life into ten-year cycles, believing that each section has its own force. While bringing out Volume 11 of Crossings, we cannot but reflect on the planned changes that we are going to embrace in this new section. We are already in the process of being indexed with several databases to give our local effort an international accent. The expansion of our international advisory body to include some accomplished academics and journal editors has boosted our initiative.

Crossings has already become an intellectual forum for all those who take interest in issues related to language, linguistics, literature, and culture. The wide-ranging discussions available in the volume is a testimony of the fact that we have been able to create a discursive platform where literary texts can be analyzed for academic causes, language can be examined for both pedagogical and practical purposes, and cultural texts can be located beyond the academy.

Crossings Special Volume on Marx 200 (2020)

Crossings: Special Volume on Marx 200, 2020

The Special Volume of Crossings: A Journal of English Studies on Marx is indeed special. Some of ... more The Special Volume of Crossings: A Journal of English Studies on Marx is indeed special. Some of the papers were presented at the two-day international conference that ULAB organized to celebrate Karl Marx’s bicentenary on November 30-December 1, 2018. This issue of Crossings did not, however, limit itself only to the sixty odd papers that were presented at the conference; but solicited articles from some renowned Marxist critics at home and abroad.

The volume surveys a Marxist tradition of critical thinking by incorporating issues such as political economy, ideology, value theory, crisis theory, systemic analysis of capitalism, ecocriticism, neoliberalism, and aesthetic theory. These articles show how a realistic alternative to the current global marketplace can be deemed through reorganizing our sensibility.

Crossings Volume 10 (2019)

Crossings: A Journal of English Studies, 2019

The tenth volume of Crossings is special for us. Ten in numerology signifies the completion of a ... more The tenth volume of Crossings is special for us. Ten in numerology signifies the completion of a circle, and the determination to move forward with renewed vigor. Over the last decade, we have established ourselves as a serious publishing outlet, attracting scholars from across the globe. Our international panel of advisors, our double-blind peer-review process and our enterprising attitude towards budding scholars and researchers have given Crossings its academic reputation. The
challenge now, as we move to our next phase, will be to increase the impact factor of the journal by enlisting our publication with the appropriate endorsing bodies.

Crossing Volume 9 (2018)

Crossings: A Journal of English Studies, 2018

The name of our journal involves an act of traversing. It can also imply places where different t... more The name of our journal involves an act of traversing. It can also imply places where different tracks meet. The overarching frame of English Studies that includes language, literature, and culture offers us a window into the discipline as a discursive site. Over the last few years, we have established our journal as an academic niche for serious scholarly writings from all over the world.

Afsana Rahman Women and Madness

Domains of Kanuri Loanwords in Margi

Crossings: A Journal of English Studies

The socio-cultural contact between Kanuri and Margi led to an inevitable borrowing of words from ... more The socio-cultural contact between Kanuri and Margi led to an inevitable borrowing of words from Kanuri to Margi. As such, this research paper deals with the investigation of the different domains of incidence in that the borrowing took place. In collecting data for the research, an unstructured interview was used (along with a tape recorder) to record the articulation of the informants for transcription purposes. Brann’s (2006) 16 Domains of Incidence was adopted as the model of approach in this research. The data collected showed that there are eight domains where loanwords from Kanuri to Margi took place. The domains include school, office, market, temple, club, home, color, time and direction, weather and climate. The work identified 78 Kanuri loanwords in Margi. The numbers of loanwords identified in each of the domains are: school 7, office 6, market 10, temple 8, club 2, home 29, colour time and direction 13, weather and climate 3. The findings of the research established tha...

Some Thoughts on Afghanistan

Crossings: A Journal of English Studies

I spent a life-changing year in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in the 1990s, a visit that formed my intellect... more I spent a life-changing year in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in the 1990s, a visit that formed my intellectual perspective and inspired my career trajectory. Thus, I have long been fascinated by other people – especially women – who have spent time amid other cultures, and then experienced mixed feelings on returning to their native countries. Lately I have been reading the work of two adventurous women journalists, a generation apart from each other: British Yvonne Ridley (born in County Durham in 1958) and Dutch Bette Dam (b. Leeuwarden, 1979)

Living Amidst the Catastrophes of “the Living Contradiction”

Crossings: A Journal of English Studies

Two hundred years after Marx’s birth, we find ourselves living amid thecatastrophes of what Marx ... more Two hundred years after Marx’s birth, we find ourselves living amid thecatastrophes of what Marx terms “the living contradiction.” I argue here thatMarx’s immanent critique of capitalist society’s “economic law of motion”remains the indispensable basis for any coherent understanding of capital todayand, hence, of any revolutionary project to bring about capital’s demise andsupersession. This essay develops a careful reading of a discrete section fromGrundrisse where we find key elements of Marx’s critique in concentrated form. Ifocus on the way that Marx consistently frames capital as contradiction – a set ofbarriers or limits that capital posits, presses past, and in superseding, posits againat a higher level of contradiction – culminating in Marx’s formulation of capitalas “the living contradiction.” In conversation with contemporary value-formtheory I consider what makes this contradiction living; in particular I considerthe intertwined phenomena of class decomposition and surplu...

The Hotel Narrative in Turkish, Mexican, and Bengali Fiction

Crossings: A Journal of English Studies

This webinar was presented on November 27, 2020 at the Fall 2020 Seminar Series organized by the ... more This webinar was presented on November 27, 2020 at the Fall 2020 Seminar Series organized by the Department of English and Humanities (DEH), University of Liberal Arts Bangladesh (ULAB). The lecture was transcribed by Khadija Rubaiyat Tasmia (Supervisor, The English Zone, ULAB), Mashiur Rahaman, Vincent Dip Gomes, and Shahriyer Hossain Shetu (students of DEH). It is based on a chapter taken from Ian Almond, World Literature Decentered: Beyond the ‘West’ through Turkey, Mexico and Bengal (Routledge, 2021). The lecture may be viewed at https://www.facebook.com/125162620861384/videos/222975315894460.

Not Winnin' Anymore: Boys from the Blackstuff and the Literature of Recession

Crossings: A Journal of English Studies, 2020

This article addresses representations of working-class life in Britain during the 1980s; specifi... more This article addresses representations of working-class life in Britain during the 1980s; specifically, experiences of recession, unemployment, and difficulty in the workplace. The primary text considered is the television drama series Boys from the Blackstuff (1982), written by Alan Bleasdale; more briefly this is linked to James Kelman's novel The Busconductor Hines (1984), and to the post-industrial landscape of the poetry of Sean O'Brien. In the wake of the socialist criticism of Raymond Williams, the article explores how the "Industrial Novel" of the 1840s may be succeeded, in the Thatcher years, by the literature of recession and deindustrialization.

Living Amidst the Catastrophes of "the Living Contradiction": Theses on Marx at 200

Crossings: A Journal of English Studies, 2020

Two hundred years after Marx's birth, we find ourselves living amid the catastrophes of what Marx... more Two hundred years after Marx's birth, we find ourselves living amid the catastrophes of what Marx terms "the living contradiction." I argue here that Marx's immanent critique of capitalist society's "economic law of motion" remains the indispensable basis for any coherent understanding of capital today and, hence, of any revolutionary project to bring about capital's demise and supersession. This essay develops a careful reading of a discrete section from Grundrisse where we find key elements of Marx's critique in concentrated form. I focus on the way that Marx consistently frames capital as contradiction-a set of barriers or limits that capital posits, presses past, and in superseding, posits again at a higher level of contradiction-culminating in Marx's formulation of capital as "the living contradiction." In conversation with contemporary value-form theory I consider what makes this contradiction living; in particular I consider the intertwined phenomena of class decomposition and surplus population as the phenomenal expressions of what value-form theorists have termed "asocial sociality," the characteristic condition of commodity-subjects under capital. Ultimately, I contend that Marx remains the seminal theorist of capitalism, and that his immanent critique of the capital-relation and the value-form remains not merely relevant, but necessary and indispensable if we are to understand, and, more important, survive the pervasive crises of the present.

Karl Marx on India: A Postcolonial Perspective

by Crossings A Journal of English Studies and Fakrul Alam

Crossings: A Journal of English Studies, 2020

This paper focuses on some of the writings of Karl Marx on India in English to indicate something... more This paper focuses on some of the writings of Karl Marx on India in English to indicate something of the extent of his astonishing knowledge of the subcontinent's political and socioeconomic history, and to highlight the incisiveness of his critique of British rule in India. In the process, it attempts to show Marx's (and Friedrich Engels') sensitivity as well as understanding of the plight of Indians under the East India Company's rule, and his quite overt and powerful denunciation of British excesses during the Sepoy Mutiny. In addition, the paper underscores the importance of these writings for us in South Asia, and stresses their continuing relevance in our time. It also emphasizes Marx's mastery of details of Indian history, land laws, and topography. Moreover, it accentuates the rhetorical persuasiveness with which he makes his case against British rule in India and underscores his command over English prose. The paper ends by suggesting that all postcolonial scholars dealing with the subcontinent as well as students of Marxism can benefit by studying Marx's pioneering role in critiquing British colonial rule in India.

Inspired by the Bengal Renaissance: Rokeya's Role in the Education and Emancipation of Bengali (Muslim) Women

Crossings: A Journal of English Studies, 2020

Rokeya Sakhawat Hossain (1880-1932) is often considered as one of the most significant figures in... more Rokeya Sakhawat Hossain (1880-1932) is often considered as one of the most significant figures in the education and emancipation of Bengali (Muslim) women, especially during the early decades of the twentieth century. A contemporary of Rabindranath Tagore (1861-1941), Sarat Chandra Chattapadhyay (1876-1938) and Kazi Nazrul Islam (1899-1976), she was not only a brilliant writer but also one who passionately fought for the rights and dignity of women, as well as for women’s social, economic, and intellectual empowerment. Here I would like to argue that Rokeya’s efforts in educating and emancipating Indian women in general, and Bengali Muslim women in particular, were part of a larger social reform program or movement which began in Bengal in the early decades of the nineteenth century and lasted through the first half of the twentieth century, eventually resulting in a change in the course of Bengal’s history, as well as in the fate and circumstances of Bengali (Muslim) women. In other words, I contend that Rokeya was influenced and inspired by this movement in taking up the gauntlet against the deeply entrenched patriarchy that shaped the mind and habits of her society.

The Hotel Narrative in Turkish, Mexican, and Bengali Fiction

Crossings: A Journal of English Studies, 2021

Today I am going to talk a little bit about the hotel in world literature. I am going to go thr... more Today I am going to talk a little bit about the hotel in world literature. I am going to go through it as quickly as possible without getting too bogged down in the minutiae of what the text says. We are looking at three hotel novels. Th e talk is based on a chapter of my new book, World Literature Decentered. I think it is important to start by saying why I am talking about Mexico, Turkey, and Bengal. Th e book largely comes out of a series of frustrations with current concepts of world literature and world history, concepts which I, and an increasing number of scholars, feel are overwhelmingly Euro-American in nature. I always begin by saying that the West is ten percent of the planet or that Europe and America make up ten percent of the planet. So the non-West is not some token minority that needs our attention – it is the overwhelming majority of this world. So that really is the wider context here. Instead of theoretically deconstructing notions of world literature, I am trying really to performatively engage with it through three non-Western regions, and those three regions, those three literary traditions if you like, are Turkey, Bengal, and Mexico. And there are about five topics that I choose: I look at melancholy, I look at the ghost story, I look at Orientalism ... but one of those chapters is on the hotel.

Some Thoughts on Afghanistan

Crossings: A Journal of English Studies, 2022

I spent a life-changing year in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in the 1990s, a visit that formed my intellect... more I spent a life-changing year in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in the 1990s, a visit that formed my intellectual perspective and inspired my career trajectory. Thus, I have long been fascinated by other people – especially women – who have spent time amid other cultures, and then experienced mixed feelings on returning to their native countries. Lately I have been reading the work of two adventurous women journalists, a generation apart from each other: British Yvonne Ridley (born in County Durham in 1958) and Dutch Bette Dam (b. Leeuwarden, 1979).

Language, Chronotope, Other Spaces and Times, and Identity

Crossings: A Journal of English Studies, 2022

The purpose of this paper is to explore the intricate relationship between the spatial dynamics o... more The purpose of this paper is to explore the intricate relationship between the spatial dynamics of real and imagined spaces, and to understand how language and identity evolve and emerge within these spaces. To do so, both face-to-face and digital conversations from an intensive three-month-long ethnographic research in Bangladesh, in which 29 participants took part, are analyzed with reference to Bakhtin’s concept of the chronotope. The analysis reveals that while participants engage in conversation within the contextual realities and spatial dynamics, they also equally refer to other spaces and times. These spaces work as reference points that enable the participants to bring extra layers of meaning to the meaning-making processes of their language practices. The participants also approximate or transgress the linguistic and cultural boundaries within the social and spatial realities of the present with reference to the socially and culturally appropriate norms and propriety of other spaces. The paper hence concludes that the spatial contextualization of language and the negotiation of identity are relational, very much in an organic relationship with other spaces and times, both imaginary and concrete, and fluid and fixed. Thus, the paper contributes to the recent development in sociolinguistics research that strongly suggests including space as an important dynamic of language, its meaning-making processes, and individual and collective identity.

Keywords: Bangladesh, chronotope, identity, language, space

Scholarship 2.0: Countering the Hegemony of English for Making Knowledge Production Locally More Valuable in the Global South

Crossings: A Journal of English Studies, 2022

Scholars have shown how the politics of English(es) can perpetuate structures of unequal power, m... more Scholars have shown how the politics of English(es) can perpetuate structures of unequal power, marginalization, and injustice (as well as being used to counter them). Yet, scholars in the global south remain complacent and complicit about the status quo. Focusing on social justice and equity, this paper, based on the plenary given at the Entangled Englishes Conference in Dhaka, will show how we can disentangle ourselves from the hegemony of English(es) and its localized power politics. Sharing what I call a “scholar 2.0” framework, I show how practically confronting the hegemony of English(es) requires transcending individual interest and ego, mobilizing all languages in the interest of local society and professions, and engaging in translanguaging and critical global citizenship. Only by producing new knowledge for our own communities and societies – in many languages and new local venues – can we give life and meaning to our critical perspectives on language.

Keywords: hegemony, English(es), translanguaging, scholarship, knowledge production

"Entanglements and Assemblages of English": Keynote by Alastair Pennycook:

Crossings: A Journal of English Studies, 2022

This paper takes up the concepts of entanglements and assemblages of English as a way to understa... more This paper takes up the concepts of entanglements and assemblages of English as a way to understand the multiple ways in which English is connected to, and part of, social, cultural, political, and material worlds. This way of thinking is more useful than approaches to English that focus primarily on the language in isolation (even if pluralized or diversified) or alternatively look at English as a mere reflection of already-defined relations of political economy. A backstreet sign for an English school in the Philippines, for example, suggests an assemblage of tangled wires, cheap English, desire, neoliberal goals, English frenzy, domestic workers, call centers, social stratifications, and unequal resources. Implications for looking at English in Bangladesh along similar lines will also be discussed. Developing the ideas of assemblages and entanglements, this paper argues that new approaches to materiality and the interconnectedness of things can take us forward in a search for alternative ways of thinking about the distribution of unequal linguistic resources. The paper concludes with a discussion of the possibilities of disentangling English.
Keywords: assemblage, entanglement, English, decoloniality

Crossings Vol. 13, No. 1 (Special Volume: Entangled Englishes in Translocal Spaces)

CROSSINGS: A Journal of English Studies, 2022

This special volume of Crossings is special in every sense of the term. It attempts to address th... more This special volume of Crossings is special in every sense of the term. It attempts to address the numerous loci where Englishes are found entangled. It goes beyond identifying English as a linguistic and cultural resource to engage with the voluminous debate on the after-life of English that once had its heyday as a colonial tool. It, therefore, promotes other Englishes and explores new directions of scholarship while problematizing the meaning-making process. The concern for disproportionate access to English and its consequent empowerment and disempowerment of language users in translocal spaces also find its voice in this volume. Papers selected for this special issue were originally presented at a conference titled “Entangled Englishes in Translocal Spaces” on September 2-4, 2021. Organized by ULAB’s Centre for Language Studies and Department of English and Humanities, the conference brought together scholars from all continents to participate in an academic gala that promised: “a discursive platform to explore possible ways of ‘de-elitisation’ of Englishes for sustainable development of human resources.” The keynote speaker, Dr. Alastair Pennycook, set the tone for both the conference and this issue. Pennycook extends his version of vital materialism scholarship that he employed earlier to understand the nuanced relational agencies of English in the Philippines to a Bangladeshi context and examines how Englishes are connected, both materially and non-materially. The plenary speaker, Dr. Shyam Sharma, calls for Scholarship 2.0 to challenge the language knowledge hegemony and identifies the Global South as the new realm for alternative knowledge. This is exemplified in two other papers selected for the volume. Paolo Coluzzi critiques the western-centricity of academic journals that control the double helix that Sharma mentions. Monisha Biswas’s identification of the presumed prestige associated with the use of English for communication on Facebook offers another example.
The other conference plenary speakers, Dr. Shaila Sultana and Dr. Sender Dovchin use three-month-long ethnographic research on 29 participants to establish Bakhtin’s concept of chronotope in suggesting how shared experiences over time and space could give them a shared knowledge and craft their relationship and affiliation. Asif Kamal locates the literary space in the syllabi of Bangladeshi universities to argue that the language skills of students can be developed through their exposures to literary texts while Zarin Tasnim and Risala Ahmed make a case for humanistic approaches to teaching. The discussion on sociolinguistics thus neatly segues into the literature section where the language question is located in the contested spaces of different genres. This issue of Crossings makes a serious attempt to identify various trends and shifts in knowledge production and circulation concerning the use of Englishes. We expect our readers and scholars to disseminate the findings and give the volume the visibility it deserves in various metric-controlled indices.

Crossings Vol. 12

Crossings: A Journal of English Studies, 2021

Volume 12 of Crossings upholds the journal’s commitment to rigorous scholarship. Over the last “e... more Volume 12 of Crossings upholds the journal’s commitment to rigorous scholarship. Over the last “era,” the peer-reviewed journal has offered a platform for critical dialogue and debate, participated in by both eminent and emerging scholars. The previously published volumes show how English Studies has evolved in the last decade or so. The connectivity and mobility of scholarship, thanks to the growth in technology, have further impacted the change. Twelve years ago, we started as a local journal, and now we can claim to be a truly international open-access journal as reflected by our editorial board and contributors.

In this volume, Prof. Ian Almond’s talk given at ULAB is featured as an occasional paper. Prof. Almond reflects on the hotel as a site of stories with a particular focus on the “political, psychological, and existential” implications of hotel narratives to remind us of an experiential reality that we often take for granted.
The literature and cultural studies section critically engages with both cutting-edge thought and traditional ideas. Topics range from the film trilogy The Matrix to Naya scroll printing in India; Emily Dickinson’s negotiations of patriarchal expectations in the nineteenth century to the abolition of gender in speculative fiction; the “still activism” in the indigenous narratives of North America to the tribal resistance to State oppression in India; tracing Bengal in East Africa through the avant-gardist experiments in the 1960s to locating Keatsian Romanticism in our national poet Kazi Nazrul Islam; from domicile loci of a homemaker in Ismat Chugtai’s novels to the docile representation of women in young adult fiction. The current discussion on biopolitics and eco-concerns permeate the volume with textual analysis. The section truly represents the changing paradigm of English Studies and subconsciously captures the essence of world literature.

The language section includes a careful semiotic analysis of Bangladeshi TV programs, an insightful piece on the loan words in the Saharan language Kanuri as well as skill-based teaching in a Bangladeshi classroom.

The book reviews introduce us to the short stories of Shakti Ghosh and a festschrift published on Prof. Amritjit Singh.

Crossings Volume 11 (2020)

Crossings: A Journal of English Studies, 2020

Chinese astrology divides life into ten-year cycles, believing that each section has its own forc... more Chinese astrology divides life into ten-year cycles, believing that each section has its own force. While bringing out Volume 11 of Crossings, we cannot but reflect on the planned changes that we are going to embrace in this new section. We are already in the process of being indexed with several databases to give our local effort an international accent. The expansion of our international advisory body to include some accomplished academics and journal editors has boosted our initiative.

Crossings has already become an intellectual forum for all those who take interest in issues related to language, linguistics, literature, and culture. The wide-ranging discussions available in the volume is a testimony of the fact that we have been able to create a discursive platform where literary texts can be analyzed for academic causes, language can be examined for both pedagogical and practical purposes, and cultural texts can be located beyond the academy.

Crossings Special Volume on Marx 200 (2020)

Crossings: Special Volume on Marx 200, 2020

The Special Volume of Crossings: A Journal of English Studies on Marx is indeed special. Some of ... more The Special Volume of Crossings: A Journal of English Studies on Marx is indeed special. Some of the papers were presented at the two-day international conference that ULAB organized to celebrate Karl Marx’s bicentenary on November 30-December 1, 2018. This issue of Crossings did not, however, limit itself only to the sixty odd papers that were presented at the conference; but solicited articles from some renowned Marxist critics at home and abroad.

The volume surveys a Marxist tradition of critical thinking by incorporating issues such as political economy, ideology, value theory, crisis theory, systemic analysis of capitalism, ecocriticism, neoliberalism, and aesthetic theory. These articles show how a realistic alternative to the current global marketplace can be deemed through reorganizing our sensibility.

Crossings Volume 10 (2019)

Crossings: A Journal of English Studies, 2019

The tenth volume of Crossings is special for us. Ten in numerology signifies the completion of a ... more The tenth volume of Crossings is special for us. Ten in numerology signifies the completion of a circle, and the determination to move forward with renewed vigor. Over the last decade, we have established ourselves as a serious publishing outlet, attracting scholars from across the globe. Our international panel of advisors, our double-blind peer-review process and our enterprising attitude towards budding scholars and researchers have given Crossings its academic reputation. The
challenge now, as we move to our next phase, will be to increase the impact factor of the journal by enlisting our publication with the appropriate endorsing bodies.

Crossing Volume 9 (2018)

Crossings: A Journal of English Studies, 2018

The name of our journal involves an act of traversing. It can also imply places where different t... more The name of our journal involves an act of traversing. It can also imply places where different tracks meet. The overarching frame of English Studies that includes language, literature, and culture offers us a window into the discipline as a discursive site. Over the last few years, we have established our journal as an academic niche for serious scholarly writings from all over the world.