A conversation series on ‘Ocean as Method: Writing the Ocean’ was hosted by the Department of English, Jamia Millia Islamia(JMI) supported by the Scheme for Promotion of Academic and Research Collaboration, Ministry of Education, Government of India.
Conversation series on Ocean as Method: Writing the Ocean
The first part of the series was organized on January 18, 2021, wherein Professor Nishat Zaidi, the Head of English Department, JMI, and Professor Dilip Menon, Director, Centre for Indian Studies in Africa, University of Witwatersrand were in conversation with Kenyan writer Yvonne Adhiambo Owuor and Singaporean poet Alvin Pang.
Emphasizing the themes of maritime history, fluvial identities and literary engagements, Professor Zaidi and Professor Menon discussed questions of space and time in relation to literary writings. Moving beyond the terrestrial imagination the conversation was intended to accentuate an imagination that is equally rooted in water.
In the second part of the series, the eminent Indian writer Amitav Ghosh was invited on February 2, 2021, to continue the conversation on oceanic imagination. He spoke on archipelagic imagination, water histories, creolization, and environmental degradation. The event was also the occasion to discuss transnational histories of travel, linguistic identities, Anthropocene, and other human interventions.
Audiences of conversation series Ocean as Method: Writing the Ocean
Both the events were graced by national and international audiences in different time zones. This virtual event was conducted on the Zoom platform and was attended by people in large numbers. It was simultaneously live-streamed on the YouTube platform to ensure a wide range of viewership.
