DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH To have another language is to possess a second soul. Charlemagne Learning a new language gives you the chance to be a different person if you want to. Make the most of that chance. The department offers both undergraduate and post graduate courses in English Literature. With a committed team of 15 faculty members, the department offers Foundation English course and Soft skill training to all departments. Bridge course is offered to all First year students. Special Bridge Course is conducted to Tamil medium students as well. The department encourages teaching with PPT, seminars and organizing interdepartmental literary competitions which enhances the level of creativity amongst students. Department Activities: August The Department of Language, Hindustan University conducted intercollegiate cultural program Elite 17. The Department of English from PCAS participated and won the runner up prize. (09/08/2017) September Mr. Yashvanth K, a calligrapher from the Institute of Calligraphy and Handwriting conducted a Calligraphy workshop for the students in the department from 6th 12 th Sept, 2017. The Word Craft Literary association conducted the interdepartmental cultural event- Madras 360*. A Guest Lecture on Twentieth Century Literary Criticism and Theory: An Overview was delivered by Dr. V. Sivaraman, PG and Research Department of English, Presidency College for the PG students. October- A Calligraphy contest was held for the students and the winners were Shalini Devi (1 st ), Joyce (2 nd ) & Shekinah Glory T (3 rd ). December A Christmas Outreach Program was conducted by Patrician College of Arts & Science on the 20 th December, 2018 for the Gypsies and the student contribution from Department of English Final UG & PG Rs.3950, II & I Years Rs.2810. January - Shaun Bothwick from British Council, Chennai had addressed the final year & PG students on the benefits of British Council and CELTA. (18 th Jan,2018) February - An outreach program for the I MA students to K G Kandigai, Tiruttani was organized through an NGO Organization: Mithralaya, from 3rd Feb 18 to 4th Feb 18. The aim of the outreach was to create awareness on the necessity of education and other social issues. A group of seventeen students and two professors Ms Lenora Vieyra and Mr. Dharmendar visited the village and had a quality time spending with the tribal people which served as an eye-opener to the students. Post-Centenary Diamond Jubilee International Conference Resisting Hegemony and Centre: Narratives of Australia, Canada and New Zealand was conducted by the Department of English, University of Madras. Mrs. Mohanapriya and the 1 st PG students have attended the conference held at the University of Madras, Chepauk on 20 th and 21 st February, 2018.
March External Academic Audit was conducted for the Department on 27 th March 2018. Dr. Claramma Jose, Associate Professor, Dept of English, Loyola College, Chennai and Mrs. Jeyalakshmi, Head, Dept of English, MOP College, Chennai conducted the Audit. Their suggestive measures, recommendations and Best Practices were taken. Paper Presentation Mrs. Mohana Priya, Assistant Professor, English Department participated in the workshop on Taming Theory conducted by Women s Christian college on 29 July 2017 Kristen Jude Srinivasan of III BA presented a paper on Role of Narrative English Language in Scientific Content Development at an International conference conducted by the Department of Physics, Pachamuthu College of Arts and Science, Dharmapuri on 28 th and 29 th August 2017. Guest Lecture on Twentieth Century Literary Criticism and Theory A guest lecture on Twentieth Century Literary Criticism and Theory: An Overview was organized on 22 September 2017. Dr. Sivaraman, Associate Professor, PG and Research department of English, Presidency College delivered the lecture. The 9 th Edition of Vistas, the Dept Newsletter and the Third Edition of Soft Skills book, a department publication, got released by the Chief Guest and the Principal. Dr. V Sivaraman delivered his lecture to the PG students on the different trends of twentieth century literary criticism and theory as a reaction against the literary traditions of the past. He also insisted on the closer scrutiny of the text. Vistas- Magazine Every year Vistas is been published with an aim to promote the students creative genius. This year, the magazine was released on 22 September 2017 by Dr. Sivaraman, Associate Professor, PG and Research Department of English. The editor, Francina Angeline Diana, MA (II year) and her team tried their best to put together an array of things with different themes starting from critical insights to the interesting facts. Industrial Visit An Industrial visit to the Cholamandal Artist Village was organized on 28 th September, 2017 for the PG Students. The aim of the visit was to provide an insight of the modern Indian arts. The students got chance to interact with the senior artist which enhanced them to perceive aesthetics of the art. The paintings were displayed in two studios named Labernum and Indigo. It also showcased the sculptures made of terracotta, metal and stones. The Final year and II PG studentsw were taken on a three-day industrial visit to Cochin Munnar and Athirampally from 19 th to 22 nd February 2018. Such visits are an expected relief from Academics. On 21 st February, the First year undergraduates were taken to Fort St George, a historical site that houses a cultural and artifacts museum on the rich cultural heritage of pre-colonial and Colonial India. The first yeat Intercollegiate Competition The students participated in the Intercollegiate Literary and Debating Fest Novateur 2017 conducted by the Department of English at Shri Shankarlal Sundarbai Shasun, Jain College for Women on 15 July 2017. Diana Josephine and Abisha Mary Soosan
of II BA English received an Award of Appreciation for enactment of Shakespeare s plays and penning the portrait respectively. The students participated in the Intercollegiate Literary Fest ELITE (English Literature Enlightens) 2017 at Hindustan College of Arts and Science, Kelambakkam, Chennai on 9 th August 2017 and emerged as runners- up. The winners are: Name of the Name of the Participants Position Event Quiz Miriam Bobby II Place Yavana, III B A English Spoof Raghul, I M A English Ning Hong, II M A English Shreyas, I M A English Gayathri, I M A English II Place Jayasuriyaa, I M A English Martina, I M A English Bhavani, I M A English Crossword Miriam Bobby, III B A English I Place Sterling School of Playback Theatre conducted a Theatre workshop on 12 th and 13 th August 2017. Students from the department actively participated and were given certificates. The list of the participants is given below: 1. Diana Josephine, II B A 2. Shekinah T Glory, II B A 3. Marc Adrian, II B A 4. Bennisha, II M A 5. Joyce, II M A 6. Eeshica Moitra, III B A MADRAS 360 INTERDEPARTMENTAL COMPETITIONS Word Craft Literary Association conducted Madras 360 Interdepartmental Competition to celebrate Madras Week on 24 August 2017. Following are the events which were held: Spell Bee, Photography (Theme Reminiscence of British Culture in Madras) and Quiz (Topics English movies, TV series, Pop culture and fiction). Inter Collegiate Essay writing competition was held on the same day. The Prize Winners for the various competitions are: Quiz 1 st place Shania Louis and Varshini Senthilnathan, B. Sc Psychology 2 nd place Kimberlyn and Jonathan, BBA 2 nd place Esther Victoria Pearlin and Alethia Virgnia Lyons, B. Com 3 rd place Mohammed Niyaz and Craig Richard Felix, B.Sc. CS Spell Bee 1 st place Wayne Michael Barwell, BBA 2 nd place Gayathri, BBA 3 rd place Priya, B.Sc Psychology Photography 1 st place Ivan Fernandes and Doshi, B. Com Intercollegiate Essay writing Competition Winners 1 st place Tapasya, SOEL 2 nd place Aafrida Sulaigha Beevi R, Ethiraj College for Women 3 rd place Hindustan College of Arts and Science IGNIS FIDOCIA The English department conducted its intercollegiate cultural IgnisFidocia for the second time on 29 th January 2018. IgnisFidocia implies the action of igniting the flame of literary creativity amongst the students. Students from various colleges
participated, including Loyola College, Ethiraj, Asan Memorial, Madras Christian College, New College and many others. The overall champions of the event were the students from New College and the runners up were D.G.Vaishnav College. New College proved their talent through Mr. Aaquib Jaleel who won the title of Mr. IgnisFidocia and Best Speaker. The alumni were warmly welcomed by the department. The event took weeks of meticulous planning and preparation from faculty and student volunteers. The results of their work didn t go futile and showed up in the grand success of IgnisFidocia 2k18. Mr. Shreekumar Varma, poet, author, playwright and newspaper columnist graced the event as the Chief Guest and encouraged the listeners with a powerful speech of channeling ones creativity and imagination to productivity Workshop Calligraphy workshop was conducted for the students from 6 th 12 th September 2017. Mr. Yashvanth K, a calligrapher from the Institute of Calligraphy and Fine Arts conducted the workshop. Students across the Departments actively participated and were awarded course certificates. Inauguration of UGC-NET Coaching Program The UGC-NET coaching Program was inaugurated on 20/09/2017. Prof. James Raaj from the Raaj Academy was the resource person. The program focused on the pattern, portions and selected previous question paper for Paper I of UGC-NET. The next session focused on the English literature paper by the guidelines on narrowing down the topic and reading factual details. The importance of guess work was also emphasized. Articles & Achievements The 2 nd MA students took an initiative to successfully start a department magazine- Vistas. Francina Angeline Diana was chosen as the editor. Kristen Jude Srinivasan of 3 rd BA had presented and published a paper on Role of Narrative English Language in Scientific Content Development at International Conference conducted by PG & Research Department of Physics at Pachamuthu College of Arts & Science, Dharmapuri. Vaishnavi 1 st MA attended a State level seminar on Sculpting Successful Career on Feb 9 th Yavana B of 3 rd BA had presented a paper on Understanding the Rise of Anti- Muslim Sentiments in the cultural conducted by Department of Political Science, Madras Christian College and had won 2 nd place. Yavana B participated in the Model United Nations Conference Conducted by the College of Engineering, Pune. Internships Sruthi S interned at Viveks as Sales Executive Kristen Jude Srinivasan interned as Content Developer at Bhumi, a Publishing Company. Shaun David interned as Online Content Writer / Blogger for Ischool Connect, Boston, USA. Faculty Achievements
Mrs. Lakshmi Kumari Head of the Department Attended a 12 week program Applied Linguistics conducted by NPTEL. Placements - Name of the Name of the Student Organization Class Just Dial Raghul N II BA Eng Way Cool Joyce II MA Eng Way Cool Bennisha Durai II MA Eng Sutherland Shaun Michael David III BA Eng Sutherland Crystal III BA Eng