Faria Jahan, BU Correspondent: The 1st international conference on ‘The Current Literary Theories and Jibanananda Das’ has taken place today in 11 July, 2019 from 10am at Barishal University.This programme is mainly organised by Jibanananda Das Research Centre of University of Barishal.

The conference was divided in two sessions.At first English Session & then Bangla Session.This was a day long conference.

The keynote speaker of this conference was Professor Dr Azfar Hussain (professor of English, World Literature & Interdisciplinary Studies, GCAS, New York, USA).In his speech he said, ‘Jibanananda Das-undoubtedly a major Bengali poet-is conventionally known for his deep ‘aestheticis,’ compelling sensuousness, and relentless metaphorical imagination.’

He also said, “Of course, the Jibanananda Das of political economy is relatively unfamiliar to us-or even deemphasized in contemporary criticism. But my theoretically engaged, interdisciplinary intervention seeks to track not only those unheeded poetic spaces that bespeak Jibanananda’s anticapitalist concern with political economy as such, but also- and more importantly- his prose work, particularly his short stories, relatively unexplored as they are.

At the end of his speech he said, “I finally submit that Jibanananda Das is one of the few creative writers in the world who powerfully and productively enact a dialectic between the aesthetic and the political-economic, and that his poetic understanding of political economy variously informs and inflects much of his oeuvre that indeed looks forward to a world better than the one we live in.”

In this conference there were also presented the chair of this conference Professor Dr.Md. Muhasin Uddin( the director of Jibanananda Das Research Centre), The chief guest of this conference Vice-Chancellor(In-Charge) of Barishal University Professor Dr.A.K.M Mahbub Hasan,Professor (Rtd) Dr Fakrul Alam (Department of English, University of Dhaka), honurable chairmen,professor and lecturers of many departments and the students of University of Barishal.

In the English Session of this conference presenters are K Ahmed Alam(Associate Professor and Chair,Department of English, International Standard University, Dhaka), Kazi Ashraf Uddin(Associate Professor, Department of English, Jahangirnagar University) , Md Imran Hossain(Lecturer, Department of English, Northern University, Bangladesh) ,Md Maruf Hasan(Lecturer, Department of English Northern University, Bangladesh), Rabita Rahman(Lecturer, Department of English, American International University, Bangladesh), Md Sber-E-Montaha(Lecturer, Department of English, Northern University, Bangladesh) and Tanzila rahman(Lecturer, Department of English, Asian University of Bangladesh) .

The Bangla Session’s presenters are Asma Chowdhury(Assistant Professor, Department of Bangla, Begum Tofajjal Hossain Manik Mia Women’s College, Barishal) , Md Jasimuddin(Assistant Professor, Department of English, Northern University, Bangladesh) , Dr. Pankaj Kumar Sarkar(Assistant Professor, Department of Bangla, Parimal Mitra Memorial College, Malbazar, Jalpaiguri,West Bengal, India), Dr Farzana Siddika(Professor, Department of Bangla, Shahjalal Science & Technology University, Sylhet) , Munju Rani Das(Lecturer, Department of Bangla, Noakhali Science and Technology University, Noakhali), Shakila Alam (Lecturer,Bangla Discipline, Khulna University, Khulna) and Sanjay Kumar Sarker(Assistant Professor, Department of Bangla, Barishal University, Barishal).

At the End Session there has also shown a documentary named “Making of ‘Das’: A Filmic Research of Jibanananda Das.” This documentary is produced by Hiroshi Sunairi ( Acjunct Professor of Studio Arts, New York University, USA).

The conference has finished by the speech of Dr.Md. Rezaul Islam (Shamim Reza), the director of Bangabandhu Comparative Literature & Cultural Institute of Jahangirnagar University and by the thanking of Md Arif Hossain, member of Conference Organizer Committee.

It should be mentioned that the conference has taken at Jibanananda Das Conference Hall of University of Barishal.