Smart Moves Journal IJELLH (International Journal of English language, literature in humanities)
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From Tradition to Revolution: Tracing the Evolution of Female Agency in Nationalist Discourses
Get PDFThis article explores the evolution of female agency in nationalist contexts through a comparative analysis of two seminal literary characters: Bimala from Rabindranath Tagore\u27s Ghare Baire and Rehana from Tahmima Anam\u27s The Golden Age. Bimala, set against the backdrop of early 20th-century Bengal, symbolizes the constraints placed on women within nationalist movements, driven by patriarchal and symbolic roles. In contrast, Rehana, during the Bangladesh Liberation War, represents a modern evolution of female agency, characterized by active participation and strategic influence. Utilizing contemporary critical theories, this study reveals how these characters reflect and critique their respective historical and cultural contexts. The article highlights how Bimala’s limited agency underscores the historical constraints faced by women, while Rehana’s assertiveness illustrates a significant shift towards empowered female participation in nation-building. By integrating theoretical frameworks from scholars like Rita Felski and Georgina Waylen, and drawing parallels with current socio-political developments in Bangladesh, the study underscores the importance of literary texts by women in understanding historical experiences and the dynamic nature of female agency. This comparative analysis not only enriches our understanding of gender and nationalism but also demonstrates how literature narrates and influences historical change
The Impact of Print Media on Second Language Acquisition among Undergraduate Students in Bangladesh: A Quasi-Experimental Study
Get PDFThis quasi-experimental study investigates the impact of print media on English second language acquisition among undergraduate students in Bangladesh. Using a mixed-methods approach, data were collected from 60 undergraduate students and 25 English language instructors across two government colleges and one university in Feni district. The study employed structured questionnaires and personal interviews to examine how various forms of print media—including newspapers, books, magazines, and journals—facilitate English language learning in EFL contexts. Results indicate that print media significantly enhances vocabulary acquisition, reading comprehension, and overall language proficiency. The experimental group exposed to systematic print media instruction demonstrated superior performance compared to traditional classroom-only approaches. Findings suggest that 66.65% of students reported positive effects of print media on language acquisition, with newspapers (50%) and books (23.33%) being the most effective tools. Teachers unanimously agreed (100%) that print media positively impacts all four language skills. The study concludes that integrating authentic print materials into EFL curricula can substantially improve undergraduate-level English language acquisition in Bangladesh, bridging the gap between classroom learning and real-world language application
Textual Enhancement as a Strategy for Communicative Grammar Teaching: A Study Carried Out on Senior Secondary ESL Learners
Get PDFEven in a classroom that uses Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) methodology, strategic teaching of grammar, sometimes, finds a backseat, which may hinder acquisition of desirable language competence by the learners. Grammar should, therefore, ideally be taught following the basic principles of CLT methodology in a communicative language classroom. This paper seeks to find out if grammar can be taught effectively, using textual enhancement as a strategy, in a communicative classroom. The methodology adopted revolves round an experiment conducted on a homogeneous sample of fifty ESL learners of 12th standard class. The students are divided into two equal groups. One group is imparted textual enhancement based grammar instruction, while the other group is given a similar instruction on grammar for the same length of time, but without textual enhancement. Both the groups were then made to give an achievement test to measure their progress in comparison with each other. The group which received grammar instruction based on textual enhancement was found to show comparatively more progress than the other group. This leads us to the conclusion that textual enhancement as a strategy for communicative grammar teaching may yield desired outcome in an ESL classroom.  
Charisma as Rhetoric: The Invisible Grammar of Magnetic Public Speakers
Get PDFCharisma, often regarded as an innate or mysterious gift, can also be understood as a rhetorical construct, a set of intentional communicative strategies that inspire trust, stir emotion, and command attention. Rather than presenting it as an unteachable talent, this paper argues that charisma is a replicable skill grounded in classical rhetorical theory, performance studies, and contemporary communication practices. Using the public speaking styles of Jacinda Ardern, Malala Yousafzai, and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie as case studies, it explores the “invisible grammar” of magnetic communication, where language, vocal variation, gesture, narrative design, and emotional intelligence intersect. By uncovering these rhetorical patterns, the study demonstrates that charisma is not accidental but cultivable through deliberate practice
Hamlet Rewired: Trauma, Memory, and Recovery in the Age of Artificial Intelligence
Get PDFThis essay investigates the intersection of artificial intelligence (AI), trauma studies, and Shakespearean literature through a speculative reinterpretation of Hamlet. By reimagining the play’s events with access to contemporary AI tools, the study considers how Hamlet and Ophelia could have processed their trauma differently, how Claudius’s guilt could have been exposed with scientific certainty, and how the tragic conclusion might have been averted. AI applications such as Virtual Reality Exposure Therapy (VRET), Natural Language Processing (NLP), lie detection software, and AI-assisted counseling provide new interpretative frameworks for understanding memory, trauma, and recovery. The essay also situates these speculative interventions within current advancements in AI and technology, demonstrating how innovations in affective computing, machine learning, and therapeutic chatbots are already transforming trauma treatment in the real world. By blending literary analysis with technological speculation, this work argues that AI not only enriches our readings of classic texts but also reshapes the possibilities of trauma recovery in both fictional and contemporary contexts
Bridging the Gap: The Kerala Sastrasahitya Parishad (KSSP) and the Structural Challenges of Science Popularization in India
Get PDFThis essay analyzes the ongoing difficulties of scientific popularization in India, focusing on the Kerala Sastra Sahitya Parishad (KSSP), one of the most successful grassroots science groups in India. KSSP\u27s "science for social revolution" model characterized by extensive literacy campaigns, public lectures, accessible vernacular publications, and cultural instruments such as street plays has attained significant success in Kerala, however its replication across India is constrained. This study asserts that KSSP\u27s success is not just attributable to its methodologies but is dependent on a distinctive convergence of socio-political elements particular to Kerala, including its history of social reform and elevated literacy rates. In addition to the lack of similar conducive habitat, extensive scientific popularization initiatives across India are obstructed also by entrenched, systemic obstacles including lesser social mobility across classes and other social sects, lack of funding, the dominance of English in science communication and a continual conservative, top-down institutional methodology that repudiates community involvement along with a general atmosphere of superstition, skepticism, partisanship, and the widespread dissemination of disinformation.This essay attempts a critical survey of KSSP\u27s grassroots tactics and contrasts them with the national context to identify important structural constraints. The conclusion advocates a redefined framework to enhanc
Biographical Attributes in Mulk Raj Anand\u27s Novels
No full textMulk Raj Anand is undoubtedly among the top Indian authors of English-language novels. Because he rejects wealth, luxury, and money, he is a proletarian humanist. He is superior to all other great authors. Art, in his opinion, is beneficial to life. We simply use "Arts for Arts Sake" as an escape from the difficult aspects of life. He is reluctant to go. He is aware of the significance of bringing about change and fostering cooperation among the poorest members of a community, including the coolies and peasants. Anand appears to be battling for the freedom, equality, and justice of the impoverished and the untouchables. After India became a colony and subsequently an independent nation, he advocated for the fundamental rights and demands of its citizens in the emerging civil society. Of all the fundamental rights, he thought the right to be treated with respect was the most crucial. The primary character, Bakha, wanted to rebel, but he was too scared of his caste to express it aloud. Known for writing on the lives of those from lower castes in traditional Indian society, this author was Indian and wrote in English. Untouchable, his debut novel, was published in 1935 and offers a terrifying glimpse into the lives of India\u27s untouchable caste, who were disregarded at the time.
Mulk Raj Anand, freedom, the Untouchables, justice, and fairness are a few terms that spring to mind
More Dangerous Than Ever: Periyar’s Legacy in Contemporary Politics
Get PDFThis paper critically examines the ideals and activism of Erode Venkata Ramasamy, popularly known as Periyar, with particular attention to his anti-religious iconoclasm, critique of nationalism, and proto-feminist advocacy, emphasizing their relevance to current discourses on secularism, caste and gender justice. It explores the philosophical foundations of Periyar’s thought, his line of activism and the enduring impact of his relentless crusade against social inequality in the colonial and postcolonial India. Highlighting Periyar’s atheistic rationalism and his uncompromising commitment to egalitarianism, this paper contends that his movement represents one of the most audacious and transformative confrontations to religious, patriarchal, and nationalist ideologies in modern Indian history. In today’s India, where reason is suppressed and dissent silenced, Periyar’s legacy stands as a bold and enduring testament to fearless resistance against oppressive power. Shunning the path of compromising reformists, Periyar launches a fierce and uncompromising revolt against religious, caste and gender orthodoxies- offering a radically new vision for social reconstruction and equality. As religious orthodoxy and pseudoscience reshape social discourse and history is selectively erased, reclaiming Periyar’s legacy affirms the enduring power of informed resistance. This study, through a multidisciplinary lens, interrogates the legacy, contradictions, and relevance of Periyar’s thought as a bold challenge to entrenched religious, social and political orthodoxies. This paper concludes that Periyar’s crusade against social inequality remains a foundational chapter in India’s pursuit of social equity and reform
Introducing a New Literary Theory: Reactive Defensive Oppression through the Lens of Mahesh Dattani’s Bravely Fought the Queen and Alice Walker’s The Color Purple
Get PDFLiterature is a quiet representation of artistic work, and literary theory works as the regulator that handles the way of the text. This paper introduces Reactive Defensive Oppression (RDO) as an original literary theory that redefines oppression as an emotional defence mechanism, rather than a stable exercise of hegemonic power. Where classical frameworks often read oppression through systems of patriarchy, race, and colonialism, RDO shifts its focus towards the psychological necessity behind those oppressive acts, especially those triggered by emotional instability, fear of dethronement, or emotional fragility. The theory argues that many oppressive characters do not act out of dominance, but from a deep internal panic, a desperate effort to protect perceived authority, relevance, or identity. RDO is organized into a triadic model: Passive RDO (emotional paralysis), Self-RDO (internalized oppression), and Ideological RDO (performative aggression rooted in insecurity). To demonstrate this framework across cross-cultural and gendered causes, this study conducts a comparative analysis of Mahesh Dattani’s Bravely Fought the Queen and Alice Walker’s The Color Purple, two texts that, despite geographical and cultural differences, reveal strikingly similar emotional patterns of oppression. The paper engages with Freud’s defence mechanisms, Foucault’s theory of power, and Spivak’s subaltern critique, but proposes RDO as a filling concept, bridging a gap where traditional theories often overlook emotionally unstable oppressors. By repositioning oppression as a reactive emotional praxis, RDO offers a new interpretive lens for studying trauma, gender, and power across diverse literary landscapes
Tracing the Aspects of Postmillennial Indian Fiction: A Study of Laburnum for My Head by Temsula Ao
Get PDFThe experience of the tribes can never be labelled under one umbrella. It varies between every region and country. G.N. Devy in his Introduction to Indigenity: Culture and Representation states that tribes are "recognized as "Aborigines" in Australia, as Maori in New Zealand, as "First Nations" in Canada, as "Indigenous" in the United States, as "Janajatis" in India…as "Adivasis" in the terminology of Asian Activists" (XI). The names and terms alone not vary but each tribe as mentioned by the anthropologists has unique practices, culture and belief. For all these tribes, oral literature is the mother of all forms of literature. However, in the modern era, the survival of tribes is possible only with their written expression which is mandatory to sustain with the mainstream literature. This article aims to trace the text Laburnum for my Head as a postmillennial Indian fiction that presents the transformation of tribal literature from oral to written form addressing their contemporary issues. The form and content of the tribal literature has varied according to the context of the modern era. These issues addressed by Temsula Ao also covers the subaltern aspects like the role of tribal women and the portrayal of tribes as Naxals in the North East India. This text by various means serves as an appropriate example for a postmillennial Indian fiction