Siddharth Chauhan

 A Critical Analysis of Narrative Deception and Post-War Identity (Worksheet Sections 3 & 4) Introduction Assigned by Dr. and Prof. Dilip Barad This analytical activity, assigned by Dr. and Prof. Dilip Barad, is designed to deepen critical engagement with An Artist of the Floating World . The focus of this worksheet lies particularly in Sections 3 (Analyzing) and 4 (Evaluating), which require students to move beyond basic comprehension and examine the novel’s complex narrative strategies and ethical dimensions. In this novel, Kazuo Ishiguro presents Masuji Ono as an unreliable narrator whose fragmented memories and self-justifications challenge the reader’s perception of truth. Through subtle shifts in tone, selective omissions, and contradictions, Ono constructs a version of the past that both reveals and conceals his complicity in wartime nationalism. This activity encourages students to analyze how Ishiguro uses narrative ambiguity to expose the instability of memory and the...

  A Comparative Study of Indian Poetics and Western Literary Theory from Rasa to Catharsis, based on the Lectures of Prof. (Dr.) Vinod Joshi Foundations of Indian Poetics and Aesthetic Thought Introduction This study is inspired by the illuminating lecture series on Indian Poetics delivered by the beloved and highly respected scholar, Prof. (Dr.) Vinod Joshi . Renowned for his profound scholarship and poetic sensibility, Prof. Joshi conducted a comprehensive series of lectures exploring the foundational principles of the Indian Knowledge System, particularly the rich tradition of Sanskrit poetics. His lectures examined major aesthetic theories such as Rasa, Dhvani, Vakrokti, Riti, Auchitya, and Ramaniyatā, while also situating them within broader philosophical and comparative frameworks. Drawing upon these insightful sessions, the present work seeks to extend his discussions by placing Indian aesthetic thought in dialogue with key Western literary theories, thereby highlighting t...

Fractured Realities: Art and the Crisis of Consciousness in the Twentieth Century From Expressionist Anguish to Postmodern Irony Assigned to: Megha Trevedi Introduction The twentieth century did not merely transform artistic style; it transformed consciousness itself. Movements such as Expressionism, Surrealism, Modernism, and Postmodernism emerged not as decorative aesthetic shifts but as profound philosophical responses to crisis — industrialization, world wars, the collapse of religious certainty, and the destabilization of the human subject. Where nineteenth-century realism sought to mirror the external world, these movements interrogated the very possibility of representation. Influenced by thinkers like Sigmund Freud , Karl Marx , Jean-François Lyotard , and Jacques Derrida , artists and writers began to question whether reality is stable, whether the self is unified, and whether truth can be fully expressed at all. Expressionism externalized emotional rupture; Surrealism pr...

  A Critical Exploration of Totalitarian Ideology, Faith, and Psychological Control in George Orwell’s Dystopian Vision Introduction  This academic task was assigned by Dilip Barad sir  , whose insightful teaching encourages students to critically engage with literary texts and multimedia resources. The assigned video, God is Power | 1984 | George Orwell , explores the central idea that in George Orwell’s dystopian novel Nineteen Eighty-Four , political authority replaces traditional religion and transforms itself into an object of worship. The video explains how the Party elevates Big Brother to a god-like status, demanding absolute loyalty, emotional devotion, and unquestioning belief from its citizens. It highlights the role of O’Brien as a symbolic priest of power who reshapes Winston’s thoughts through torture and psychological manipulation. The video further emphasizes Orwell’s warning that totalitarian regimes do not merely control people’s actions but seek to domi...

  From Hesitation to Confidence: My Transformative Journey at the Academic Writing Workshop 2026 A Personal Reflection on Learning, Collaboration, and Academic Growth at Maharaja Krishnakumarsinhji Bhavnagar University By Siddharth Chauhan Postgraduate Student, Department of English Introduction: Entering the World of Academic Writing Academic writing has always felt like a challenging yet essential part of my postgraduate journey. When I first joined the National Workshop on Academic Writing (27 January – 1 February 2026) organized by the Department of English under the guidance of Dilip Barad, I expected to learn technical skills. However, what I gained was much more than that — a transformation in my confidence, perspective, and academic identity. This blog reflects my personal learning outcomes, participation experience, and my contribution as a Food Committee Member , which added another meaningful dimension to this academic event. My Key Learning Outcomes from the Workshop 1...

  A Cinematic Analysis of Labour, Representation, and Power in Contemporary Digital Culture Introduction  As part of our film screening activities assigned by Dr. Dilip Barad Sir, we were introduced to the film Humans in the Loop, a thought-provoking exploration of the hidden human labour behind artificial intelligence. This screening was not merely an opportunity to watch a film, but an academic exercise in understanding how cinema engages with contemporary technological realities through critical and theoretical perspectives. The film follows Nehma, an Adivasi woman whose work in training AI systems reveals the complex relationship between human knowledge, machine learning, and structures of power. Watching the film within an academic framework encouraged me to reflect on how cinematic techniques such as mise-en-scène, editing, and sound communicate deeper ideological meanings. It also prompted important questions about invisible labour, epistemic inequality, and the politic...

The Architecture of Silence: Psychoanalysis, Addiction, and Emotional Alienation in the Modern Family Introduction: Family, Silence, and the Unconscious Drama of Modernity Assigned by: Megha Ma’am Trivedi Family is traditionally imagined as a space of emotional security, communication, and mutual understanding. However, modern literature repeatedly challenges this ideal by exposing the hidden psychological tensions that exist beneath domestic life. In Long Day’s Journey into Night, Eugene O’Neill presents the family not as a site of harmony but as a psychological battlefield shaped by silence, addiction, guilt, and emotional alienation. The Tyrone family’s inability to communicate honestly and their dependence on addictive forms of escape reveal the fragile foundations of familial relationships. This breakdown can be more deeply understood through the lens of psychoanalytic theory. Sigmund Freud argues that human behavior is shaped by unconscious repression, where painful emotions are...