Siddharth Chauhan

  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...

A Reflective Academic Response to the Pedagogical Framework Designed by Dr. Dilip Barad Introductory Statement: This blog is conceived as part of a structured classroom activity based on the worksheets assigned by Dr. and Prof. Dilip Barad , intended to foster critical inquiry and interpretative depth in the study of W. H. Auden ’s poetry. It represents an attempt to engage with Auden’s work not merely at the level of thematic appreciation but through analytical reflection on his modernist concerns, philosophical undertones, and socio-political consciousness. By closely examining his poetic techniques, use of irony, and exploration of human anxiety, moral responsibility, and power structures, this exercise contributes to a deeper understanding of Auden’s enduring relevance within twentieth-century literary discourse. 1)  September 1 1939 This lecture explores W.H. Auden’s poem "September 1, 1939," focusing on its portrayal of the historical and psychological climate at the da...

  Introduction  This blog is an academic attempt to interpret Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot through the philosophical framework of the Bhagavad Gita , in alignment with the objectives of integrating Indian Knowledge Systems (IKS) into English Studies. By placing the modernist ethos of Absurdism in dialogue with classical Indian thought, this study explores how concepts such as Vishada, Karma, Maya, Kala, and Moksha illuminate new dimensions of existential crisis, waiting, and meaning. While Beckett presents a world marked by uncertainty, repetition, and metaphysical silence, the Gita offers a structured response to existential despair through disciplined action and detachment. This comparative reading does not attempt to reconcile the two traditions but rather to create a critical space where Eastern and Western philosophies converse. Such an approach deepens interpretive possibilities and encourages cross-cultural critical thinking at the postgraduate level. This sub...

 Introduction Note This task was assigned by Dr. Dilip Barad to encourage critical analysis and digital engagement with literary texts. It focuses on interpreting Waiting for Godot through the perspectives of Christian faith and Sartrean “bad faith,” highlighting the play’s philosophical complexity and ambiguity. The assignment also integrates the use of digital tools like NotebookLM, promoting both academic insight and technological competence in contemporary literary studies. 1. Hope - Christian Faith or Sartrean Bad Faith | Waiting for Godot | Samuel Beckett                  Hope - Christian Faith or Sartrean Bad Faith | Waiting for Godot | Samuel Beckett Presenting an insightful infographic generated using NotebookLM. The Godot Trap: 5 Surprising Reasons Why Your Hope Might Be "Bad Faith" We have all felt that peculiar, thumb-numbing trance of the "infinite scroll." You flick through a newsfeed or a succession of reels, propelled by...

  1. What is “Stream of Consciousness”? Woolf’s Use of the Technique in Orlando Stream of Consciousness is a modernist narrative technique that attempts to represent the continuous flow of a character’s thoughts, sensations, memories, and perceptions , often prior to logical organization. The term was first used by the psychologist William James , but in literature it is associated with writers like Virginia Woolf, James Joyce, and Dorothy Richardson . Unlike traditional realism, which focuses on external action, stream of consciousness privileges inner life , psychological depth, and subjective time. Sentences may be fragmented, associative, and fluid, reflecting how the human mind actually works. In Orlando , Woolf uses a modified or lyrical stream of consciousness rather than the dense interior monologue found in Joyce’s Ulysses . Although the novel is framed as a “biography,” Woolf repeatedly dissolves the boundary between outer narration and inner reflection . Orlando’s ...