The Department of English at The People’s University of Bangladesh (PUB) observed “English Language Day” marking the 462nd birth anniversary of English literary icon William Shakespeare.
On this occasion, the university organised a “Shakespeare Symposium” on Thursday (April 23), featuring cosplay, poetry recitation, musical performances and research paper presentations.
The programme began at 10:00am at the IQAC Conference Hall. Faculty members, current students and former students of the Department of English attended the event.
Ms Farzana Neherin Dipte, Assistant Professor of English, delivered the welcome address. In the inaugural session, Acting Registrar Shah Nurunnabi, deans of various faculties, departmental chairs and administrative heads were present.
Acting Vice-Chancellor A K M Mahbubuzzaman attended the event as chief guest. Md Abubakar Siddique, Adviser (Planning and Development), and Muhammad Nazmul Hasan, member of the Board of Trustees, joined as special guests.
Among the discussants were Kamrul Islam, General Secretary of Bangiya Sahitya Sanskriti Sangsad, and Rajib Mandal of Bangla Literature at Jagannath University. Eminent Professor of English Studies Ahmed Reza from Jahangirnagar University attended as chief discussant.
The first segment of the programme featured a stage performance titled “Cosplay: Shakespeare’s Women”, directed by Farzana Neherin Dipte. Female students from different batches of the Department of English portrayed Shakespearean characters including Portia, Cordelia, Juliet, Ophelia and Desdemona through costume, makeup and performance. Their presentations drew strong appreciation from the audience.
This was followed by poetry recitations and musical tributes by teachers and students. The segment ended with a cake-cutting ceremony marking Shakespeare’s birth anniversary.
The second segment focused on research paper presentations. Md Salahuddin Al Faruk, Assistant Professor of the Department of English at PUB, highlighted prominent Shakespearean critics from Bangladesh and West Bengal.
Chandra Sekhar Sikdar, a PhD research fellow at Jahangirnagar University, presented a comparative study of selected sonnets by William Shakespeare and Jibanananda Das.
Amal Chakraborty presented a postcolonial reading of Shakespeare studies. Bakul Munshi, Chairman of the Department of Political Science at PUB, discussed contemporary Bangladeshi political realities in relation to power and politics in Shakespeare’s plays, particularly in the context of the post–July 2024 movement.
Pratap Datta, Chairman of the Department of English at PUB, presented a paper titled “Shakespeare in the Anthropocene”. He proposed a rereading of Shakespeare’s “weather plays” in the context of natural disasters in Bangladesh.
Ahmed Reza, the keynote speaker, concluded the session with an in-depth discussion on the themes and contributions of the presented papers.
