REPORT iClass, 2018

The School of Humanities and Social Science (SoHSS) at G D Goenka University organized an International Conference on Liberal Arts and Social Sciences (iClass, 2018) on April 17-18, 2018 on the theme, Rethinking “Progress” in Global South: Continuity and Contestations. The School also organized two Pre-Conference Workshops on Twee Surfing and Gender Justice in India by Twitter, Centre for Social Research in morning session and Creative Dance Movement Therapy by Creative Movement Therapy Association of India in the evening session on April 16, 2018.

Pre-Conference Workshop on Twee Surfing focused on the usage patterns, challenges and requirements of Twitter by the youth. Mr. Amitabh Kumar, Mr. Erik Becker, and Ms. Suhasini Mukherjee addressed the participants and highlighted the situation where gender gap often leads to online gender abuse and violence.

In the evening session Ms. Sukriti Dua, Psychologist from Christ University, Bangalore, enlightened the students and other participants with the Creative Dance Movement Therapy to overcome the constant worry, and strain. Her session included several activities like Ice Breakers/Warm Up, Theme Development, Theme Work, Different forms of reflections, and Way to Closure. Students and participants actively participated in the sessions to understand the importance of Creative Dance Movement Therapy.

Dr. Tithi Bhatnagar, Assistant Dean, School of Humanities and Social Science acknowledged Mr. Amitabh Kumar, Mr. Erik Becker, Ms. Suhasini Mukherjee and Ms. Sukriti Dua. Dr. Sakshi Kaul and Dr. Amrita Datta coordinated the workshop on behalf of SoHSS, GD Goenka University.

The Inaugural session commenced on April 17, 2018. Hon’ble Vice-Chancellor, Prof. (Dr.) Srihari, delivered the welcome address. He welcomed the panelists and participants of the conference and declared the conference open. Dr. Tithi Bhatnagar, Assistant Dean of SoHSS, highlighted the relevance of the concept ‘Progress’ in the development of the Nations of Global South. She mentioned that revisiting the concept in the Global South is not only important but also very relevant. It is critical that Nations understand the notion of Progress in their respective contexts by understanding their cultural and social fabric, and contesting for an all-inclusive development of every single unit of its existence.

The distinguished panel comprised Prof. G.J.V. Prasad, JNU; Prof. Nimit Chowdhary, Jamia Milia Islamia; and Prof. V.Sujatha, JNU, New Delhi. The book of abstracts was released, which was then followed by the Panel Discussion on the theme of the Conference. Dr. Tithi Bhatnagar gave a vote of thanks to the Panelists and Participants of the Conference.

The final day of the Conference on April 18, 2018 began with a Keynote address by Dr. Matthew Frank Barney, Founder and CEO, LeaderAmp, USA. He addressed the session through Google on “Beyond a Digital Raj: Toward more Well-Being in the Subcontinent through New Science and Technology ”. Thereafter, six parallel technical sessions were organised based on the six different tracks. The tracks related to Economic Perspectives, Literature and Global South, Politics of the Global South, Progressive Psychological Practices, Social Systems and Trends in Travel and Tourism. A good number of papers were received from India and abroad. The theme of the conference was well received by academicians and practitioners alike. The participant and volunteers were felicitated with certificates at the Valedictory Session held during evening. The day ended with High Tea. The Conference was also released and highlighted in the Press.