UJJWAL JANA, Professor, PhD (IIT, Kharagpur)

Ujjwal Jana

email: ujana@english.du.ac.in
Preferred Contact Hour: By Appointment

Education:

PhD in English | 2008, Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur, India

M.A. in English | 1999, Calcutta University, Kolkata, India

B.A. in English (Honours), 1997, R.K Mission Residential College, Narendrapur, University of Calcutta, Kolkata, India

Work History

Professor: February 22,2023- : Department of English, Faculty of Arts, University of Delhi, Delhi

July 15, 2019-February 21,2023: Department of English, Pondicherry University, Pondicherry

Associate Professor: July 15,2016-July,14 2019: Department of English, Pondicherry University, Pondicherry

Assistant Professor: 17th September 2010-14th July 2016: Department of English, Pondicherry University, Pondicherry

17th March , 2009-September 16, 2010:Department of English, West Bengal state University, Kolkata

9th July 2003-16th March 2009:Department of English, Bajkul Milani Mahavidyalaya, (Government Sponsored Degree College affiliated to Vidyasagar University), West Bengal

Areas of Research Interest

Indian Literary Theory and Criticism, South Asian Literatures, Translation Studies, Digital Humanities, Theory of Emotions

Awards and Fellowships

2023

Awarded Hungarian State scholarship for 2022-2023, funded by Tempus Foundation of the Government of Hungary to carry out a collaborative research at the ELTE Department of English Studies, EötvösLoránd University, Budapest Hungary

2022

Awarded Hungarian state scholarship in the academic year 2021-2022 funded by Tempus

Foundation of Government of Hungary to pursue collaborative Research Project in the Institute of

English and American Studies, Debrecan University, Hungary

2020

Faculty Mobility Award (Waitlisted), Shastri Indo-Canadian Institute and Ministry of Human Resource

Development, 2020.

2019-2023

Indian Principal Investigator, Scheme for Promotion of Academic and Research Collaboration

(SPARC) project on “Digital Humanities in the Indian Rim” with Western Sydney University, Australia

2019-2021 funded by Ministry of Education, Govt of India

2016-2017

Indian Lead Collaborator, Joint Research Project on “The Literature of Resistance: A comparative study of

Dalit and anti-Apartheid Literature” under ICSSR (India) NIHSS (South Africa) joint Research Programme in

Social Sciences with the Department of English, University of Johannesburg, South Africa, 2016-2017.

2014-2015

Indian Lead Collaborator, Joint Research Project on “The Guru Challenge: Spirituality, Psychology and literature in East-West Encounters” under ICSSR (India) DFG (Germany) joint Research

Programme in Social Sciences with the Department of English, University of Leipzig, Germany, 2014-2015.

2014

Sahitya Akademi (Govt of India, Ministry of culture) Travel Grant Award,2014

2013

Commonwealth Academic Staff Fellowship in UK [Recommended by the UGC, India to

Commonwealth Scholarships Commission, ultimately unsuccessful] 2013.

2007-2008

Fulbright Fellow, India Studies academic Programme, Indiana University, Bloomington,

USA,2007-2008.

2008

Special Award by Ramakrishna Mission Residential College, Narendrapur, for securing

Highest Marks in B.A. Examination, 1996.

1993

Jindal Scholarship, 1993.

Publications

Text Books Authored
2016
Applied Phonetics. Directorate of Distance Education, Pondicherry University,
Puducherry,India
2015
Communication Skills & Grammar. Directorate of Distance Education, Pondicherry
University,Puducherry,India

Edited Books: Refereed
2023
Editor, Digital Culture in Humanities: Contemporary Trends published by ABS Books,
New Delhi-India
2012
Co-editor [with Aparajita De, Amrita Ghosh],Subaltern Vision: A Study in Postcolonial Indian English Text, Newcastle-upon-Tyne:Cambridge Scholars
Publishing, UK ISBN: 1-4438-3665-6
2011
Co-editor[withV.Rajakrishnan],Green Symphony:Studies in Ecocriticism,Sarup and
Sons, New Delhi-India, ISBN- 978-81-7625-5
2011
Co-editor [with Murali Sivaramakrishnan],Ecological Criticism for our Times:
Literature, Nature and Critical inquiry,Authorspress, New Delhi, ISBN-978-81-7273-
588-3

Journal Articles
2023
Mondal, Arijit and Ujjwal Jana. “Mapping the Poetics of Memory: A Critical
Reading of Manoranjan Byapari’s Interrogating my Chandal Life as Cultural
Archive.” Contemporary Voice of Dalit, Vol. No., 2023, pp .
2022
Sethulakshmi, S and Ujjwal Jana. “A Review of Critical Disaster Studies. By
Jacob A.C. Remes and Andy Horowitz..” Interdisciplinary Literary Studies. Vol. 24,
No. 3, 2022, pp. 463-466.
Jana, Ujjwal and Tanushree Dutta. “Text as an Archive: A Critical Reading of
Estherine Kire’s When the River Sleeps.” Skase Journal of Literary and Cultural
Studies, Vol. 4, No. 3, pp. 61- 69
2021
Islam, Mohaiminul and Ujjwal Jana. “Text as a Cultural Archive: A Close
Reading of Madan Vasishta’s Deaf in Delhi: A Memoir.” Journal of Literary &
Cultural Disability Studies, vol. 15 no. 2, 2021, p. 203-218. (ISSN (Online)1757-
6466)Project MUSE muse.jhu.edu/article/790622.
Jana, Ujjwal & Ms. Pooja Smrity. “Mapping the role of Digital Platforms for
Learning Online in India: An Empirical Study” Towards Excellence: An
Indexed, Refereed & Peer Reviewed Journal of Higher Education. vol 13, no
2,2021, p. 770-784. (ISSN NO 0251-348X)
Jana, Ujjwal & and Tanushree Dutta. “Memory, Culture and Identity: A
cultural reading of The Legends of Pensam” Ostrava journal of English
Philology, vol.13, no. 1, 2021 p.51-60 (ISSN 1803-8174
(print))doi.org/10.15452/OJoEP.2021.13.0004
2020
Jana, Ujjwal and Nivedya Chandrasekar “ Digital Storytelling and Digital
Social Reading in Social Media: A Case Study Of Instagram And Wattpad.”
Panjab University Research Journal Social Sciences, Vol. 27, No. 1,2,3, pp. 216-
234 (ISSN NO 0251-348X)
2018
Jana, Ujjwal. “In search of an Indian Theory of Translation: Some reflections
from Indian Poetics ”, Litscape: Journal of VUETEC,Midnapur India, Vol. 10, No.
1, pp. 40-44, (ISSN No 0976-9064).
“Appropriating Baul Tradition: Tagore and his creative Experimentation”,
Dibrugarh University Journal of English Studies, Vol 26,82-86 (ISSN0975–5659)
2017
“Scope of Santa Rasa in Indian Context: Some Observations” Literary
Miscellany, New Delhi, India 6.1:77-87 (ISSN No 2230-7451)
“Text as an archive of Community: A reading of Aravind Malagatti’s Dalit
autobiography Government Brahmana” Middle Flight 6.1:82-91 (ISSN No
2319-7684)
2014
“Translating the Peripheral Voice: A comparative study of the Translation/s of
Mahasweta Devi’s select stories”, Dibrugarh University Journal of English Studies,
23,12-21(ISSN0975–5659)
2015
Revisiting Baul Philosophy: A study of the Baul Songs of Bengal.” Kakatiya
Journal of English Studies. Vol. 34 : 134-142.ISSN (0971-8877)
2013
“Blistering aboriginal voice: An overview of Ali Cobby Eckermann’s Select
Poems”Middle Flight,2.1, 89-95 (ISSN2319-7684)
2011
“Diasporic Dilemmas: A Study of Displacement, Memory in Select Poems of
Meena Alexander” Dibrugarh University Journal of English Studies 20: 94-99
(ISSN0975–5659)
2009
“Theatrical Performance and aesthetic enjoyment in the Indian context: a
study in Rasa theory of Indian Poetics”,Apperception, Viswabharati University,
Vol.4, 116-129. (ISSN 2321-1261)
“Writing Trauma, Retrieving Memory and Casting Self: A study of Harold
Pinter’s Ashes to Ashes” The Mysore Literary Review (1.2 December) : 58-66
“Mapping out Gendered space: A Study in R. K. Narayan’s The Guide”(R.K.
Narayan special issue) Indian Journal of World Literature and Culture,( Vols.
3 & 4, ):70-74(ISSN 2229-7251)
2008
“The struggle to annihilate caste will be victorious”: Meena Kandasamy in
Conversation” Postcolonial Text,4:1-7 (ISSN 1705-9100)
“Journey as a post-colonial metaphor in Amitav Ghosh’s Hungry Tide” Pragati
English Journal, 8.1 (June): 16-21. (ISSN 0975-4091)
“Nativizing Stylistic Equivalence in Translation: A study in Indian poetics
perspective”, Translation Watch Quarterly, Australia (June)(ISSN 1832-
6951)
“Rasa in performance: Contextualizing Indian Classical Drama” in Journal
of Drama Studies An International Journal of ResearchonWorld Drama in
English (including translation)2.1:42-53, (ISSN 0975-1696)
2007
“Locating Space, Identity: A study of R.K.Narayan’s The Guide”, The Atlantic
Critical Review Quarterly,6.2(April- June):97-100.(ISSN-0972-6373)
“Rasas, their Number and their Interrelationship: Some Reflections”. Muse India
(Sep-Oct) (ISSN 0975-1815)
2005
Riders to the Sea in the light of Indian Aesthetic Tradition”Litscape 2.1(May):
63-66 (ISSN 0976-9064)

Articles in Edited Books

2022
“Forgiving Three Times.” Indian Folk Narratives. Sahitya Akademi. ISBN: 978-93-
5548-1122-2.
“From Imitation to Ingenuity: Bengali Theatre from 1795-1857.” Indian Aesthetics:
Convergences and Divergences. DK Printworld. ISBN: 978-81-246-1143-2.
2019
“Text as Socio-cultural Archive: A reading of Binodini Dasi’s My Story and My Life
as an Actress.” Ahead of their Times Essays on Women Autobiography in India.
Kalpaz Publications. ISBN 9789353240301.
2018
“Abhinavagupta and his exposition of Santa rasa: A critical Appraisal.” Acarya
Abhinavagupta Cultural,Literary and Philosophical study. Jammu KashmirStudy
Centre,New Delhi. ISBN: 978-81-934808-3-0.
2017
“Abhinavagupta and his key contribution to Rasa theory of Indian Poetics: A
critical appraisal.” Sanskrit Kavyasastra: contemporary essays.
vidyanidhiprakashan,New Delhi,India. ISBN: 978-93-855-39- 48-0.
“Theatre and Drama in India: a brief historical Survey.” Essays on Text and
Performance. Book Age Publications ,New Delhi. ISBN: 9789383281701.
2014
“Arun Joshi’s Last Labyrinth: An interface of Existentialism and Indian Philosophy” in
Ketaki Datta. ed. Sahitya Akademi Award-winning English Collections: Critical
Overviews and Insights Authorspress, New Delhi, 2014. Pp.128-135(ISBN 8172737289)
2013
“Eco-centric literary studies and criticism from the Indian and western
perspective: A comparative formulation)” in Dola Debnath. Ed. Sahitya Bichare
Paribeshkendrik Dristinbhangi. Mitram, KOLKATA ,81-84 ISBN( 978-81-88171-93-4
2012
“A new voice I heard. It’s a voice to tell of my own people”: an interview with
Manohar Mouli Biswas, inJ. Bheemaiah, Aavishkar, Ed. Dalits and Social
Marginalisation,213-222. (ISBN 9788179103951)
“Exile, Memory and Diaspora: Transculturality in Sujata Bhatt’s poems”. Inter-
Readings: Text, Context, Significance in Murali Sivaramakrishan and Clement
Lourdes eds., Department of English, Pondicherry University,155-162. (ISBN- 81-
87300-52-3)
2011
“Representation of Nature in Ancient Indian Literature: Some Reflections”.in Murali
Sivaramakrishnan and Ujjwal Jana, eds., Ecological Criticism for Our Times: Literature,
Nature and Critical Inquiry. 256-264.Authors Press,New Delhi ((ISBN-978-81-7273-
588-3)
2009
“Articulating Silences: a reading of select Indian English women poets”. Indian
English Women Poets. in Anisur Rahman & Ameena Kazi Ansari, eds., Creative
Books, PP159-167(ISBN 81-8043-063-4)
2007
“Perspectivising Rasa theory of Indian Poetics in postcolonial context” Presentations of
Postcolonialism in English: New Orientations in Jaydeep Sarangi, ed, New Delhi:
Authorspress, 233-244. (ISBN 81-7273-383-6)
BOOK REVIEW
2015
Review of David L. Haberman,People Trees: Worship of Trees in Northern India,(
Oxford University Press: New York, 2013,)South Asia: Journal of South Asian
Studies, 38:3, 534-536,
TRANSLATION
“One Land by Amit Mukhopadhyay.” The Bleeding Border Stories of Bengal
Partition. Niyogi Books. ISBN: 978-93-91125-01-1.
Notun Prithibi- a novel by Amit Chaudhuri, Introduced and Translated by
Ujjwal Jana from English novel, A New World, Sahitya Akademi, 2021.

Invited Talks and Letures

2023
Invited Talk on Histriography of Ancient Indian Drama in the ICPR sponsored workshop on “Contemporary readings of Natyashastra and its Philosophical significance” from 8th May to 12th May 2023 organized by Lakshmibai College, University of Delhi

Invited talk on Creativity and Aesthetic Reflections in the one day seminar cum workshop on CREATIVE WRITING IN THE LITERARY REALM organized by the Department of English and Modern European Languages, Gautam Buddha University, Noida on April 24, 2023

Invited talk as a plenary speaker on Mapping Alternative Paradigms: Ecology, Language and Translation in the ICSSR sponsored national-level seminar on ” Mapping Language, Ecology, and Cultural Diversity in India: An Ecolinguistic Approach on 9th and 10th February, 2023,organized by The Dept of English, West Bengal State University, West Bengal

2022
Invited talk on Indian literary criticism in the one day National seminar on “Indian Classical Literature: Theory and Praxis”organized by the Department of English, Dumdum Motijheel College, Kolkata on December 23, 2022 Invited talk on Ambedkar and his contribution to culture studies in the Two Days International Seminar on ‘Socio-Economic Philosophy of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar: The Indian & Global Perspective organized by Dr. Ambedkar Chair in Social Justice and Empowerment, Indira Gandhi National Tribal University, Amarkantak (M.P.) on 15 &
16 December, 2022

Invited Talk on Translating Vernacular literatures in India in the online English Refresher Course, organised by The Department of English, in collaboration with the UGC-HRDC, Pondicherry University on October 10, 2022 2019

Invited Talk on Digital humanities in India for College and University Lecturers, English Refresher Course, Academic Staff College, Dr. Hari Singh Gour Viswavidyalaya,Sagar, Madhya Pradesh November 11

Invited talk on Gandhi and his impact on Indian LiteratureOne day Seminar on Gandhian principles of Ahimsa and its Relevance Today, Centre for Gandhian Studies, Pondicherry University, October 10

Invited Talk on How to read a Literary Text: Contemporary approaches, Siddhinath Mahavidyalaya, Purba Medinipur, West Bengal, India, August 21-22.

Invited Talk on Philosophical Speculations of Gandhian Ideas: Some Reflections, ICPR Sponsored National Seminar on Gandhian principles of Ahimsa and its Relevance Today, Department of Philosophy and English, Panchanan Barma University, April 8-10

Invited Talk on English Language, Literature and Culture: contemporary Trends Two day National Conference on “English Language, Literature and Culture” organised by VivekanandhaCollege for Women, PG and Research Department of English, Tiruchengode, Namakkal, Tamil Nadu, March 11& 12

Invited talk on Research Methodology for Humanities Department of English, Tamil Nadu Open University, Chennai February 9

Invited Talk on Linguistics and Phonetics, Department of English, Garhbeta College, Paschi Medinipur, West Bengal, January 5
2018

Invited Talk on Indian Literary Theory: Critical Evaluation for College and University Lecturers, English Refresher Course, Academic Staff College, Pondicherry University, September 9

Invited Talk on Impact of Social movements on Indian Literature, National Seminar, Dept of Tamil. English, and History ERK Arts & Science College, Tamilnadu, India July 27. 2017

Invited Talk on Dalit Literature in India: Growth, origin and Development, One- day Symposium, Department of English, University of Johannesburg, May 18

Invited Talk onDhvani Theory of Indian poetics: a Linguistic Study, Department of English, Panskura Banamali College, Purba Medinipur, India January 2017

2016

Invited Talk on Translation in Pre-colonial India: problems in constructing Theoretical Framework, National Seminar, Department of English, Annamalai University, April 4-5

Invited Talk on Scope of Rasa in Applied Criticism: A study of Santa rasa National Seminar on Revisiting the Tenets of Indian Aesthetic Tradition: An Interface with the Arts, Indian Council of Philosophical Research, New Delhi April 19-21

Invited Talk on Text as socio-cultural archive: A reading of Binodini Dasi’s My Story and My Life as an Actress National Seminar on Exploring the Self: Autobiography in the Indian Context Centre for Comparative Literature School of Humanities, University of Hyderabad September 15-16 2015

Invited Talk on In search of an alternative idiom: ‘New language’ in contemporary Bangla Dalit poetry, National Seminar on OTHER AS PLURAL: NARRATIVIZING MARGINAL SELF, HISTORY AND CULTURE Centre for Comparative Literature School of
Humanities, University of Hyderabad October 28-30.

Invited Talk on Serampore Mission and Translation Project in colonial Bengal: Text and ContextUGC-DSA International Seminar ‘Imagining the East: New Research, New Pathways’ Department of English, University of Hyderabad, February 23- 25. 2011

Two Lectures on ‘Indian Aesthetics’ for College and University Lecturers, English Refresher Course, Academic Staff College, Dr. Hari Singh Gour Viswavidyalaya, Sagar, Madhya Pradesh July 28-29

Delivered two Lectures on ‘English Consonants and Vowels’, organized by the Department of English, Netaji Subhas Open University, Kolkata, June 12.

Lecture on “Reading of Diphthongs” for a 3 Day Training Programme on Teaching of Phonetics to Lecturers in Government Higher Secondary Schools, organized by Staff Training Centre, Directorate of School Education, Government of Puducherry on
February 8

Invited Talk on Theory of Emotions in Sanskrit Drama National Seminar Karnataka Sanskrit University in collaboration with Indian Council of Philosophical Research, New Delhi March 27-28

Invited Talk on Gender Representation in Indian Literature National Seminar AVS College of Arts and Science, Salem, Tamilnadu, India March 5 2006

Delivered A Special Lecture on “Wyatt’s I find No Peace”, delivered at Seva Bharati Mahavidyalaya, Jhargram, West Bengal, November 2
2010

Two Lectures on ‘Ecocriticism: some thoughts on its emergence, concepts and interdisciplinary relevance’ for College and University Lecturers, English Refresher Course, Academic Staff College, Sambalpur University, Orissa,
September 8-9, 2012

Major Research Project.

Title: Dalit Literature in Bangla: A historical study and
Literary analysis of select Texts.Principal Investigator: Funded by University
Grants Commission, India (May 2012- May 2014).

ICPR Project. Title: Influence of various Philosophical schools of India on Rasa
theory of Indian Poetics Principal Investigator: Funded by Indian Council of
Philosophical Research, India (May 2012- May 2014).

SPONSORED PROJECTS
2019
Awarded Grant under Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of
India sponsored ‘Scheme for Promotion of Academic and Research
Collaborations’ (SPARC) to carry out a Project as Principal Investigator on “Digital
Humanities in Indian Rim ” in collaboration with Western Sydney University,
Australia 2019 – 2020, extended to 2023

Research Guidance
PhD Supervision:
Supervised Ph.D. thesis “Disability in Indian Regional Literatures: A Literary
and Cultural Study of Select Narratives” by Mr. Mohaiminul Islam, Pondicherry
University, awarded April 2023.
Supervised Ph.D. thesis “The Semiotics of a Disordered World-A select study
of Robert Anton Wilson” by Mr. Hemant Kumar Golapalli, Pondicherry
University, awarded November 2022
Supervised Ph.D. thesis “ Commoditization of Literature: a surge of populism
Contemporary Indian English Fictions ” by Mr. Aditya Ghosh, Pondicherry
University, awarded November 2022
Supervised Ph.D. thesis “ Marginality, Aesthetics and Gender: A select study of
Bengali Dalit Short Stories in Translation” by Mr. Soumya Kanti Mandal,
Pondicherry University, awarded August 2021
Supervised Ph.D. thesis “ Navigating the Detective World of Satyajit Ray– A
Critical Study” by Ms. Chandreie Mukherjee, Pondicherry University, awarded
August 2018
Supervised Ph.D. thesis “ EXPERIMENTATION IN POST-INDEPENDENCE INDIAN DRAMA:
A STUDY OF THE SELECT PLAYS OF HABIB TANVIR, K.N. PANIKKAR, AND RATAN
THIYAM” by Ms. Meera Mathews, Pondicherry University, awarded May 2018
M.Phil. Supervision
Supervised M.Phil. dissertation “ Reconfiguring Narrative Strategies: A study of
Shashi Tharoor’s Riot: A Novel and Post Modern Narrative Discourse” by Mr.
Yogeswar Dwivedi, Pondicherry University, awarded August 2011
Supervised M.Phil. dissertation “Recapturing the Roots: Memory, culture and
Politics of Nagaland: A study of Temsula Ao’s short stories These Hills called
Home: Stories from a war zone” by Ms I Watitula Longkumer, Pondicherry
University, awarded October 2012
Supervised M.Phil. dissertation “Staging Third World:A neo colonial study of
Manjula Padmanabhan’s Harvest and Hidden fires” by Mr. Karthick S,
Pondicherry University, awarded November 2012
Supervised M.Phil. dissertation “ Articulating voices from the Margin: A
Comparative Study of Sharan Kumar Limbale’s Akkarmashi and Arvind
Malagatti’s Government Brahmana by Ms Vinutha Kunderi, Pondicherry
University, awarded November 2011

TEACHING AREAS

Literary Theory
Modern Rhetoric and Research Methodology
Introduction to Linguistics
Indian Aesthetics
Translation: Theory and Practice
SOUTH AFRICAN INDIAN LITERATURE
NONFICTIONAL WRITING
Disability Literary Studies