International Conference on Literature, Environment and Climate Change, RGNUL
RGNUL, Punjab is organising an International Interdisciplinary Conference in collaboration with Punjab Pollution Control Board, Patiala; Shastri Indo-Canadian Institute, New Delhi and Assam Don Bosco University on “Literature, Environment and Climate Change” scheduled to be held on April 7-8, 2022.
About Rajiv Gandhi National University of Law (RGNUL), Punjab
The Rajiv Gandhi National University of Law (RGNUL), Punjab, was established by the State Legislature of Punjab by passing the Rajiv Gandhi National University of Law, Punjab Act, 2006 (Punjab Act No. 12 of 2006). The Act incorporated a University of Law of national stature in Punjab, to fulfil the need for a Centre of Excellence in legal education in the modern era of globalization and liberalization. RGNUL started functioning from its Headquarters-Mohindra Kothi, The Mall, Patiala w.e.f. 26 May 2006. The University acquired approval of the Bar Council of India (BCI) in July 2006. The University also got registered with the University Grants Commission (UGC), New Delhi under Section 2(f) of the University Grants Commission Act, 1956 and has been declared fit to obtain grant from the (UGC) under Section 12-B of the UGC Act, 1956. RGNUL operated from heritage building of the erstwhile Patiala State, Mohindra Kothi, The Mall, Patiala (from 2006 to 2013) located in the heart of Patiala city in a pollution free environment. The University was accredited with ‘A’ Grade by National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) in 2015. RGNUL, Punjab was granted autonomy under UGC Regulations, Clause 5 Dimensions of Autonomy for Category-II Universities in April 2018.The Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India, ranked RGNUL the first amongst the cleanest Higher Educational Institutions, Swachh Campus (2019) in the category of Government Residential Universities.
About Punjab Pollution Control Board
The Punjab Pollution Control Board was constituted in the year 1975 vide Punjab Government Notification No. 6186-BR II (4) 75/24146 dated 30.07.1975, after the enactment of Water (Prevention & Control of Pollution) Act, 1974 to preserve the wholesomeness of water. Subsequently, with the enactment of other environmental laws the responsibility to implement the provisions of such laws was also entrusted to the Punjab Pollution Control Board in the State of Punjab.
In order to have uniform laws, all over the country for broad environmental issues endangering the health & safety of our people as well as of our flora and fauna and also to check environmental degradation, the Parliament of India has enacted the following laws:
The Water (Prevention & Control of Pollution) Act, 1974 as amended to date
The Water (Prevention & Control of Pollution) Cess Act, 1977
The Air (Prevention & Control of Pollution) Act, 1981 as amended to date
The aforesaid laws have been adopted by the Govt. of Punjab to control environmental pollution in the State. Punjab Pollution Control Board has been entrusted the task of implementation of environmental laws in the State of Punjab.
About Shastri Indo-Canadian Institute, New Delhi
The Shastri Indo-Canadian Institute became bi-national in 2005. It has the honour of being the only Institution which has One Hundred Thirty One(131) premier academic Institutions as its members in India (including IITs, IIMs, NITs, Law schools, Central and State Universities) and Thirty Eight(38) universities in Canada (including McGill, Queen’s and York Universities). The Institute’s scope has expanded as well to include law, management, arts, information science, environment, science and technology including biotechnology along with humanities and social sciences.
The Shastri Institute is funded by and partners closely with government bodies both in India and Canada. The aim is to further the bi-national ethos through different programmes facilitating scholarly research and exchanges between the Indian and Canadian Universities, Cultural organisations, Government Bodies and United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
About Assam Don Bosco University
"Preferential option for the poor" has impelled us in all our educative interventions at the school and college levels. The same choice now calls us to enter a new field to provide university studies to so many youth, disadvantaged because of poor economic and social conditions.
We are called to accompany the young in the crucial moments of their life. University study is a time in their life in which they make the more important decisions for their future. Vocational orientation in the fundamental choices of their life or profession is required most at this stage.
There is a need for a presence of the Salesian Congregation in those environments in which social change, especially in relation to youth is being promoted. We spend so much of our time, energy and means in reacting, counteracting and correcting negative youth culture. Preventive System calls us to be present in the very places where such culture is created.
A University, together with the Colleges we already run (32 in India), can contribute to the qualified formation of youth for entry into the world of work and for their responsible involvement in society in such as way that their involvement goes beyond the demands and needs of the market and produce changes and new developments in society itself.
Vision of the Conference
Urbanization and modernization have greatly influenced the interaction between man and environment in the recent times. Man’s ability to exploit nature and her resources indiscriminately is responsible for the environmental crisis of the planet Earth. The excessive consumption of scarce resources, huge amount of garbage, ozone layer depletion, and various types of pollution and extinction of species are among the major environmental problems. Nature stirs creative minds to write about the hungry tides, floods, fissured lands, unquiet woods, creatures great and small, belated spring, dust bowl, bio-piracy, violence of green revolution, environmental injustice and climate change. This environmental literature also emerges from protests like Chipko movement, Narmada Bachao Andolan. It reinforces the interconnectedness between living beings and their surroundings. Environmental education can sensitize one and all regarding the efforts and skills required to improve the quality of the ecosystem. The modern environmental movement dates back to the publication of Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring (1962). Carson’s writing raises an alarm against the harmful effects of the contentious use of insecticides. She talks about the irresponsible acts of human beings that could silence the Earth. The changing relationship of human beings with the natural world gives rise to an array of fictional and nonfictional writings. The writings on endangered Earth engage human minds with ecological issues.
Eco-criticism explores the environmental dimensions of literature. Eco-criticism converges with its sister disciplines in humanities, history, anthropology, philosophy, ethics, law, religious studies, political science, geography, sociology and others, to understand the ethics of human environmental interactions. Lawrence Buell traces environmental imagination and ecological ethics in the literary works of various American writers. He asserts that discourses on landscapes and toxicity can propel transformation in the environmental consciousness. Environmentalists and writers across disciplines reflect on the endangered existence of human beings, locally and globally. Henry David Thoreau, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Donald Worster, Walt Whitman, Ramachandra Guha,Vandana Shiva, Amitav Ghosh, Arundhati Roy, Indira Sinha, Lakshmi Thiripurasundari, Syed Abdul Malik, Madhav Gadgil, Anupam Mishra, N K Sukumaran Nair, Barbara Kingsolver, Clara Hume, J.M. Coetzee, Margaret Atwood, Barbara Gowdy and many more raise public awareness to the environmental concerns.
Various writings on Nature and Environment make ecological destruction intelligible to human beings. Several genres of Green Writing also suggest “ethics of earth care”. These include Earth Democracy, Stolen Harvest, Ripples in the River, Earth Songs, Longing for Sunshine, The Fissured Land, Environmentalism, Back to Garden, Walden, Dust Bowl, The Hungry Tide, The Drowned Earth, The Burning World, Mother of Storms, Paradise in the Sea of Sorrow, Ecofeminism, Ecospeak, Ecoambiguity, the Environmental Imagination, The Practice of the Wild, The Family Tree, When Species Meet, Wilderness into Civilized Shapes, Listening to The Land, Green Cultural Studies and The Great Derangement.
Objectives of the Conference
To facilitate discussion on Climate Change, its impact on the environment and literature-related aspects.
To create a common platform for officials, academicians, researchers and experts in order to bridge the gap between academic wisdom and practical knowledge.
To work in co-ordinance with subject-matter experts and understand the need for literature to determine the fate of the field.
Sub-Themes
Eco-poetics / Green Voices
Ecofeminism
Green Screen
Post-Colonial Environments
Critical Post-humanism
Environmental Laws
Green Politics
The Economics of Ecosystem and Biodiversity
Environmental Justice
Endangered Landscapes
Transcendentalism
Environmentalism
Environmental Ethics
Environmental History
Target Audience
Academic Community
ESG researchers
Climate Change Advocates
Environmentalists
NGOs and Registered Societies
Students
Literature and Language experts
Environment literature enthusiasts
Important Dates
Submission of Abstract 17.01. 2022
Intimation of acceptance of Abstract 27.01.2022
Submission of Paper 05.03.2022
Registration Details
Email for correspondence and submission: expressions@rgnul.ac.in
Registration Details for online presentation are as follows: Research Scholars and Post Graduates: Rs.500/-(+GST), Rs.900 (+ GST) (for Co-authors). Academicians and Professionals: Rs.700/-(+GST), Rs.1300/-(+GST) for co authors
Registration link shall be provided after selection of abstract.
Online Portal shall be functional from 22nd November, 2021 to 31st January, 2022.
As per decision of RGNUL, Registration charges may vary for offline/in- person presentations.
E-Certificates shall be provided to Paper Presenters.
Online Attendees, who wish to avail certificate of participation, shall mandatorily get registered prior to the event (Rs.100/- +GST).
Authors of selected Papers for edited anthology shall contribute additionally, as per requirement of publication/purchase copy from publisher.
No Registration Fee for International Participants
