English is more than a discipline, it is a technological tool to connect cultures.
Professor Jenny Sharpe of Comparative Literature and Gender Studies at University of California, made the remark at a conference held at University of Liberal Arts Bangladesh (ULAB) Saturday.
She presented a keynote speech titled “Life, Labour, and the Picturesque: A Colonial Imaginary of East Indians in the West Indies,”
Department of English, ULAB hosted the two-day international conference to examine the relationship between language and literature within the frame of English studies.
Inaugurating the conference Saturday, chief guest Md Nazrul Islam, secretary to the Ministry of Education, said English was more than a just a discipline, rather, it has become a technological tool to ensure connectivity.
Ann McConnell, deputy chief of US Embassy in Dhaka, lauded the initiative of ULAB and underscored the need of forging bridges between cultures.
At least 75 speakers, representing Bangladesh, India, South Korea, United States of America and United Kingdom took part in the conference.
Parallel sessions, plenaries, workshop on language teaching, and a discussion are scheduled to take place at the conference on Sunday.
