The University of Liberal Arts Bangladesh’s Department of English and Humanities organized an international conference on Karl Marx, celebrating the bicentenary of the German revolutionary philosopher’s birth.
Entitled “Language, Literature, Culture and Politics: Marx’s Bicentenary Conference”, the two-day event took place at ULAB’s Dhanmondi Campus, with interdisciplinary themes divided between keynote address, parallel sessions, panel discussions, and cultural performances. Broadly speaking, the themes that threaded the conference together was how Marxist views “matter in the ever-changing present world.”
Throughout the two days, panel discussions were attended by experts of different sectors. In four parallel sessions presentations were held and chaired by renowned academics, with around 35 young scholars presenting their research on varied topics such as culture, education, ecology, political economy, etc.
On the first day, the conference started with opening remarks from National Professor Rafiqul Islam who pointed out the revolutionary historical changes inspired by Marx’s ideas. In his speech, “Marx and History”, Prof Serajul Islam Choudhury, agreeing to Friedrich Engels’ consideration of Marx as “the greatest living thinker”, said that Marx “is above all a revolutionist who brought a radical change in man’s outlook.” His thorough piece encompassed the powerful inter-relation between Marx’s life and works and his influence on the Indian subcontinent and its literature.
Dr Bret Benjamin of State University of New York made his keynote presentation on “Living amidst the Catastrophes of ‘the Living Contradiction’: Theses on Marx at 200” on Skype from the US, explaining how Marx’s critique of political and economic structure still “makes sense in the present world, in the midst of the living contradictions”. In his deliberation, Chair of the session Professor Anu Muhammad of Jahangirnagar University’s Department of Economics linked the keynote speech to the Bangladeshi context.
The first plenary session, “Marx after Fanon: Whatever Happened to Alienation?” was conducted by Prof Salimullah Khan, where he discussed how Karl Marx could be understood in context of the works of Franz Fanon.
In the concluding session, Prof Kaiser Haq, dean of ULAB’s Arts and Humanities Faculty, gave a reading titled, “’Karl Marx vs. Nux Vomica 200’ and Selected Poems”.
On the second day, two plenary sessions were held; Prof Shamsad Mortuza took on Anik Datta’s 2017 movie Meghnadhbodh Rohoshyo in a session titled “The Specter of Naxalgia in Meghnadbodh Rohoshyo” and East West University Pro-Vice Chancellor Professor Fakrul Alam gave his lecture on “Karl Marx on India: A Postcolonial Perspective”.
The concluding discussion was held on “Bangladesh in the New Century” and was chaired by New Age Editor Nurul Kabir, with Dhaka University Economics Professor M. M. Akash, Ganasanghati Andolon Chief Coordinator Zonayed Saki, and Communist Party of Bangladesh President Mujahidul Islam Selim as discussants.
Hassan Al Zayed, assistant Prof of DEH and the convener of the event, concluded the event with a vote of thanks. The conference ended with a cultural performance by Arup Rahee, titled “Imagining Liberation: Karl Marx and Lalon Fakir”.
