Position: Visiting Faculty

  

Email: tony.sebastian@hyderabad.bits-pilani.ac.in

 

 This is my second semester of teaching at BPHC. I am currently awaiting the defense of my PhD thesis submitted from the Department of Comparative Literature and India Studies at The English and Foreign Languages University, Hyderabad. I also hold a masters degree in English Literature from EFLU. As an early career researcher and teacher, I serve a dual role in the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences: I engage with the research scholars as a resource-person, and as an instructor for the elective courses offered to the participants in other programs at BPHC. I believe that research need not necessarily be an isolating experience and that scholarly life of young academics stand to gain a lot from being open to concepts and ideas that may not not fall in the immediate premise of their chosen field of study. Taking cue from this thought, I led a semester-long reading group for the research scholars in the hope that their research will organically reflect their interdisciplinary reading and training. Last semester, I also conducted an academic writing session for the researchers in the department where we discussed the ways to improve upon the clarity and coherence of their publications. I taught 'Comparative Indian Literature' and 'Critical Analysis of Literature and Film' last semester.  As an instructor with the privilege of designing my own courses, I enjoy introducing the participants to new texts and translations that whet their curiosity and interest in literature and culture, and hone their critical thinking skills. I use a constructivist approach in teaching where the participants are challenged with creative problems that require them to reflect upon their own experiences and add/reconsider their existing paradigms of thought in light of the concepts and theories that they are introduced to in the class.