Scholars Showcase Advanced Learning
The Department of English and Humanities (DEH) at the University of Liberal Arts Bangladesh organized an engaging academic event, “Scholars Showcase Advanced Learning,” on December 18, 2025, as part of the department’s Scholars Program. The showcase provided a platform for Scholars Program students to present research and reflections developed through advanced coursework.
The session began with a warm welcome from Al Mahmud Rumman, Senior Lecturer at DEH and a member of the Scholars Program committee. In his opening remarks, he addressed the presenters, students, and faculty members, emphasizing the importance of advanced learning, intellectual collaboration, and early planning for such academic events to support future scholars better.
The showcase featured presentations by six students, each exploring diverse areas within literature, linguistics, pedagogy, and cultural studies. Rushnan Aman opened the presentations with “Conceptualizing Bangladeshi English through Kachru’s Circles and the Dynamic Model.” Her presentation examined the development of Bangladeshi English as a result of British colonization and its long process of nativization within the South Asian context. Drawing on Kachru’s Outer Circle and Schneider’s Dynamic Model, she traced its evolution across key stages of linguistic development, discussed phonological, morphological, and lexical adaptations, and highlighted its shifting position between the Outer and Expanding Circles as a result of globalization.
Adrita Chowdhury presented “Understanding World Englishes: The Three Concentric Circles Model by Braj Kachru.” Her discussion focused on Kachru’s classification of global English use into the Inner, Outer, and Expanding Circles, emphasizing how the model challenges the notion of a single, fixed standard of English by recognizing multiple legitimate varieties worldwide.
Raisa Anan delivered a presentation titled “Scopophilia in Hollywood: A Comparative Study of Vertigo, Wonder Woman, and Barbie based on Laura Mulvey’s Theory.” She analyzed how mainstream cinema continues to cater mainly to a heterosexual male audience by portraying women as visual objects of spectacle. Despite appearing to challenge patriarchal norms, films such as Wonder Woman and Barbie were shown to remain embedded in the visual logic of scopophilia and the male gaze.
Yusuf Abdullah Tokee presented “Paulo Freire’s Critical Pedagogy and Language Education.” He began by explaining Freire’s significance in education, then provided an overview of key concepts, including banking versus problem-posing education, dialogue and critical consciousness, and adaptation versus transformation. He concluded by discussing the implications of Freire’s ideas for language teaching materials and practices.
Husnul Jannath presented “Artificial Intelligence for Automated Writing Evaluation (AWE) in TESOL: Effectiveness and Challenges.” Her study reviewed 58 peer-reviewed articles published between 2018 and 2025 using Braun and Clarke’s thematic analysis. The findings highlighted the benefits of AWE tools in improving linguistic accuracy, learner motivation, and personalized feedback, while also addressing concerns related to academic integrity, ethical issues, over-reliance on AI, and limited support for higher-order writing skills. The presentation concluded by emphasizing the need for blended feedback models and long-term research.
Ansa Tasfiha Suhi concluded the showcase with her presentation “Why Materials Design Matters?” She discussed key points of materials design for texts, incorporating Brian Tomlison’s Pragmatic Awareness framework, meaning-focused learning, critical pedagogy, and multimodalities in brief. The presentation ended on the note of how she found this course helpful as a literature major.
The showcase ended with a closing statement from the Advisor of the Scholars Program, Dr. Md. Mahadhi Hasan. He thanked the students, faculty, and Scholars present at the showcase. Head of the Department, Ms. Arifa Ghani Rahman, and Dr. Mushira Habib, Assistant Professor and member of the Scholars Program Advisory Committee, were also present at the program.
Overall, the program successfully highlighted the depth of scholarly engagement within the Scholars Program and provided a meaningful space for academic exchange among students and faculty.
Report by Ansa Tasfiha Suhi (232013095)
