Curriculum Integration Forum One: “Neurodivergence and Literary Engagement”
On February 5, 2026, the Department of English and Humanities (DEH) at the University of Liberal Arts Bangladesh (ULAB) hosted the first of two forums of the 12th DEH Curriculum Integration (CI) Program. This term’s theme is "Neurodivergence in Linguistics, Literature, and English Language Teaching." The chosen theme is one of local and global significance and the Curriculum Integration Program aims to help students connect their academic coursework with such real-world issues and applications. Each forum reviews the concept and framework of the theme from literary and linguistic standpoints.
Ms. Arifa Ghani Rahman, Head and Associate Professor of the department, introduced the theme and objective of the program. Ms. Rahman explained that the Curriculum Integration Program is a signature initiative of the department that selects an overarching theme each term with real-world relevance. She emphasized that the program encourages students to find meaningful connections between their course contents and contemporary academic, social, and professional contexts. Ms. Rahman further advised students to first develop a clear understanding of the concept of neurodivergence and then explore how it can be connected to areas such as research, higher studies, academic practices, and future career paths. She concluded her remarks by thanking Dr. Mushira Habib, Assistant Professor of the department, for conducting the forum and Vincent Dip Gomes, Lecturer, DEH, for arranging the event.
Dr. Mushira Habib, a neurodivergent scholar-activist herself, is passionate about the inclusion and acceptance of neurodivergence in academic spheres, and researches and teaches with anti-oppressive and trauma-informed perspectives. Dr. Habib opened her talk on “Neurodivergence and Literary Engagement” with a clip from the movie 15 Park Avenue to demonstrate how different perspectives can interpret the same reality differently. She defined neurodivergence as encompassing a range of ways of living and being that diverge from neurotypical norms, noting that the term “neurodivergence” was coined by Kassiane Asasumasu in 2000 and that the sociological framing of “neurodiversity” emphasizes difference rather than deficit. Dr. Habib emphasized that neurodivergence covers not only widely recognized conditions such as ADHD and autism spectrum disorder but also any variation in cognitive or perceptual experience, including temporary states caused by grief, concussion, or aging (for example, dementia or Alzheimer’s). She urged the audience to consider how rules and norms might be adapted to be more inclusive of neurodivergent ways of thinking and participating.
In this talk on literary engagement, Dr. Habib outlined five key ways of approaching neurodivergence in literature. She discussed how neurodivergence has historically been represented through figures such as fools, madmen, or prophetic characters who often serve alternative narrative functions. She then encouraged students to read neurodivergence in literary texts by interpreting characters and plots through neurodivergent or trauma-informed lenses. Dr. Habib also highlighted neurodivergent authors and poets who express difference through form, including fragmentation, intentional silences, and experimental structures, citing writers such as Hilda Doolittle and Franz Kafka as notable examples. Drawing from her own academic work, she explained how to write about literature from a neurodivergent perspective, such as engaging with texts through experiences of depression or suicidality, which can offer new critical insights. Finally, she addressed academic neurodivergence within literature classrooms, emphasizing that unconventional participation or disruptions can be meaningful, and stressed the importance of institutional accommodations, such as extended exam time, low-distraction environments, or excused absences for triggering material, practices that are already common in institutions abroad.
Dr. Habib illustrated these points with numerous literary examples from most of the literature courses of the Department, spanning from historical to modern texts. She suggested new readings of canonical works, pointing to Robert Browning’s dramatic monologues, Dickensian episodes, Emily Dickinson’s poetry, and modern novelistic portrayals, showing how neurodivergent readings can open fresh interpretive possibilities. She also connected neurodivergence to themes of historical and generational trauma, modernist fragmentation (anxiety, paranoia, depression), and psychoanalytic and performative frameworks (Freud, Butler) while referencing authors like Toni Morrison who probe memory and mental states.
The forum concluded with a Q&A session. One audience question asked whether the character Sheldon Cooper from The Big Bang Theory could be considered neurodivergent. Dr. Habib responded that, while Sheldon was not explicitly written as neurodivergent, audience reception and identification with the character reveal a broader hunger for representation. She noted that such reception can be empowering but also signals the need for better public understanding and therapeutic support.
The session was hosted by Raisa Anan.
Report by Natasha Binte Sarah (223013070)
