Scholars’ Showcase

On April 16, 2026, the Department of English and Humanities at the University of Liberal Arts Bangladesh organized a Scholars’ Showcase event. Students from the Scholars Program at DEH delivered presentations based on the courses they audited during the semester. Twelve presenters shared their interdisciplinary insights, research approaches, and critical perspectives drawn from their respective audited courses, demonstrating how the Scholars Program encourages academic exploration beyond traditional degree program boundaries. The showcase provided a platform for intellectual exchange, allowing presenters and the audience to engage in meaningful discussions.

Tasnuva Islam Poushi (233013110) audited 0232-055-503: The Cultural Construction of Shakespeare in the Spring 2026 semester. Her presentation demonstrated how William Shakespeare shaped the English language, literature, and theater, and how these were constructed by culture during his lifetime and after his time, through different interpretations and reproductions across various contexts to serve social, moral, or political interests.

Israt Jahan Aurni (233013046) audited 0232-055-502: Advanced Literary Theory. Her presentation represented the transition in feminist criticism from examining male-written texts to studying women as writers. Key ideas included anxiety of authorship, matrophobia, the madwoman archetype, linguistic subversion, and Showalter's three phases, culminating in women's progression from silence to autonomous literary identity.

Maruf Hossain Sajid (233013151) also audited the same course. His presentation titled “Self as Misrecognition: Lacan's Mirror Stage and the Formation of Identity” explained how Lacan's mirror stage redefines identity, demonstrating the self as produced through misrecognition. He applied this framework to social media, where users perpetually construct their Ideal-Ego, concluding that the human subject remains fundamentally divided.

Juairia Khan (233013138) audited 0232-055-502 as well, and her presentation was titled “Marxism and the Communist Manifesto.” She outlined Marx’s theory of class struggle and discussed Marxist literary criticism, which presents literature as shaped by economic and ideological conditions. Through works such as The Great Gatsby, Hard Times, and Pride and Prejudice, she demonstrated how literature exposes class inequality, the effects of capitalism, and the intersection of economy, power, and social relations.

Amrita Bhadra (233013001) audited this course too and presented on “Freud and Psychoanalysis,” in which she explained the human psyche as a conflict among the id, ego, and superego. Her presentation covered defense mechanisms such as repression, dream-work processes, Freud’s psychosexual stages of development, and his enduring influence on literary analysis and critical theory.

Yusuf Abdullah Tokee (232013023) audited ENG 509: Theories on First and Second Language Acquisition. In his presentation, “Bridging the Gap: Schumann's Acculturation Model in Bangladesh,” Tokee presented Schumann's Acculturation Model using Alberto's case. He explained Social Distance factors like Dominance, Enclosure, and Integration Patterns, then applied them to the Bangladeshi context, showing how family education levels affect English exposure, and concluded that reducing social distance improves learning.

Namasree Ray (233013154) audited the same course and presented on the “Role of Output in SLA,” arguing that output facilitates learning through Swain’s three functions: noticing gaps, hypothesis testing, and metalinguistic reflection. Supported by Schmidt's Noticing Hypothesis and auto-input, her presentation contrasted Krashen's claim that only input matters.

Husnul Jannath (222013034) audited ENG 535: Testing and Assessment for ELT. Her presentation examined HSC English examinations in Bangladesh using Bloom's Taxonomy. While analyzing twenty-two question papers from 2015 to 2025, she observed that lower-order thinking skills (remembering, understanding) dominate, while higher-order skills (analyzing, evaluating, creating) are neglected. She concluded that alignment with Bloom's Taxonomy is largely symbolic, promoting rote learning over critical thinking.

Raisa Anan (232013009), who audited ENG 525: Representing Gender, presented on Austen’s Persuasion as a precursor to Woolf’s A Room of One's Own. She argued that Anne Elliot possesses the capacity for intellectual growth through solitude and observation, but the absence of recognition and supportive structures limits the full expression of her voice.

Rushnan Aman (231013066) also audited this course and presented on the topic, “Gender Performativity in Orlando (1992) and Anonna (2023).” She concluded that both films demonstrate gender as constructed performance, with Orlando showing fluidity across time and body, and Anonna revealing patriarchal policing. This way, both films prove Judith Butler’s argument that gender is continuously reproduced, regulated, and contested through performance.

Adrita Chowdhury (2223013028) audited this course too and presented on Christina Rossetti’s Goblin Market. She argued that while the goblins stand for danger, and the fruit stands for addiction, Lizzie’s care saves Laura from her predicament. Her presentation emphasized how support between women acts as a form of resistance.

Irene Saha (233013079) audited ENG 529: Literature & Ideas (Folklore), and her presentation showed Sherman Alexie as a living folktale, trickster, and shapeshifter. The talk argued that Alexie uses humor and storytelling to survive and represent complex Native American identity.

The Scholars’ Showcase highlighted the intellectual range of ULAB’s Scholars Program. Each presentation, from Shakespeare to Native American folklore to testing or language acquisition, demonstrated how auditing courses beyond the degree program foster critical thinking. The event proved that breaking traditional academic boundaries allows students to develop unique insights, connect theory to context, and engage in meaningful scholarly dialogue. Scholars Program Advisor Dr, Md. Mahadhi Hasan, along with the committee members, the MA in English Program Coordinator, Ms. Nadia Rahman, and Ms. Arifa Ghani Rahman, Head of the department, attended the program.

Report by Rushnan Aman (231013066)