13th Curriculum Integration Program: Project Showcase and Prize Giving
On Thursday, April 23, 2026, the Department of English and Humanities (DEH) hosted its 13th Curriculum Integration (CI) Project Showcase centered around the theme “Neurodivergence in Linguistics, Literature, and English Language Teaching.” Selected students from participating courses presented their creative projects based on the theme, which were evaluated by a faculty panel from non-participating courses that included Professor Kaiser Haq, Dean, School of Arts and Humanities; Dr. Abdullah Al Mahmud, Professor, Department of English & Humanities; and Ms. Nadia Rahman, Assistant Professor, Department of English & Humanities. Monetary prizes were awarded to the winning submissions. The CI Program for the term was coordinated by Vincent Dip Gomes, Lecturer, Department of English and Humanities, while the Showcase was hosted by Raisa Anan, undergraduate teaching assistant.
The digital projects, which included video documentaries, short films, and an interactive digital game, were showcased first. Video projects included “Meaning-Making: Bridging the Communication Gap” (Morphology & Syntax, Section 2), “Different Minds, Different Words: Understanding Neurodivergent Communication” (Morphology & Syntax, Section 2), “Plan Cancel” (Sociolinguistics, Section 2), “Appreciating the Thinking Spectrum through Language” (Sociolinguistics, Section 2), “The Burden of Pattern” (Ancient Greek Literature, Section 2), “A New Way of Thinking: Survival” (American Literature, Section 1), and “Inclusive Strategies for Teaching Pronunciation and Speaking to Learners with SpLDs” (Syllabus Design and Materials Development, Section 1). A short film titled “Woolf or Dalloway?” was presented by Modernism in Literature, Section 2, and an interactive digital game called “This is Catch-22” was presented by Postmodernism in Literature, Section 2.
Following the digital projects, the judges watched live drama and presentations. Introduction to Poetry and Drama, Section 2 presented “When Madness is Sense: Rethinking Mental Illness,” Pronunciation (Phonetics and Phonology), Section 1 presented “Inside the Dyslexic Mind: Hearing Language Differently,” and Writing about Literature, Section 2 presented “Neurodivergence and Jungian Psychology in ‘The Road Not Taken’ by Robert Frost.” An abstract drama titled “An Afternoon with Robinson Crusoe” was performed by Restoration and Eighteenth Century Literature, Section 1 and a meta-theater piece titled “The Upside-Down Mirror” was performed by Restoration and Eighteenth Century Literature, Section 3.
The judges then assessed the physical projects, which included models, paintings, posters, booklets, and embroidery. Three projects from Introduction to Fiction and Non-fiction, Section 1 were presented: a booklet titled “(un)Masked Hemingway,” a painting titled “Mindful Pieces: Nada, Loneliness, and Neurodivergence, and another painting titled “Echoes of the Mind: Psychological Isolation and Neurodivergence in ‘The Tell-Tale Heart’ and ‘A Clean, Well-Lighted Place’.” Pronunciation/Phonetics and Phonology, Section 2 presented three projects: “Autistic Prosody: Why It Matters,” “Individual Voice and Social Sound: A Phonetic Perspective on Idiolect and Sociolect in Neurodivergent Communication,” and “Neurodivergents' Sound Processing.” Writing about Literature, Section 1 presented a physical project titled “Mrs. Wright's Literary Psyche” and “The Quilt of Quiet Pain,” presented in the form of a quilt. Morphology and Syntax, Section 1 presented two models, one titled “The Attention Pathway System” and the other titled “Neuro-Inclusive Syntactic Pedagogy,” and a poster titled “Sociolinguist Construction of Masculinity and Neurodivergence Trauma Response.” Morphology and Syntax, Section 2 presented a painting and model titled “Her Lingual Petals,” and a poster titled “The Path They (We) Choose for Them.” Restoration and Eighteenth Century Literature, Section 2 presented a model titled “Cube of Spleen.” A booklet titled “The Ruptured & the Quieting” and a poster titled
“Lady Lazarus and the Neurodivergent Mind” was presented by American Literature, Section 1. American Literature, Section 2 presented three posters, one titled “The House on Mango Street: From the Lens of Neurodivergence,” another titled “Beloved: Rememory and the Fragmented Mind,” and the third “Mapping Esperanza: Through a Neurodivergent Lens.” Postmodernism, Section 1 presented a painting titled “Kilgore Trout's Skull” and Gender Theory and Literature, Section 1 presented an embroidery piece titled “Worry.”
Judges of the 13th DEH Curriculum Integration Project Showcase awarded the champion’s prize the group from the course, Sociolinguistics (Section 2) for “Plan Cancel.” The group members were Mahinur Islam Ome, Mahjabin Chowdhury, Anju Bhuiyan, Achal Gomes, and Rezuyana Siddique. Their documentary explored key concepts related to neurodivergence, including definitions and explanations of neurotypical individuals, ADHD, Autism (ASD), dyslexia, and code switching. Through their video documentary, they effectively bridged linguistic concepts with neurodivergent experiences, earning them the top prize of the competition.
The first runner-up of the showcase was from the course Restoration and Eighteenth Century Literature (Section 2). The members presented a model titled “Cube of Spleen: A Neurodivergent View of the Chaotic Representation of the Mock-Epic; The Rape of the Lock.” The team members were Damiching Marma, Epsita Jahan, Mahdi Tanisha Mahmud, Ranim Islam, S. M. Ratul Hasan, and Tahsin Hossain Tima. Their project used an infinity cube to show how neurons flow in the human mind with each flip, mimicking the ever-changing nature of human thoughts and senses. They re-examined Alexander Pope's famous poem The Rape of the Lock from a cognitive perspective. The group explained how characters in the poem show signs of OCD, anger issues, and emotional dysregulation. They also connected the “Cave of Spleen” and the “Queen of Spleen” to emotional outbursts often linked to PMDD and PCOS, which are related to autism and ADHD. The group also discussed how the character Baron cuts Belinda’s hair to assert control, relating it to coercive control, and how Belinda’s obsession with her perfect appearance reflects Pathological Demand Avoidance (PDA). Their project offered a fresh and deep understanding of how literature can represent the chaos of the human mind, earning them the first runner-up position.
Nafisa Anjum Alvi, a solo participant from the course Postmodernism in Literature (Section 2), created an interactive digital game titled “This is Catch-22” based on the novel Catch-22. She was awarded the second runner-up position for her project.
The 13th DEH Curriculum Integration Project showcase was more than just a competition. It was a celebration of empathy, creativity, and the beautiful diversity of the human mind. Students and faculty members gathered together to observe something truly special and different: young minds conceptualizing literature, language, and art to explore neurodivergence with sensitivity and intelligence. Each project told a different story about how an individual thinks, feels, and communicates. The judges were deeply impressed by the thoughtfulness and effort behind every submission.
Report by Maliha Naz Anowari (242013022)
