Department Profile
DEPARTMENT OF COMPARATIVE LITERATURE
The Department of Comparative Literature (DCL) was established on 12 October 2009 under the School of Languages and Comparative Literature. It was the first department to be established in the Central University of Kerala (CUK). Keeping in line with CUK’s interdisciplinary vision, DCL started by offering MA (English & Comparative Literature) to its first batch of 12 students. It has a unique syllabus and it uses advanced teaching and evaluation methods to enable its students appear for NET (UGC) both in English and in Comparative Literature. It also offers an integrated MPhil/PhD programme in Comparative Literature. Intensive coursework, regular seminars and frequent presentations are regular features of DCL programmes. DCL provides students with facilities like smart classrooms and fully digitalized language lab. DCL’s Film Club, Literary Club and Research Forum give the students avenues for co-curricular activities. A bouquet of diverse elective courses and national and international visiting faculty help students master a variety of interdisciplinary subjects. At present, DCL has five regular faculty members.
Dr. Prasad Pannian
Dr. Prasad Pannian - Associate Professor
Dr. Prasad Pannian was the first Head of the Department of Comparative Literature, Central University of Kerala during its founding years (2009-2011). He did his MA (English Language and Literature) and MPhil (English) at the University of Calicut. He was also awarded Junior Research Fellowship (JRF) by the University Grants Commission. Recruited by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) as an Assistant Professor, Dr. Prasad was teaching under the Directorate of Higher and Technical Education, Union Territory of Pondicherry from 2004 to 2009 before joining CUK.
His thesis titled Substrata of Subjectivity: The Colonial Experience in the Protocols of Edward W. Said was awarded PhD by the University of Calicut in 2009. Dr. Prasad is the guest editor of two Wink Classic e-books: The Scarlet Letter and The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde published by DC Books, Kottayam. Cambridge Scholars Publishing, London, Indian Literature, Sahitya Academy, New Delhi and Calicut University Research Journal, University of Calicut have published a few of his articles and translations.
Dr. Prasad presented a research paper in the University of Ottawa and delivered an invited lecture at Carlton University, Canada in 2008 with UGC international fellowship. Recently he visited United Kingdom after having been selected as a delegate and discussant in the prestigious International Critical Theory School at the Brikbeck Institute for Humanities, University of London in June 2012.
His current areas of interest include Critical Theory, Cultural Studies, Studies on Subjectives and Modern English Poetry.
Dr. Joseph Koyippally
Dr. Joseph Koyippally -Associate Professor
Dr. Joseph did MA (English) from the University of Kerala, qualified in NET/JRF (UGC) and was awarded PhD (English) from Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi for Semiotic Analysis of the Language of the Shakespearean Romances. He worked as lecturer in English at Sherubtse College (University of Delhi), Bhutan; Senior Lecturer in English at Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi; and Assistant Professor in English at the University of Hail, Saudi Arabia before joining Central University of Kerala in 2009 as Associate Professor. He has completed two research projects, published research articles in both Malayalam and English, organised academic seminars, conferences and workshops in India and abroad, and presented many papers in national/international forums. His current areas of interest include Semiotics, Shakespeare, Comparative Literature, and Diasporic Discourses.
Dr.Vellikkeel Raghavan
Dr.Vellikkeel Raghavan- Assistant Professor
Dr. Vellikkeel Raghavan was awarded Ph. D degree in English by the University of Calicut for his thesis on the political theatres of Dario Fo and Safdar Hashmi. Recruited by the UPSC in 2002 as Assistant Professor in English, he had been working with the Directorate of Higher Education, Chandigarh (UT) Administration till he joined CU Kerala in 2009. He has presented research papers in a number of international and national conferences and was an invitee to the Festival of Original Theatre, University of Toronto, Canada, in 2011. He is the author of Agitation Propaganda Theatre (Chandigarh: Unistar, 2009). He has published widely in many a reputed international and national journal. His highly-acclaimed English translations of Safdar Hashmi’s Hindi plays, Halla Bol and Machine were published by Indian Literature (Sahitya Akademi, New Delhi). He was bestowed with the national award for academic excellence, “Guru Praveen” by the Commissioner, NVS, Ministry of HRD, New Delhi, during 2002—2003. His areas of academic interest are: Theatre & Performance Studies, Film & Media Studies, and Critical & Cultural Theory. His major academic degrees/diplomas include: MA, MPhil, PhD & UGC-NET in English; MA & UGC-NET in Linguistics; and FAC (FTII, Pune). Visit Detailed Profile
Dr.Asha S
Dr. Asha S - Assistant Professor
Dr. Asha did her MA (English) and PhD (English) from the University of Kerala. Her Doctoral topic was ‘Purdah in the Sub continental Novel in English’, and her area of interest is Muslim Woman in Literary and Social Discourses. She has 14 years of teaching experience at the undergraduate level and 8 at the postgraduate. She undertook a UGC Minor Research Project on ‘Literary Representations of the Middle Eastern Muslim Woman: Realities and Stereotypes’ during 2006-08 and is currently doing an MRP on ‘Islamist Construction of Muslim Femininity in Post 9/11 Malayalam Periodicals’. 12 of her articles have been published in peer reviewed journals. She has also presented several papers in national/international conferences.
Dr. Shalini Moolechalil
Dr. Shalini Moolechalil - Assistant Professor
Dr. Shalini did MA (English & Comparative Literature) from Pondicherry University, MPhil (Comparative Literature) from the University of Hyderabad. She received her PhD (Comparative Literature) on the topic “The Conflation of Public and Private Spheres in Sarah Joseph´s Writings: Through Histories of Women-writing”. She had been a Research Fellow at the Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona (UAB), Spain before joining CUK. She is part of the research group Ratnakara which focuses on Indian Ocean literatures and cultures. She has published a couple of translations, research articles, and creative writing pieces. She has also presented papers in national/international conferences. Her areas of research are Women-writing, Postcolonial Theory, Gender Studies, Comparative Literary Theory, Malayalam Literature and Pedagogy.