The Department of English, Faculty of Languages, Khaja Bandanawaz University, organised an Interdisciplinary Webinar on the topic “John Keats’ Poetics through A Medical Humanities Perspective” on 31 October 2023 from 12pm to 1:30pm in commemoration of Keats' Birthday. Mr Mohammed Shujauddin Safi, Asst. Professor, Department of English, introduced the theme and the speaker. Dr Manali Karmakar, Assistant Professor, School of Social Sciences and Languages, Vellore Institute of Technology, Vellore, Tamil Nadu was invited as the resource person. She specialises in Medical Humanities and spoke on the connection between literature and Medicine.
She probed the influence of Keats' medical training as a surgeon and his practice as a dresser on his poetic compositions. She emphasised the need to place Keats and his works in the Romantic tradition and look at Keats as a poet-physician who believed that Medicine and Poetry both healed human suffering in their own ways. With the help of PowerPoint presentations, she discussed the philosophical and philological aspects of the Greco-Roman mythology on his understanding of life and death. Prof. Nishat Arif Hussaini, Dean, Faculty of Languages Arts Humanities Sciences Social Sciences Law Management and Commerce, and. Chairperson, Department of English in her presidential address remarked that looking through the perspective of Medical Humanities was a novel approach and added to our understanding of Keats who was an inspiration to many other poets. She also hoped that this approach would inspire students to conduct more research in the field of Medical Humanities. The lecture concluded with a Q and A Session moderated by Ms. Zainab, Asst. Professor, Department of English. Dr Athiya Sultana, Asst. Professor, Department of English thanked her colleagues and the participants who had joined from across Karnataka and other states in India for their enthusiasm and support.
More than 270 participants registered for the webinar. A feedback form was shared at the end of the webinar on WhatsApp group created for better communication. E-certificates were provided to all the attendees. The report also contains the feedback form.
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