Nagaland University’s Kohima Campus on Thursday inaugurated a two-day international seminar on environmental humanities, bringing together 20 resource persons from India and abroad to examine the relationship between the natural environment, literature, art, music and education.
The seminar, titled “Where Trees Become Texts in Environmental Humanities: Art, Music, Literature & Pedagogy”, is being jointly organised by the university’s Department of English and Department of Teacher Education on November 12 and 13 in hybrid mode at the Conference Hall, Department of Commerce, Meriema.
Vice-Chancellor Prof. Jagadish Kumar Patnaik, who attended virtually as chief patron, said universities had a responsibility to promote interdisciplinary research and ecological awareness. He observed that environmental challenges should be understood not only as scientific and technological concerns but also through their ethical, cultural and educational dimensions. He also noted that the seminar’s location in Northeast India, with its rich biodiversity and indigenous ecological traditions, gave particular relevance to the discussions.
Prof. Lungsang Zeliang, Dean of the School of Humanities and Education, highlighted the role of humanities and education in developing environmental consciousness. He stressed the connection between nature, cultural memory, indigenous identity and literary imagination, and called for educational approaches that encourage sensitivity towards biodiversity and sustainable living.
In his welcome address and concept note, seminar convener Dr. Subhashis Banerjee explored the idea of trees as living repositories of history and memory. He discussed emerging areas such as plant humanities, plant agency and ecological aesthetics, and said indigenous knowledge systems of Northeast India offered valuable perspectives on the relationship between communities and nature. He also acknowledged the academic contributions of international scholars and the support of university authorities and collaborators.
The inaugural programme included the release of an abstract volume edited by Dr. Banerjee and Dr. Prasenjit Pal, co-convener of the seminar. The publication contains research abstracts on environmental humanities, ecological philosophy, indigenous knowledge, plant studies, music, art and pedagogy.
The first day featured a plenary lecture by Prof. Syamal Chakrabarti of the University of Calcutta, followed by parallel sessions involving scholars from India, Portugal, the United States, Poland and Vietnam, among others. Participants included Prof. Nigamananda Das of Nagaland University, Prof. Angshuman Kar of the University of Burdwan and Dr. Teresa Botelho of NOVA University of Lisbon.
The seminar is being organised in collaboration with Amity University Kolkata, Budge Budge College, Government College Seppa, Kohima Science College and PURE Foundation, Kolkata. Its discussions seek to bring indigenous ecological knowledge into dialogue with contemporary environmental thought and interdisciplinary research.
