English

The English Department

The English Department of Shree Agrasen Mahavidyalaya, Bhusamoni, Dalkhola began with the very establishment of the institution, on the 1^st of September 1995. Initially there was Compulsory English for the graduation students, with two other courses on offer, namely Alternative English and Elective English. It was in the year 2006, after over a decade that Honours in English Literature was offered for the First Year students, for the three year graduation course. The first batch was very motivated, eager to learn, with all of them passing with high marks and making the college proud. Ever since then, students have taken the course and secured good marks in the subject, under the affiliation of University of Gour Banga, Malda.

There was only one faculty member initially; Mrs. Joysree Das, then some part time teachers were hired. Late Md. Moinuddin and Manjar Siddiqui joined as part time teachers for a brief period. The department has grown in strength since, with the addition of another permanent faculty member, Dr. Leena Sarkar Bhaduri and one State Aided College Teacher, Mr. Anindya Das.

One good practice of this department is the encouragement of students to read their text books closely, instead of relying on readymade notes available in the market. Effective pedagogies including the whole-class and structured group work, guided learning and individual activity are encouraged in the students. Movie screenings of their prescribed texts was a prevalent practice before the onset of the pandemic. With the constant guidance and efforts made by the faculty with regular classes being held, the students have reciprocated with being regular and taking an active interest in their course. There have been instances where they have visited the local primary school and read stories to the children to encourage them.

The library has over 800 books, which are regularly used by the students, with new additions made each year. Seminars and workshops are organised regularly with the most recent being a webinar during the lockdown on Bertolt Brecht’s “The Good Woman of Szechuan” and another on the Eighteenth Century Literature, “A Brief Survey with Special emphasis on Gulliver’s Travels (Book I and II). The department has also conducted Post Graduate classes for two years, under the aegis of Kalyani University’s, Department of Distance Learning.