The Department of Hindi of Guru Nanak Dev University in collaboration with the Malaviya Mission Teacher Training Centre, successfully organized a two-day refresher course on the theme “Society, Literature and Culture.” Around 50 participants, including faculty members, research scholars and students of the Hindi Department, took part in the programme.
Providing details, Prof. Sunil Kumar ‘Vats’, Head of the Department of Hindi and Dean, Faculty of Languages, said that under the able leadership and inspiration of Vice-Chancellor Karamjeet Singh, the department has been organizing a series of literary and academic activities.
He added that during the month of February alone, the department successfully conducted four major national seminars, which have received attention at both national and international levels. Highlighting the significance of the refresher course, Prof. Vats stated that the objective of the programme was to provide teachers, research scholars and students with a deeper understanding of the interrelationship between society, literature and culture.
He explained that these three dimensions complement each other—society gives rise to the realities of life, literature expresses those realities, while culture preserves the values, traditions and worldview that connect generations. During the refresher course, expert speakers delivered lectures on contemporary social challenges, the Indian knowledge tradition, folk culture, globalization, the influence of media and emerging literary trends.
Participants were also familiarized with research methodology, critical perspectives and the importance of interdisciplinary studies. Through discussion sessions, question–answer interactions and dialogue-based activities, participants were given the opportunity to share their views, which helped strengthen their intellectual clarity and academic outlook.
The programme thus served not only as a platform for knowledge enhancement but also as a meaningful initiative to develop social sensitivity, cultural awareness and literary understanding. On the occasion, lectures were delivered by Dr. Vishal Bhardwaj, Dr. Vinod Kumar, Dr. Vinay Kumar Shukla, Dr. Sudha Jitendra, Dr. Shashank Shukla, Dr. Malkeet Singh Sandhu, Dr. Bihari Jha and Dr. Manjinder Singh.