Event Details

One-Day Student Seminar

FROM 17 May 2025 TO 17 May 2025

Venue : SMU @

Faculty of Humanities, Social Sciences and Liberal Arts

Report on One-Day Student Seminar

On 17th May 2025, the Faculty of Humanities, Social Sciences and Liberal Arts (FHSSLA), Sikkim Manipal University, successfully organised a one-day undergraduate student seminar aimed at fostering academic engagement and interdisciplinary dialogue among students. The seminar comprised two thematic segments, each curated by different departments within the faculty.

The first segment, jointly organised by the Departments of Political Science and Sociology, was held on the theme “Celebrating Sikkim’s 50 Years of Integration with the Indian Union” The second segment, organised by the Department of English, was based on the theme “Rethinking Nature, Culture and Literature: Explorations in Ecocriticism”

The event was coordinated by Dr. Suditya Sapcotta, Convenor-in Charge, FHSSLA. The keynote address was delivered by Professor V. Krishna Ananth, Department of History, Sikkim University, who provided a critical perspective on Sikkim’s 50 years of integration and set an engaging tone for the sessions that followed.

The first and second technical sessions, which explored various sociopolitical and cultural dimensions of Sikkim’s integration with India, were chaired by Dr. E.K. Santha, Assistant Professor, Department of Political Science and Dr. Srijana Singh Sarki, Assistant Professor, Department of Sociology, respectively. The presentations in these sessions addressed topics such as infrastructure development and tourism, indigenous cultural preservation, women’s empowerment through organic farming, the social implications of climate change, and mental health trends in the state.

The third session, chaired by Dr. Champa Chettri from the Department of English, focused on ecocritical perspectives in literature and visual media. Student presenters examined literary and cinematic texts through the lens of nature and environmental ethics, highlighting the interconnections between ecological awareness, cultural narratives, and literary expression.

A total of eighteen undergraduate students presented papers at the seminar, including fifteen from FHSSLA and three from Sikkim Government College, Burtuk. The seminar provided an academically stimulating platform for students to showcase their research, develop critical thinking skills, and engage in meaningful scholarly exchange. The event concluded with the distribution of certificates to the participants, followed by a vote of thanks delivered by Dr. Suditya Sapcotta who expressed appreciation to the faculty and students for their active participation and contribution to the success of the seminar.