The dissertation is a text that lives with one for so long that it is difficult to comprehend
\nthat indeed it has to someday come to an end. If only to begin life anew in a different iteration.
\nSo it was with a slight sense of amazement that I went about deciding the logistics of the
\ndissertation defense such as a reasonable timeline to hand in the full text to my committee to read
\nand arrive at a date and time that would work for all of us. How incredible that after years of
\nconceptualizing my research ideas, drawing up reading lists, writing, and editing the
\nday\u2013Tuesday, March 25, 2025\u2013had finally arrived to present my dissertation!<\/p>\n
It was a truly special feeling that I will cherish always to defend my dissertation in the
\nComp Lit seminar room. Two of my committee members, Professors Anjali Nerlekar and Chlo\u00eb
\nKitzinger were present in person and my advisor, Prof Preetha Mani, and external reader, Prof
\nAmit Baishya, were there on Zoom\u2013everyone made making these logistical arrangements a very
\nsmooth and easy affair, despite conflicting schedules, locations, and timezones. Thanks to the
\nwonders of online connectivity, my family and friends were also able to join and support me.<\/p>\n
Prof Mani chaired the session and offered generous introductory remarks on my time at
\nRutgers, including teaching and research, following which I described my project titled
\n\u201cMultilingual Assamese: Literature, Identity, and Resistance in the Indo-Bangladesh
\nBorderlands\u201d to the committee and the audience present in the room and online. I spoke about
\nhow although the Assamese language is considered a peripheral language, it is a major site that
\nencapsulates the monolingual constructions of language and literature in a postcolonial nation. I
\ndescribed the varied multilingual modes and strategies in the works of writers such as Roma Das,
\nSaurav Kumar Chaliha, Aruni Kashyap, Nitoo Das, Jayanta Saikia, Kaushik Baruah, and the self-
\nstyled Miya poets like Rehna Sultana and Shalim M Hussain and also drew attention to the
\nspecific ways in which a focus on minor forms like the short story and poetry facilitate these
\nenquiries.<\/p>\n
I admit that even as I had been living and breathing my project for the past six years, the
\nprospect of speaking about it as a comprehensive whole was intimidating. What if someone asks
\na question about line 6 on page 37 and I don\u2019t have an answer?! The immense kindness and
\nintellectual richness of my committee put these fears to rest the minute the defense began. I
\nreceived thoughtful and helpful recommendations from each committee member and they
\nnudged me to expand upon certain points that I had brought up as well as offered constructive
\nbroader ways I can potentially frame my research to speak to a large scholarly network.
\nSimilarly, members of the audience posed questions that showed how curious they were to learn
\nabout my project, make connections with concepts and theorists they were thinking about, and
\nact as collaborators. It felt like the perfect summation of a Comp Lit degree!<\/p>\n
Sneha Khaund<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"