Mital Helaiya

 This blog is written as part of an academic assignment under the guidance of Prof. Dr. Dilip Barad, Department of English. It explores the representation of modernity in English literary discourse through a critical frame study of two landmark films by Charlie Chaplin: Modern Times and The Great Dictator. Though these works belong to cinema rather than printed literature, they participate deeply in the intellectual, moral, and socio-political debates that shaped twentieth-century English thought.  Click here Introduction   Modern English literature, as examined by critics such as A. C. Ward in Twentieth-Century English Literature, responds to a century marked by war, industrialization, economic crisis, ideological extremism, and spiritual fragmentation. Chaplin’s cinema reflects these very anxieties. His films function not merely as entertainment but as cultural documents that critique modern civilization through humour, satire, symbolism, and visual irony. By adopting t...

 This blog is written as part of a critical thinking activity assigned by Dr. Dilip Barad following the screening of Humans in the Loop. The worksheet encourages students to approach the film not merely as narrative entertainment but as a cultural text situated within debates about artificial intelligence, labour, representation, and digital capitalism. Engaging with theoretical frameworks from film studies such as Marxist theory, structuralism, semiotics, and apparatus theory this reflection examines how the film reframes AI as a socio-political system deeply embedded in human labour and unequal power relations. Click here Introduction: Rethinking AI Beyond Technological Neutrality Artificial intelligence is often presented as autonomous, objective, and self-learning. Corporate discourse celebrates efficiency, automation, and innovation, while popular imagination frequently imagines AI as futuristic and self-sufficient. However, Humans in the Loop destabilizes this myth. The film ...

 This blog is based on the task assigned by Dr. and Prof. Dilip Barad on Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell , drawing upon two analytical videos: “God is Power | 1984 | George Orwell” and “Critique of Religion | 1984 | George Orwell.” The task explores the relationship between religion, belief systems, and political power in the novel, particularly focusing on how the Party functions as a god-like authority and how Orwell critiques blind faith and authoritarian control.  Click here Introduction The two videos, “God is Power” and “Critique of Religion” , offer a deep philosophical analysis of Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell . Both discussions explore how religion, belief, and political power are interconnected in the novel. Orwell presents a dystopian world where the Party exercises complete control over truth, language, memory, and even thought. The videos argue that in this totalitarian society, traditional religion is not simply removed but transformed. The Pa...

This blog is written as part of an academic task assigned by the Head of the Department of English at MKBU, Dilip Barad sir. Click here   Introduction The National Workshop on Academic Writing, organized by the Department of English in collaboration with Knowledge Consortium of Gujarat in Ahmedabad, was conducted from 27 January to 1 February 2026. The workshop brought together scholars, teachers, and postgraduate students with the aim of improving academic writing skills, understanding research ethics, and exploring the responsible use of digital tools and artificial intelligence in academic work. Several distinguished scholars delivered insightful lectures during the workshop, including Kalyan Chattopadhyay, Paresh Joshi, Clement Ndoricimpa, Nigam Dave, and Kalyani Vallath. Each session focused on different dimensions of academic writing, research methodology, literary theory, and professional development. The workshop activities and recordings are documented on the official webs...