'Revisiting Narratives: Nationhood, Public Memory, Urbanity and Labouring Lives'
IBA-SSLA organized 1st Departmental Conference

August 23-24, 2024: Department of Social Sciences and Liberal Arts (SSLA), at the School of Economics and Social Sciences (SESS), in collaboration with the Center for Business and Economic Research (CBER), Institute of Business Administration (IBA), Karachi, organized its first departmental conference titled 'Revisiting Narratives: Nationhood, Public Memory, Urbanity and Labouring Lives' at IBA Main Campus.

The conference brought together seasoned and emerging scholars, field practitioners, government representatives, and university students to initiate a dialogue on revisiting global and local narratives that shape our lives today. Panelists and participants were invited from across Pakistan and the globe.

Chairperson SSLA, Dr. Laila Sohail Farooq, gave opening remarks and welcomed honourable guests and attendees to the conference. Dr. Ravi Ahuja, Scholar of Modern Indian History based at Georg-August University Gottingen, delivered the keynote lecture titled 'Labour as a Political Category: Twentieth Century Trajectories in South Asia', in which he traced the evolution of the conceptual category of 'labour' and examined its potential as a political category in India and elsewhere in South Asia. He emphasized the need to expand the concept considering current socio-political and economic realities to reach and affect labouring lives both ideologically and materially.

The panel titled 'The Lens of 'Labor' in the Context of Pakistan' looked at the analytical categories relevant to the legal and scholarly discourse around labour and identified the role of the state and political movements in creating the differentiation of labour and the outcomes of such a differentiation.

The student panel later in the day, titled 'Thinking about the Korean Wave through Fandom(s) and Feminism(s)', invited four final-year students writing their theses on ways to approach and appreciate the Korean entertainment industry critically. The panel generated an enthusiastic discussion on the phenomenon of K-pop, a topic garnering significant attention both within the academy and outside it.

The last panel of the day, titled 'The Claims of Pakistaniat: Citizenship Dilemmas and Their Implications', undertook a close examination of the Pakistani national identity, from the viewpoint of citizenship rights and religious plurality. Dr. Nilofar Bakhtiar's perspective of the notion from the point of view of governing bodies was a much-welcome addition to the panel.

A highlight of the conference was the showcase of student work in the IBA Alumni Students' Centre. The showcase included research and practice-based projects carried out by SSLA students in their courses: 'Critical Media Practice', 'Visual Methods in Urban Research', and 'Calligraphy', in addition to final year students' theses. Executive Director IBA, Dr. S Akbar Zaidi, appreciated student effort and encouraged all guests in attendance to pay a visit.

The 2-day conference concludes on Saturday, August 24.