This conference, organised by the Centre for Writing and Communication (CWC), Ashoka University, seeks to explore both theory and practice of pedagogy in higher education in contemporary India. Pedagogy is a site of invention and strategy, across disciplines, as teachers and students negotiate the approaches to implement learning goals. In this process, the idea of learning itself is redefined. The goal of pedagogy can broadly be understood as one of making learning inclusive, leading us to question the practice and conduct of teaching, what is being taught, how it is being taught, and thereby the significance of what takes place through them – learning.

The discussions may include (but are not limited to) the following themes:

A. Scholarship and activism have noted structural obstacles such as class, caste, gender, religion, race and disability in access to education. How can pedagogy acknowledge, reveal, critique, overcome or reinforce these structures?

B. Dynamics of teacher-student relationship.

C. Technology has transformed the way we read, write, communicate, access information about and understand the world. What are its implications for teaching and learning practices today? What are the limitations and advantages of using digital technology, and what are the frameworks within which we attempt to understand limitations and advantages? Which methodological orientations are more effective than others, by what metrics, in what contexts, for whom?

D. Impact of policy level changes in higher education on pedagogical practices, for example, growth of private institutions, presence/absence of affirmative action, employment conditions of educators, etc.

E. How do we develop curriculum, design courses, teach and evaluate in a way which acknowledges diversity and is democratic? In a multilingual country, what does it mean to teach exclusively in one language? Can/should we teach in multiple languages simultaneously? How can textual and non-textual material (oral, visual, sensory, performative) be used innovatively to make teaching-learning diverse and democratic?

F. How must reading, writing and thinking ‘better’ be understood and what does that translate to at the level of pedagogic inputs?

G. Inclusive pedagogy in context of distance learning, adult education, education for neo-literates, non-formal education, vocational learning.

For this conference, the CWC invites abstracts from graduate students, early career researchers, and educators in formal and non-formal institutions, across all fields including education, languages, sciences, social science, mathematics, and technical subjects. We welcome theoretical interventions as well as discussions of case-studies and pedagogic strategies which may have worked successfully or spectacularly failed.

Please submit abstract (max. 300 words) and bio-note (max. 150 words) in a single word/pdf file. Please name the file as follows: lastname_firstname_cwc2019. Email abstracts to [email protected] with the subject line: Inclusive Pedagogy.

Deadline for submission is 26 January 2019; CWC will not offer any travel or daily allowance for participants at the conference. There is no registration fee.