A webinar on ‘The New Woman across the Cultures’ was organised by the Internal Quality Assurance Cell (IQAC) of the Central University of Odisha (CUO), Koraput on July 9. Prof E Raja Rao, Visiting Professor, Department of English, delivered a lecture as the key speaker.
CUO VC Prof I Ramabrahmam conveyed his best wishes for a successful programme and hoped the students of language school would be able to understand the reflection of the new women in literature across the culture. Chairing the session, Dean, SBCNR and Director, IQAC, Prof Sharat Kumar Palita inaugurated the programme and delivered the inaugural address.
Department of English Language and Literature Head Sanjeet Kumar Das delivered the introductory note about the speaker, Prof Rao and explained the relevance of the topic. Prof Rao began his address, emphasizing the fact that the concept of the New Woman is an off-shoot of feminism, as promulgated by the radical feminists like Helene Cixous and Luce Irigaray.
He elaborated the century-long injustice towards women, oppression and suppression which led to the emergence of the New Woman who aspires for total liberation and freedom, without any encumbrance of traditional and conventional confinements.