IBA Hosts Inaugural SSLA Conference on Nationhood and Public Memory

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

The conference served as a platform for intellectual discourse, bringing together an eclectic mix of seasoned scholars, emerging researchers, field practitioners, government officials, and university students. The aim was to reexamine and challenge prevailing global and local narratives that shape contemporary society.

Dr Laila Sohail Farooq, Chairperson of SSLA, opened the event by welcoming the distinguished guests and attendees. In her remarks, she emphasized the importance of revisiting historical and contemporary narratives to better understand the complexities of nationhood, public memory, urbanity, and labor.

A major highlight of the conference was the keynote lecture delivered by Dr Ravi Ahuja, a renowned scholar of Modern Indian History from Georg-August University Göttingen. His address, titled “Labour as a Political Category: Twentieth Century Trajectories in South Asia,” traced the historical evolution of labor as a conceptual and political category in South Asia. Dr Ahuja underscored the necessity of expanding this concept to address current socio-political and economic realities, thereby impacting laboring lives both ideologically and materially.

One of the key panels, “The Lens of ‘Labor’ in the Context of Pakistan,” delved into the legal and scholarly discourse surrounding labor in Pakistan. The discussion focused on the role of the state and political movements in differentiating labor categories and the subsequent outcomes of such differentiation.

The conference also featured a student-led panel titled “Thinking about the Korean Wave through Fandom(s) and Feminism(s),” which spotlighted the critical analysis of the Korean entertainment industry. The panel, comprising four final-year students, generated lively discussions on the global phenomenon of K-pop and its implications within and beyond academic circles.

Another significant panel, “The Claims of Pakistaniat: Citizenship Dilemmas and Their Implications,” closely examined the notion of Pakistani national identity, especially in the context of citizenship rights and religious plurality. Dr Nilofar Bakhtiar’s insights on the governance perspective added depth to the discussion.

In addition to the panel discussions, the conference showcased student work at the IBA Alumni Students’ Centre. The exhibition featured research and practice-based projects from various SSLA courses, including “Critical Media Practice,” “Visual Methods in Urban Research,” and “Calligraphy,” as well as final-year theses. Executive Director of IBA, Dr S Akbar Zaidi, lauded the students’ efforts and encouraged all attendees to explore the showcase.

The two-day conference concluded on Saturday, August 24, 2024, leaving participants with thought-provoking insights and a renewed commitment to revisiting and redefining narratives that influence our understanding of nationhood, public memory, and the lives of laborers.