An opportunity of a lifetime
I attended the 6th IWL session at Harvard as a third-year doctoral student from IIT Gandhinagar, India. My research int
erests were Translation Studies and questions of language, circulation, and multilingualism. I came across the IWL flyer on social media and I had no contacts when I applied to the program and no specific information about the application process or the proposal format. I just read the guidelines meticulously and also applied for a fee waiver, which the Institute graciously provided.
I benefitted immensely from the program which covered a rich spectrum of topics around World Literature through excellent seminars (I benefitted particularly from Paul Bandia and Reine Meylaerts’ sessions), keynote and plenary talks by some of the most well-known scholars of the field from Homi Bhabha, Gisele Sapiro to David Damrosch among others. There was also a hands-on panel on publishing strategies for students which was extremely useful, and also cultural activities such as visiting the Isabella Gardner Museum and a breath-taking dinner cruise marking the close of the program.
Overall, IWL brought together people from incredibly diverse backgrounds and interests and spawned some of the most enriching and fruitful conversations and collaborations I have known. This was truly an opportunity of a lifetime in which I made lifelong friends who continue to be collaborators and sounding boards for my intellectual projects even today.
Krupa Shah
2016 IWL alumna, Harvard
Assistant Professor
NIT Pondicherry, India