English

    Faculty Profile

    Dr Mohammad Shafiqul Islam

    Professor

    Contact Information:

    • Office Address: Dr Mohammad Shafiqul Islam, Professor, Department of English, Shahjalal University of Science and Technology, Sylhet 3114, Bangladesh
    • Phone: +8801712282136
    • Email: msislam-eng@sust.edu or msijewel@gmail.com

    Biography:

    Dr Mohammad Shafiqul Islam (ORCID: http://orcid.org/0000-0001-9880-4645) is Professor in the Department of English, Shahjalal University of Science and Technology, Sylhet, Bangladesh. His research interests encompass, but are not restricted to, Postcolonialism, World Literature, Translation Studies, and South Asian Literature. Other than scholarly work in literature, he is committed to creative writing, poetry, and literary translation. Dr Islam is the author of two poetry collections, most recently Inner State, and the translator of three books, including Humayun Ahmed: Selected Short Stories and Aphorisms of Humayun Azad. His research articles, poetry, and translation have appeared in Journal of Postcolonial Writing, Critical Survey, Journal of World Literature, South Asian Review, English, Journal of Global Postcolonial Studies, Asia Pacific Translation and Intercultural Studies, Massachusetts Review, The NEHU Journal, Poem: International English Language Quarterly, Crossings: A Journal of English Studies, Dibur Literary Journal, Lunch Ticket, Stag Hill Literary Journal, and elsewhere. His work has been anthologised in a number of books, including The Book of Dhaka: A City in Short Fiction (UK), Of the Nation Born (India), Poems from the SAARC Region (Sri Lanka), Kazi Nazrul Islam: Selections (Bangladesh), and Monsoon Letters: Collection of Poems (Bangladesh). He has also presented a good number of papers in international conferences and participated in workshops on literary translation and creative writing at home and abroad, including the ones organized by University of East Anglia, UK, and San Pellegrino University, Italy. He has also recently presented a paper on Translating Women at the University of London, UK. Poetry editor of Reckoning, a US literary journal, Dr Islam is currently at work on his third collection of poetry and a few translation projects, including The Letters of Kazi Nazrul Islam and The Afternoon of the Seventh of March. He may be communicated at email: msislam-eng@sust.edu or msijewel@gmail.com or mobile phone: +8801712282136.

    Education:

    • PhD, AUS, India (2018)
    • MA in English, CU, Bangladesh (2000; exam held in 2004)
    • BA (Hons) in English, CU, Bangladesh (1999; exam held in 2003)

    Research Interests:

    • Poetry, Literary Translation, and Creative Writing
    • Postcolonialism, Translation Studies, World Literature, and South Asian Literature

    Active Research Project

    1. Research project titled "Language learning and other motivations to study English literature: An exploration of public universities in Bangladesh" under Research Centre, SUST, Sylhet, Bangladesh
    2. The Afternoon of the Seventh of March (translation of a novel by Selina Hossain)
    3. The Letters of Kazi Nazrul Islam (translation)
    4. Selected Poems: Rudra Muhammad Shahidullah (translation)
    5. The Triumph of the Snake Goddess: A Composite Creative Translation of Verse into Prose (a research article)

    External Affiliations:

    • Editor (Poetry) of Reckoning, a US literary journal

    Journal Publications

    1. Islam, Mohammad Shafiqul. "‘You Can’t Have a One Size Fits All Strategy in Translation’: An Interview with Fakrul Alam." ENGLISH: Journal of English Association, Oxford Academic, Oxford University Press (2022). doi: https://doi.org/10.1093/english/efab031.
    2. Islam, Mohammad Shafiqul. "'A good translator can be androgynous': an interview with Niaz Zaman." Asia Pacific Translation and Intercultural Studies, Routledge (2022). doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/23306343.2022.2027689.
    3. Islam, Mohammad Shafiqul. "Celebrating Silence." Capitalism Nature Socialism, Routledge, 2021. (DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/10455752.2021.2010755).
    4. Islam, Mohammad Shafiqul. "Exploring Love, Sex, and Loneliness in Sangeeta Bandyopadhyay's Panty." Journal of Global Postcolonial Studies 8.2 (2020). DOI: https://doi.org/10.5744/jgps.2020.1015.
    5. Islam, Mohammad Shafiqul. "Two Poems." Capitalism Nature Socialism, Routledge (https://doi.org/10.1080/10455752.2021.1933762).
    6. Islam, Mohammad Shafiqul. "Humayun Ahmed." The Literary Encyclopedia 9 Feb. 2021. https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=14583.
    7. Islam, Mohammad Shafiqul. "Bangladeshi Poets Writing in English: Exploring Kaiser Haq as the Leading Voice." Journal of World Literature 6.1 (2020): 65-83. Print.
    8. Islam, Mohammad Shafiqul. "Influences and Individualities: Exploring Nissim Ezekiel’s Poetic World." Crossings: A Journal of English Studies 11.1 (2020): 70-85.
    9. Islam, Mohammad Shafiqul. "10 Questions for Mohammad Shafiqul Islam." Interview by Edward Clifford. The Massachusetts Review Oct. 2020. Web. https://massreview.org/node/9249.
    10. Islam, Mohammad Shafiqul, trans. "The Color of Death" by Selina Hossain. The Massachusetts Review 61.3 (2020): 560-567. Print.
    11. Islam, Mohammad Shafiqul. Inner State (a poetry collection). Dhaka: Daily Star Books, 2020. Print.
    12. ---. "A Seamless Bond between River and Life in Tarfia Faizullah's Seam." Journal of Language, Literature and Culture 2.1 (2019): 160-173. Print.
    13. ---. "Multiple Approaches to Translating the Poems and Songs in The Essential Tagore". East West Journal of Humanities 6/7 (2019): 137-151. Print.
    14. Islam, Mohammad Shafiqul, and Rama Islam. "Representation of Postcolonial Indian Women: Bimla and Nanda Kaul in Anita Desai’s Clear Light of Day and Fire on the Mountain". South Asian Review 40.1 (2019): 51-64. Print.
    15. ---, trans. “Midnight,” by Rudra Muhammad Shahidullah. Dibur Literary Journal Issue 5 (2018). Web. 31 March 2018.
    16. ---, trans. “Only You,” by Syed Shamsul Haq. Lunch Ticket issue 13 (Summer/Fall 2018). Web. 25 June 2018.
    17. ---, trans. “Lonely Poet, Quiet Restaurant,” by Syed Shamsul Haq. Lunch Ticket issue 13 (Summer/Fall 2018). Web. 25 June 2018.
    18. ---. “A Hundred Years from Now." Reckoning 2 (2018): 157-159. Print.
    19. ---. “I’m Otherwise Fine." Poem: International English Language Quarterly 6.1 (2018): 124-125. Print.
    20. ---. “Don’t Tell My Mother I’ve Died." Poem: International English Language Quarterly 6.1 (2018): 121-123. Print.
    21. ---. "Shadow Lines." Journal of Postcolonial Writing 54.4 (2018): 565. Print.
    22. Islam, Mohammad Shafiqul. "Alienation, Ambivalence and Identity: Jhumpa Lahiris In Other Words". Critical Survey 30.4 (2018): 40-53. Print.
    23. ---. "Literary translation: trend and practice in Bangladesh". Asia Pacific Translation and Intercultural Studies 5.1 (2018): 90-110. Print.
    24. ---. “Rivers Lament." Reckoning 1 (2017): 27-29. Print.
    25. ---. “Walking Barefoot on the Grass”. Critical Survey 29.1 (2017): 149. Print.
    26. ---. Representation of the Voiceless: Nissim Ezekiels Selected Poems. Crossings: A Journal of English Studies 8.1 (2017): 101-111. Print.
    27. ---, trans. Aphorisms: Humayun Azad (translation). Dhaka: Agamee Prakashani, 2017. Print.
    28. ---, trans. “Five Case Studies of Sexual Violence on Indigenous Women in the Chittagong Hill Tracts,” by Ilira Dewan. Of the Nation Born: The Bangladesh Papers. Ed. Hameeda Hossain, and Amena Mohsin. New Delhi: Zubaan, 2016. 329-350. Print.
    29. ---, trans. “An Interview with Krishna Banerjee: Experiences at the Refugee Camp in 1971,” by Qurratul Ain Tahmina. Of the Nation Born: The Bangladesh Papers. Ed. Hameeda Hossain, and Amena Mohsin. New Delhi: Zubaan, 2016. 314-321. Print.
    30. ---, trans. “The Princess and the Father,” by Bipradash Barua. The Book of Dhaka: A City in Short Fiction. London: Comma Press, 2016. 91-104. Print.
    31. ---. Nostalgia, Contemporaneity and Cynicism: Kaiser Haqs Pariah and Other Poems. Diasporas and Diversities: Selected Essays. Ed. Niaz Zaman and Towhid Bin Muzaffar. Dhaka: Independent University, Bangladesh (2016): 109-127. Print.
    32. ---. Nissim Ezekiels Modern Position: A Clean Break with the Romantic past. The NEHU Journal 14.2 (July-December 2016): 33-53. Print.
    33. ---, trans. Humayun Ahmed: Selected Short Stories (translation). Dhaka: Anyaprokash, 2016. Print.
    34. Islam, Mohammad Shafiqul. Wings of Winds (poetry collection). Dhaka: Adorn Publication, 2015. Print.
    35. ---. Rudra Muhammad Shahidullah: Romantic and Revolutionary. Cerebration Summer special issue (2014). Cerebration online. Web. Dec. 2014.
    36. ---, and Rashed Mahmud. Kazi Nazrul Islam: A Stern Voice against Communalism. Southeast University Journal of Arts and Social Sciences l.1 (2014): 89-108. Print.
    37. ---, and Rama Islam. Disintegration of Familial Bond and Beyond: A Study of Anita Desais Clear Light of Day and Partition 1947. Chaos: IUB Studies of Language, Literature and Creative Writing 2.1 (2014): 54-67. Print
    38. ---, and Rashed Mahmud. The Quest for Beauty in Rabindranath Tagores Poetry. Crossings: A Journal of English Studies 4/5 (2014): 61-75. Print.
    39. ---, trans. “The Smell of Corpses in the Air,” by Rudra Muhammad Shahidullah. Poems from the SAARC Region. Colombo: SAARC Cultural Centre, 2013. 22-23. Print.
    40. Islam, Mohammad Shafiqul. "Emancipation of Women through Education and Economic Freedom: A Feminist Study of Begum Rokeya’s Utopias". SUST Journal of Social Sciences 18.4 (2012): 11-19. Print.

    Conference Proceedings

    1. Islam, Mohammad Shafiqul. "Circulation of Local Literature on the Global Stage." (Plenary) Virtual International Conference on English Language, Literature and Culture in Digital Age: Wanderings and Enrootings, Vellore Institute of Technology, Chennai, India, 16-17 Dec. 2021.
    2. Islam, Mohammad Shafiqul Islam. "Translation Studies as an Independent Discipline: Theory and Praxis." Transpassing Boundaries through Translation. Department of English, Noakhali Science and Technology University, Noakhali, 27 Feb. 2020.
    3. Islam, Mohammad Shafiqul. "Creative Writing." A talk organized by The Phoenix, 26 June 2020.
    4. Islam, Mohammad Shafiqul Islam. "Academic Research and Translation of Bengali Literature." A Talk organized by Praxis, New Readers' Society, 18 Sept 2020.
    5. ---. "Bangladeshi English Literature: Recognition across Frontiers." (Keynote Address) Webinar. Department of English, University of Science and Technology, Chittagong, Bangladesh, 25 Sept 2020.
    6. ---. “Portrayal of Pandemics in Literature”. (Keynote Address) Pandemic and Literature: A One-Day International Webinar, Department of English, Vivekananda Mahavidyalaya, East Burdwan, West Bengal, India, 29 July 2020.
    7. ---. "Trajectories from Global South to World Literature: Canonizing The Triumph of the Snake Goddess and Ocean of Sorrow". Postcolonial Perspectives: Language, Literature and Culture and Global South. Department of English, Daffodil International University, Dhaka, 14-15 2020.
    8. ---. "Environment, Literature, and Sustainability of Civilization". Environment and Literature. Galsi Mahavidyalaya, University of Burdwan, West Bengal, 6 Dec 2019.
    9. ---. "Intellectual Freedom and Walking Alone: Exploring Rabindranath Tagore’s Selected Poems and Songs". Rabindranath Tagore in South Asia, MC College, Sylhet, 5-6 Nov 2019.
    10. ---. "Women Writers of Bengali Literature: Transcending Borders through Translation". Translating Women: breaking borders and building bridges in the English-language book industry, University of London, London, 31 Oct-1 Nov 2019.
    11. ---. “Money, Migration and Motherland: Imdadul Haq Milan’s Two Novellas Bondage and Exile”. The Poetic Imagining(s) of South Asia: Borders and Nations, South Asian University, New Delhi, 22-23 Apr 2019.
    12. ---. "The Triumph of the Snake Goddess: A Composite Creative Translation of Verse into Prose". Transgressing/Transcending Borders through Translation, Department of English, East West University, Dhaka, Bangladesh, 24-25 Jan 2019.
    13. ---. “Sangeeta Bandyopadhyay’s Panty Reintroduces Love, Sex and Loneliness”. Redrawing Gender Boundaries in Literary Terrains, Department of English, Brac University, Dhaka, Bangladesh, 18-19 May 2017.
    14. ---. “Regional Reality, Solitude and Nature: Robin S. Ngangom’s Poetic Objects”. (Re)envisaging India’s Northeast: Ethnicity, Identity, Culture, Literature, Department of English, Assam University, Silchar, India, 8-9 September 2016.
    15. ---. “Alienation, Ambivalence and Identity: A Reading of Jhumpa Lahiri’s In Other Words”. Annual Seminar, Faculty of Arts and Humanities, Comilla University, Comilla, Bangladesh, 25-26 April 2016.
    16. ---. “Representation of Women in Kazi Nazrul Islam’s Selected Poems”. Poetry: East and Northeast India, Department of Indian Comparative Literature, Assam University, Silchar, India, in collaboration with Rabindra Bharati University and Byatikram Masdo, India, 27-28 March 2016.
    17. ---. “Seamless Bond between River and Life in Tarfia Faizullah’s Seam”. The River: Flows of Innovation and Exchange in the Global(i)zed English World, Department of English Language and Literature, North South University, Dhaka, Bangladesh, 3-4 March 2016.
    18. ---. “Multiple Approaches to Translating the Poems and Songs in The Essential Tagore”. English Studies and the Marketplace, Department of English, East West University, Dhaka, Bangladesh, 19-20 February 2016.
    19. ---. “Literary Translation: Theory, Trend and Practice in Bangladesh”. Nida School of Translation Studies, San Pellegrino University, Misano, Italy, 18-29 May 2015.
    20. ---. “Nostalgia, Contemporaneity and Cynicism: Kaiser Haq’s Pariah and Other Poems”. Diasporas and Diversities: Teaching English in a Changing World. Department of English, Independent University Bangladesh, 5-7 November 2015.
    21. ---. “Representations of the Struggling Voices in Nissim Ezekiel’s Selected Poems”. The Machine in the Garden: Literature, Language and Technology in English Studies, Department of English, Daffodil International University, Bangladesh, 19 September 2015.
    22. ---. “Nissim Ezekiel’s Modern Position and ‘a clean break with the Romantic past’”. Language, Literature and Community, Department of English, University of Liberal Arts Bangladesh, 10-11 July 2015.
    23. ---. “Mapping Memory and Horrors of History in Tarfia Faizullah’s Seam”. A Thrice-Partitioned Nation: Revisiting Bangladesh, English Discipline, Khulna University, Khulna, Bangladesh, 28-29 March 2015.
    24. ---. “Fusion of Cultural and Generational Divergences and Tension: A Diasporic Study of Jhumpa Lahiri’s Unaccustomed Earth”. National Seminar on Women and Media: Challenges and Opportunities, Centre for Bangladesh Studies and Department of Bengali, Assam University, India, 3-4 March 2014.

    Teaching

    • Professor, Department of English, Shahjalal University of Science and Technology (from 14 December 2021 to present)
    • Associate Professor, Department of English, Shahjalal University of Science and Technology (from 16 October 2018 to 13 December 2021)
    • Assistant Professor, Department of English, Shahjalal University of Science and Technology (from 30 June 2010 to 15 October 2018)
    • Lecturer, Department of English, Shahjalal University of Science and Technology (from 30 December 2007 to 29 June 2010)
    • Lecturer, Department of English, Metropolitan University (from 12 March 2005 to 29 December 2007)

    Graduate Supervision

    1. PhD thesis examiner: Department of English, University of Malaya, Malaysia
    2. PhD thesis examiner: Department of English, University of Madras, India
    3. Supervised graduate dissertations