An international webinar on Che Guevara: The Man and the Myth was jointly organized by the Department of English, Carmel College for Women, and the Department of International Relations, Goa University from 9:45 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. on 27th November 2020. The idea was inspired by Che Guevara’s classic Motorcycle Diaries prescribed for study in the Travel Writing syllabus at the undergraduate level by Goa University. The webinar was conducted virtually through Google Meet hosted by Carmel College. All SOPs were followed. The plenaries were livestreamed on YouTube.
There were six parallel sessions on the following themes, viz. I. Che Guevara today II. Che Guevara and counter-culture III. Che Guevara and Identity IV. Che Guevara and the youth V. Che Guevara and India and VI. Che Guevara and Writing. Thirty papers were presented by students, researchers, and faculty. Video recordings of the plenaries and the six sessions are being made available to make up a digital archive of the proceedings.
Dr. Aldina Braganza, officiating principal of Carmel College for Women, welcomed the gathering. The keynote address – Che Guevara: The Man Behind the Myth – was delivered by Ms. Clara Astarloa, Assistant Professor, Department of International Relations, Goa University. Professor Sonya Surabhi Gupta, Centre for Spanish and Latin American Studies, Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi spoke on ‘Ernesto Che Guevara as an Organic Intellectual: A View from the Global South.’ Shobhan Saxena, international correspondent and cultural curator, Sao Paolo, Brazil spoke on ‘Che Guevara: A Pop Icon Globally and a Revolutionary Idea at Home?’ The plenary ended with a presentation on ‘Che Guevara’s Visit to India in 1959: Internationalization of Domestic Needs.’ by Shreya Banerjee, researcher, IIT, Mandi. The session was chaired by Dr. Brian Mendonça, Assistant Professor, Department of English, Carmel College.
The first parallel session was chaired by Ms. Roxana Singh, Associate Professor and Head, Department of English, Carmel College. The second parallel session was chaired by Dr. Glenis Mendonça, Assistant Professor, Department of English, Carmel College. The third parallel session was chaired by Yugank Naik, Assistant Professor, Department of International Relations, Goa University. Ms. Jolainne DeSouza, Assistant Professor, Department of English, Carmel College chaired the fourth parallel session. The fifth session was chaired by Ms. Ayeesha Antao, Assistant Professor, Department of English, Carmel College. The sixth session was chaired by Clara Astarloa, Assistant Professor, Department of International Relations, Goa University.
The international webinar came to a close with the valedictory function chaired by Ms. Ashwini Kumar, Assistant Professor, Department of English, Carmel College. Ms. Neha Alves read the report of the webinar. The vote of thanks was proposed by Dr. Glenis Mendonca.
