A seminar named “Things Beyond Words: How We Respond to What Words Cannot Describe” by Prof. Dr. Fr. Charles B. Gordon, CSC, was held on the NDUB campus by Notre Dame University Bangladesh English Club (NDUBEC) in collaboration with NDUB Language Centre on November 22, 2022 around 2pm. The event started with the welcome speech of the Vice Chancellor of NDUB Professor Dr. Father Patrick D. Gaffney, CSC. The founding moderator of NDUB English Club, Habiba Akter, expressed her thoughts about the event and greeted Fr. Charles B. Gordon, CSC with a warm welcome.
The speaker, Dr. Father Patrick D. Gaffney, CSC, not only brought the society, culture and geographical facts but also took the help of novels of Shakespeare to make them easier to comprehend. The event was about the changes in language and expression of the language we use in our daily conversation, as we are mostly unaware. There are some feelings, situations, and so on that we cannot express through language. Even better criticism and comparison between ancient language and modern languages were also discussed in the session. Father Charles mentioned the Duncan character and the three witches in Macbeth of Shakespeare. He analyzed the quotes and dialogues of the three Witches regarding abstract things which do not exist in reality. Even the influence of Jean-Paul Sartre in language and human relations was displayed to the audiences.
Moreover, the students’ response gives the image of a successful workshop. The students responded through the question-answer round. The students’ questions involve using language and commenting on each other in daily life. Some interesting topics came up with answering the student’s questions. The event ended with applause; gifts were given to Fr. Gordon as a token of gratitude from the NDUB English Club for his valuable involvement in the program. Though it was a one-and-a-half-hour long seminar, the language changes, ancient language, and influence of modern language were also discussed in the event. Nearly 40 undergraduate students from all departments of NDUB attended the workshop. Many students from the audience were eager to ask questions to learn more about things beyond words in the question-and-answer session.
