Thesis (Bachelor of Arts in English)

Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://hdl.handle.net/10361/28414

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Open Access
Algorithms, emotions, and glocal dreams: Digitalisation and cultural expression shaping Bangladeshi youths' identities
(BRAC University, 2026-05) Islam, Ashikul; Tasnim, Sumaiya; Department of English and Humanities
Digital spaces have emerged as significant spaces for young people in Bangladesh to have their experiences of communication, visibility, cultural expression, and identity. The study intends to investigate the interconnectedness between social algorithms, emotional aspects and cultural processes that facilitates formation of identity of the Bangladeshi youth. It takes a qualitative (20 interviews) and quantitative (54 surveys) research method to interpret individual data and identify patterns of the overall result. Theoretical frameworks guide the analysis regarding affective economies, surveillance capitalism, algorithmic governance and self-presentation. The findings suggest users are driven into this complex process of algorithms to personalize content. The process works depending on users behavior, likes, watch history, and engagement. But this awareness is restricted and not followed by actual control of platform systems, which results in the informed dependence. Emotional engagement is also evident in the way the platform functions, as engaging, relatable, and emotionally charged content becomes more impactful and fosters ongoing engagement. Meanwhile, audience awareness, gender norms, local cultural norms, and the influences of global digital culture combine and produce negotiated and hybrid identities of self-presentation. The study also reveals that social media is not only a communication medium but a socio-organized and technological space which is continually formed and reformed by algorithms, emotions and culture, and which influences online behavior and identities. In sum, the study gives an overview of the context-specific study of digital identity formation among the Bangladeshi youth in the context of the Global South.
Open Access
Korechi vs korsi: An analysis of the linguistic shift in Bangladeshi television dramas from the 1980s to the late 2000s
(BRAC University, 2026-06) Farzana, Maeesha; Farhat, Nazah; Department of English and Humanities
This study looks into the reasons and impacts of the linguistic change in drama language by focusing on the viewers perspective. To gather necessary data, first of all, interviews were conducted. Moreover, for an unbiased analysis, public comment sections were also taken to analyze the general reaction. As for linguistic analysis, samples from different drama scenes from both times were also used. The result shows that preference of younger audience, liberty choice of the makers, and newly started craze of social media worked behind the beginning of colloquial Bengali in drama language. As for consequences, both positive and negative impacts can be observed, mostly the later one. From connecting the younger audience with their everyday language in dramas to misusing the colloquial linguistic pattern by including unnecessary curse words and slangs. By ensuring the proper use of language in dramas through well-written dialogues, careful moderation by the makers and adequate linguistic awareness of the audience, the betterment of drama language is possible.
Open Access
Examining nationalism through the spatial structure of the Bangladesh National Museum, the Liberation War Museums, and the Military Museum
(BRAC University, 2026-06) Sarkar, Anamika; Muktadir, Khondker Shahad; Department of English and Humanities
The study examines three museums located in Dhaka – the Bangladesh National Museum, the Liberation War Museum, and the Military Museum. In addition, it reveals how the spatial structure of these museums promote nationalism by showcasing specific items. Museums in Bangladesh have a great role to play in shaping ideologies through space, structure, and selective collection. Attractive representation of artifacts and historical evidence shape visitors’ behavior. State funded museums like Bangladesh National Museum exhibits ancient art and historical objects proliferate cultural as well as national identity. The spatial environment of museums is crucial for promoting curated historical narrative over authentic context. Biased curatorial practices decide what to show or not, transforming the way objects are displayed in the museum galleries. The study employs both qualitative and quantitative research methods for the analysis. Besides, it applies several theories that are aligned with ideological formation. For instance, Bangladeshi museums reinforce national identity formation through Althusser’s Ideological State Apparatus (ISA). They are the agents of ISA, persuading public attention through cultural practice. Ultimately, the study finds Lasswell’s model of propaganda by analyzing the institutional role of museums, distributing nationalist ideology and influencing public opinion within the spatial structure. Furthermore, Hiller’s space syntax is applicable for analyzing spatial structure of Bangladeshi museums for setting state-oriented narratives.
Open Access
From madrasa to private university: English language anxiety among madrasa background students in Bangladesh
(BRAC University, 2026-06) Mamtaj, Tahmin; Tafannum, Atiya; Department of English and Humanities; Tahmin Mamtaj
English is an important medium of worldwide communication and is widely used in Bangladesh’s education system. However, learning or utilising a second language effectively is often hampered by language anxiety. This study investigates the causes of language anxiety, how it affects students, and potential ways to lessen anxiety in students from madrasas who are presently enrolled in private universities in Bangladesh. The Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale (FLCAS) and semi-structured interviews were used in a qualitative focused mixed-methods approach to gather data. The results show that participants had different levels of anxiety. The causes of their anxiety come from their educational background as they had a lack of exposure to English. The study also demonstrates that anxiety has a detrimental impact on involvement in class and academic achievement. However, students use coping mechanisms like online resources, and self-practice. The study suggests more speaking practice, bridge courses, and supportive classroom environments.
Open Access
Inherited wounds of womanhood and becoming a Killjoy through Indian cinema Haq & Bulbbul
(BRAC University, 2026-05) Tasnim, Nishat; Tabassum, Samirah; Department of English and Humanities
This research will explore how female protagonists of Indian Cinema in Haq and Bulbbul are portraying female resistance in a positive light while showcasing the narrative of the society. Both the protagonist has become a killjoy by choosing resistance over endurance. In Indian culture women are often seen suffering and enduring violence in their own households But when they finally try to resist, they become the Killjoy of the society. This paper will mainly showcase how feminist resistance appears in contemporary Indian cinema. It will explore the ideas of inherent trauma, domestic violence, patriarchy and feminist resistance in our culture. Bulbbul (2020) presents a gothic myth which is based on child marriage, sexual violence and revenge in supernatural form whereas, the movie Haq (2025) is inspired by a real life case of Shah Bano of 1985, this movie deals with unrealistic expectation and emotional neglence in marriage in a realist manner. The objective of this study is to show how women’s suffering is normalised as tradition and virtue within family structures. This study has used mostly quantitative methods for the research. For instance, thematic analysis of the films focusing on narrative structure, character development and visuals. Research papers that are relevant with the theories like gender performativity by Judith Butler, Sigmund Freud's theory about and Sara Ahmed’s feminist theory of Killjoy are also read thoroughly for a deeper understanding of the concepts. This research argues that both the female leads eventually become disruption of the society as they fail to sustain in imposed environments. They choose to resist in their own ways. Bulbbul's changing into a supernatural avenger uncovers the violent roots of patriarchal order. Meanwhile, Shazia Bano’s choice to leave her marital home shows a quiet but radical act of withdrawal from exploitation. Although their forms of resistance differ both challenge the social systems that romanticize women's endurance.This paper will try to demonstrate how contemporary cinematic narratives are also exposing the harsh realities of the society by portraying women’s resistance, challenging the harmony of the society by being a Killjoy.
Open Access
Formal innovation as postcolonial response: From A Passage to India to The Shadow Lines
(BRAC University, 2026-06) Elahi, Mohammad Waqif; Monisha, Joutha; Department of English and Humanities
This thesis examines the colonial barriers that E. M. Forster demonstrated in A Passage to India (1924) and how these barriers are depicted as a postcolonial response in Amitav Ghosh’s The Shadow Lines (1988). By confiding on the theory of hybridity by Homi K. Bhabha, this study argues that the non-linear, fragmented narrative that Ghosh constructs is a formal response to the strict categorical division that colonialism imposed. Forster’s text shows the limit to which the British Raj deliberately blocked the possibility of a hybrid identity and genuine cross-cultural relationships, and suggests that friendship between a colonizer and colonized man was impossible under colonialism. The analysis shows how the colonial power operated by establishing fixed temporal, geographical, and identity categories which is a direct violation of the “third space” as theorized by Homi K. Bhabha. Ghosh’s postcolonial narrative directly addresses this impossibility, through formal innovation and hybridized characters. The novel’s fragmented structure implements at the fundamental level, what colonialism did not allow to happen at the political level, placing the idea of borders as “shadow lines”. This study adds to postcolonial literary criticism by depicting how the narrative form alone can serve as a political intervention and open up a literary space that allows colonial categorical thought to penetrate imagination and memory. The comparative approach shows that postcolonial literature inherits from colonial literature, but it changes impossibility into formal possibility, in other words- it creates new literary devices that coherence with the expression of hybrid consciousness.
Open Access
Investigating English speaking problems among Bangla-medium secondary school students and their pedagogical implications
(BRAC University, 2025-05) Zaman, Suhrid; Sanjana, Lubaba; Department of English and Humanities
English learning has become vital in Bangladesh for its impact on education, career and communication in the international arena. Despite being taught English for twelve years as a compulsory subject, many Bangla medium secondary school students have problems speaking English fluently. The purpose of this study is to find the main causes why Bangla medium secondary school students suffer in English speaking and to offer some pedagogic solutions regarding this problem. In the literature review chapter, related existing studies to this research are attempted for guiding this research. This is basically a qualitative study as it suits best for the research topic. The data collection procedure involves a questionnaire that is designed to collect students’ perceptions, interview of two teachers and three English language classroom observations. The collected data from three different sources are coded and analyzed through triangulation. The findings of this study reveal various factors that are responsible for students' speaking difficulties, like- limited speaking opportunity, education system, dominance of GTM and improper implementation of CLT, syllabus design, teacher centered classroom etc. Moreover, the results are interpreted in the discussion section by relating them to earlier research and beliefs on the development of speaking and learning English. Furthermore, the interpretations of the sections also suggest what changes may be brought in the pedagogy. The study concludes with highlighting the barriers of the students' English speaking problems and recommending policy changes regarding this problem.
Open Access
When memes become revolution: Facebook political memes as postmodern folk art in Bangladesh’s July 2024 Uprising
(BRAC University, 2026-05) Mahtab, Sakib; Tabassum, Samirah; Department of English and Humanities
This thesis examines Facebook political memes from Bangladesh’s July 2024 quota reform movement and uprising. It sees these memes as postmodern digital folk art that shaped how people experience and remember politics. This thesis uses Jean Baudrillard’s simulation, simulacra and hyper reality theory, Henry Jenkins’ participatory culture, Antonio Gramsci’s cultural hegemony and other related memes and folklore research. It analyzes 7 image-based memes from Bangladeshi public Facebook groups and pages using multimodal methods. This research shows how memes transform protest, state violence, internet shutdowns and religion into shareable visual jokes. These not only document the events but also create a hyperreal archive of July 2024 events that is more vivid than any news reports. This thesis argues that these memes function as both political commentary and a form of emotional support, and a place where the hegemonic narrative about nation, youth and authority are reinforced, negotiated or challenged. This thesis highlights the importance of the meme culture of the Global South in explaining contemporary digital activism.
Open Access
Psychic space: An exploration of the child subject in fin‑de‑siècle fiction (1890s–1920s)
(BRAC University, 2026-06) Hasan, Tabassum; Mowtushi, Mahruba; Department of English and Humanities
This research examines how fin-de-siècle fictions showcase physical space impacts into psychic space which disciplines, consumes and confines the mind of child subjects. This thesis looks at The Secret Garden (1911) and A Little Princess (1905) by Frances Hodgson Burnett, “The Rocking-Horse Winner” (1926) and “Odour of Chrysanthemums” (1911) by D. H. Lawrence, The Turn of the Screw (1898) by Henry James and “Prelude” (1918) by Katherine Mansfield to study three major themes. The themes are adult projections on children through surveillance, domestic space acting as a consuming force, and the counter-spaces that children create to save themselves. Drawing on Foucault’s panopticon and heterotopia, Freud’s “Uncanny”, Kristeva’s “abjection” and Marx’s commodity fetishism, this thesis examines questions of adult anxieties about class, gender and economic instability that are projected onto child protagonists and the spaces they inhabit. These spaces, such as gardens, attics, and nurseries, become sites where children are manipulated into being something that they are not. And ultimately the research concludes that the spaces that children occupy are always corrupted by adults and are never their own to claim.
Open Access
Deconstructing the “writing back” motif with Abdulrazak Gurnah’s Paradise and Jean Rhys’ Wide Sargasso Sea: Can postcolonial writers dismantle colonial literary narratives?
(BRAC University, 2026-06) Dhaly, Sajal Hossain; Mowtushi, Mahruba; Department of English and Humanities
The purpose of this research is to discern whether Jean Rhys’s Wide Sargasso Sea and Abdulrazak Gurnah’s Paradise are “writing back” to the English and European colonial empires and their literary canons, specifically to Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre and Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness. Foundational postcolonial literary theories from books and academic journals provide context to the efficacy of Rhys and Gurnah’s writing back: such as Edward Said’s Orientalism, Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak’s idea of the Subaltern, and Homi K. Bhabha’s concept of mimicry. Furthermore, the research also relies on Chinua Achebe’s theory of abrogation and appropriation of the English language as a means of resistance and taking back agency by the colonised subjects. Upon assessing these books, book chapters, and articles, the research finds that Rhys and Gurnah are in fact not writing back to any colonial empire or writer; Rhys writes for a feminist Creole identity, and Gurnah writes to help establish the African literary tradition.
Open Access
Systematic lexical variation’s role in cultural identity: A variationist sociolinguistic approach
(BRAC University, 2026-07-26) Sharmily, Proma; Rubaiat, Shakika; Department of English and Humanities
This paper discusses the lexical variation in Barishal dialect of Bangla with the aim of establishing the most commonly used lexical substitutions and how such variation depicts the culture and regional identity. The study has been developed based on variationist sociolinguistics to answer two important questions: First, the research identifies the most frequent lexical replacements in the dialect speech of Barishal. Second, the research explores the ways these variations can serve as culture-regional identity markers. Thus, a theoretical framework allows the study to explore the systematic relationship between language variation and social variables and its reflection of speakers' identity in a particular speech community. The information was gathered by means of semi-structured interviews and naturally occurring conversations with speakers of various age groups that belong to the Barishal speech community. The authentic use of language outside the interview environment was also recorded through the use of an observation checklist. The gathered data were transcribed in a systematic manner and analyzed using a mixed methods approach. According to the findings, the lexical substitution in Barishal dialect is not random. It is systematic and patterned. There is high consistency in high-frequency verbs and context-free expressions. Moreover, a large number of lexical items are directly related to the local culture, such as food habits, environmental factors, and social relations, which are the experiences of the community in action. This research also shows that these variations become significant indicators of identity, which strengthen social solidarity and cultural continuity. Sociolinguistic awareness is displayed through speakers when they vary their dialect and standard forms based on the situation. Although the standard Bangla is getting more exposure in the areas of education and media, the Barishal dialect is still linguistically powerful and socially significant. In general, the paper underscores the importance of dialectal variation as a component of linguistic diversity and locality. Finally, this research contributes to our understanding of sociolinguistics, language documentation, and the status of regional dialects in Bangladesh in education and cultural heritage.
Open Access
Adjunct city: A poetry collection with a critical commentary
(BRAC University, 2026-06) Abdullah Al Mamun; Mowtushi, Mahruba; Department of English and Humanities
The thesis combines a poetry collection called Adjunct City with a critical commentary titled “The Poetics of Being Beside.” “Being Beside” names the poems’ way of staying near the city while recognising the limits of what can be fully seen, known, or held. The collection approaches urban life through fragments, where the household and the street come into contact without forming a complete or fixed image of the city. The poems work through brief scenes and passing encounters. Their form follows the scale of attention, staying with a moment only as long as its image or sound can hold. Labour appears as a condition of everyday continuance, while objects carry the marks of use. Language moves between domestic speech, street sound, literary echo, and multilingual expression. The critical commentary examines these formal and thematic choices through close readings of selected poems. It considers how Adjunct City develops a poetics of nearness, restraint, and attention, where the city is encountered through partial moments and the marks everyday life leaves behind.
Open Access
The necessity of an English language preliminary course for the medical college students in Bangladesh: A need analysis study for an ESP course
(BRAC University, 2022-12) Tabassum, Rubyat; Sultana, Asifa; Department of English and Humanities
The purpose of this research is to assess the breadth and kind of difficulties faced by undergraduate students in various portions of English used in medicine. English is currently largely considered the international language of science, and in the case of medical science, there is hardly any book found in any other language except English. Teaching English in higher education institutions ignores individuals' unique characteristics, needs, goals, interests, and ambitions, independent of their fields of study. The most important and challenging question in teaching and learning is whether the course is effective. The course's efficacy is significantly tied to the learners' needs, deficiencies, and requirements. The essential insight into this approach is to suggest a course design by being attentive to target language learners' needs. In this respect, the English language needs of two medical college students in Bangladesh were investigated by means of a need analysis done on 10 students from two medical colleges with three different mediums of education in their higher secondary level. An open-ended questionnaire was adapted to interview the participants and know about their lacks, wants and suggestions to overcome the problems. The findings of the study suggested an ESP course designed for the students of medical college students before starting their academic life there. The medical jargon, complex sentences, pronunciation, and spelling teaching with the flow of speaking should be part of the course material that the students suggested. The self-evaluation done them shows their poor proficiency level in the English language. The implication of an ESP course would be the best way as came out of the study and the previous research. The course should be equally proper and advantageous specifically for medical college students.
Open Access
The existence and scope of power in females in an assortment of Shakespeare's plays
(BRAC University, 2022-12) Khan, Mahin; Chowdhury, Rukhsana Rahim; Department of English and Humanities
Shakespeare's vagueness piqued my interest, and when I understood how differently female and male authority functions, I felt driven to write my original opinions on the topic. I have selected Portia, Emilia, Paulina, Desdemona, Juliet, Helen and Rosalind as my Shakespearean plays' female characters for my thesis. I was researching the chosen figures and making an effort to comprehend respective identities inside this framework of the ideals prevalent in Shakespeare's day, that are also reflected in Shakespeare's persona in his writings. My work concentrates on women's components. Despite the fact that females continue to be the story's driving force and finish the production of the overall piece, female characters' significance is often undervalued in literary works. My thesis would examine the very essence and scope of power in females in an assortment of Shakespeare's works, considering the interpretation of both female and power. The portrayal of female characters equally validates and questions the formation of gender. Gender would be described inside the dissertation as gendered stereotyping regarding specific ways of speaking, reasoning and acting that are believed suited to the male or female gender. Main components of my argument include language, and action. Finally, I would want to conclude my argument by pointing out how female gender is concurrently built in the plays. I'll make the point that the formation of gender affects male characters as well. Despite the fact that this structure disproportionately affects women, males may also become victims as a result of it.
Open Access
The paradox of consumption and creation: K-Pop fandom in Bangladesh
(BRAC University, 2026-02) Apon, Nashita Mahbub; Zaman, Tabassum; Department of English and Humanities; Department of English and Humanities
This thesis examines the paradox of consumption and creation within K-pop fandom in Bangladesh, focusing on how fans negotiate between active cultural participation and passive consumption. Using a qualitative research design, the study draws on case studies, survey responses, interviews, and media and social media materials to analyze how Bangladeshi fans interact with K-pop as a cultural, social, and economic phenomenon. The research is guided by Marxist theory and Stuart Hall’s encoding/decoding model to understand fandom as a site of labor, consumption, and meaning-making within a Global South context. The findings show that active K-pop fandom in Bangladesh extends beyond entertainment into performance, skill development, community formation, and selective professionalization. The cases also reveal how global K-pop texts are locally interpreted and re-encoded through performance, negotiation, and embodiment. At the same time, the thesis highlights the central role of passive consumption in sustaining the K-pop industry. Survey and interview data from participants illustrate how listening, streaming, sharing content, purchasing merchandise, and consuming Korean-themed food contribute to commodity circulation and capitalist expansion without requiring creative participation or fan identity. Overall, the study argues that K-pop fandom in Bangladesh operates across a spectrum of engagement, where both active and passive practices play structurally important roles. By situating these practices within Marxist and Hall’s frameworks, the thesis demonstrates how fandom in Bangladesh enables identity formation, cultural translation, and selective mobility while remaining embedded within global capitalist and ideological structures.
Open Access
Insanity or mental strife: a psychological exploration of Hamlet and Macbeth’s downfall
(BRAC University, 2025-10) Tabassum, Amiya; Chowdhury, Rukhsana Rahim; Department of English and Humanities
Madness was more closely associated with its dictionary description during Shakespeare's time: the state of being mentally sick, frenetic or chaotic activity, or stupid action. In Shakespeare's time, becoming mad was frequently the narrative of a plot or the outcome of tragedy or sadness. Hamlet and Macbeth, the two tragic heroes of Shakespeare show signs of madness and mental illness right from the beginning of the play. Hamlet’s constant procrastination causes much suffering for himself and eventually leads to his tragic end while in Macbeth’s case, it was his unrestrained ambition that led to his downfall. The view of Hamlet as an Oedipus predicament stems from the fundamental concepts of Sigmund Freud’s psychoanalytic psychology. Soren Kierkegaard’s existentialist philosophy resonates strongly with the character of Macbeth. Hamlet and Macbeth’s descent into madness is shaped by complicated psychological conflicts as Hamlet’s Oedipal tension and disturbed psyche reveal symptoms of depression and psychosis, while Macbeth’s repressed guilt and paranoia reflect signs of guilt-induced psychosis, illustrating how Shakespeare intertwines mental illness with the tragic downfall of his protagonists.
Open Access
Claiming a new citizenship on Dhaka’s walls: Gen Z’s visual self-expression in July movement graffiti and wall art
(BRAC University, 2025) Shahin, Fariha; Zaman, Tabassum; Department of English and Humanities
During Bangladesh's July Movement, students employed graffiti and wall art as a dynamic form of communication and resistance, transforming it from a purely political tool to a means of individual and collective self-expression. During this period of change, Gen Z turned public walls into sites that represented their identities, complaints, and aspirations by incorporating wit, internet culture, and symbols into graffiti. Despite having all the critical attention on the study graffiti of July, a significant research gap exists in understanding how it functions as a deliberate performance of a new, self-authorized political identity by Gen Z, rather than just a reactionary protest tool. This research aims to fill that gap by analyzing the protest graffiti and wall writings of the July Movement to identify the ways in which Gen Z creates a new vision of being a citizen. Hence, this study uses qualitative analysis by drawing on images collected through field documentation in Dhaka (July-August 2024) and applying frameworks from Roland Barthes and Charles Sanders Peirce to analyze aesthetic, textual, and rhetorical shifts. The key findings reveal a fundamental transformation in Bangladesh’s visual rhetoric of protest. The study identifies a shift from a tradition of centralized imagery to a new language of decentralized and culturally hybrid expression. This analysis shows that Gen Z’s artistic expression performs three arguments. First, they assert political legitimacy through directly showing themselves in action as “Auditor-Citizens.” Second, they lay out a proactive plan for an alternative nation by showing themselves as “the change.” Third, they demand their hybrid cultural identity to be accepted as a valid foundation for political action. The study’s conclusion states that their graffiti signifies the performance of a new, self-historicizing citizenship, signifying a departure from top-down political culture and reaffirming Gen Z’s position as Bangladesh’s future architects.
Open Access
Features of Bangla child directed speech: a sketch from observation of pre-school children and caregiver interaction
(BRAC University, 2026-03) Haq, Muntakimul; Rubaiat, Shakika; Department of English and Humanities
The mixed-method study examines the features of Child Directed Speech (CDS) within the Bangla language. The study employs naturalistic data collection from caregiver-child interactions in different families of the Bangla-speaking community. Children of five different age groups from 2-4 years were selected to observe the changes in CDS features as children develop. The features were categorized based on the functional aspect of the adult utterances. The parameters for the functions were set based on the researcher's own understanding of the language as a native speaker and existing literature on CDS features of other languages. The findings showed that there are indeed CDS features in Bangla; some of these features do show age-sensitive patterns. Furthermore, more the study also provides insight regarding the possible cultural influences a language has and how it is also observed in child-directed speech. Lastly, the study adds to the literature of CDS, especially Bangla CDS, which is quite understudied.
Open Access
Examination culture in Bangladesh: impact on students, teachers and society
(BRAC University, 2026-02) Akhter, Suhala; Amin, Md Al; Department of English and Humanities
The culture of examinations has long embedded in the education system in Bangladesh. Although examinations were first meant to measure the learning process, for a long time getting a good score in the examination become the primary aim of teaching and learning in the classroom. In Bangladesh context, the examinations, particularly the high-stakes examinations have a profound impact on teaching, learning, and society as a whole. This study explores the impact of this culture of examination on students, teachers and the society as a whole. Specifically, this study explores how examination-based education affects the learning behavior, motivation and psychological well-being of students, teaching to the test and the impact on the society. The study further investigates the role of family expectations and social pressure in strengthening exam dependence and advancing inequality in education. The study was conducted using the qualitative approach, taking the form of in-depth interviews with teachers, students and parents. This approach allowed me to document and present the experiences of the participants under the pressure of the exam and how they would see the learning and teaching under the exam-based system. The findings reveal that the high focus on examinations promotes memorization as opposed to in-depth knowledge and critical thinking. Guidebooks, coaching notes and model answers are used by students as a means of delivering good results and this limits creativity and independent thinking. The constant exam stress has adverse effects on the mental health of students, which causes stress, anxiety, emotional burnout, and low motivation to study. There is also pressure on teachers to give high performance in exams, which do not give them a chance to implement creative and student-centered teaching techniques. Furthermore, the curriculum is highly examination based and there is no room to develop skills and have holistic learning. The study also shows that the culture of exam has broader social implications since academic success associates closely with social status and family anticipations. It puts pressure on the students and parents and enhances inequality by prevalence of private coaching. The study concludes that excessive dependence on examinations restricts the real meaning of education and there is need to reform the assessment systems to encourage meaningful learning, creativity, and student wellbeing.
Open Access
The cultural impact of YouTube travel vlogging in Bangladesh: negotiating homogenization, hybridity, and youth identity
(BRAC University, 2026-02) Sayem, Rafin Rahman; Tabassum, Samirah; Department of English and Humanities
Digital media has emerged as a cultural force in the modern world which reshapes how individuals imagine the world, form their identities and consume entertainment. Among all digital platforms, Youtube is one of the central mediums where travel vlogging creates cultural flows, blending the local and global cultural aesthetics. This paper investigates how travel vlogging creates cultural homogenization, hybridity and creating a different youth identity formation in Bangladesh and the focus travel content creators are Nadir On The Go, Salahuddin Sumon, Md Fizz. The travel content creator Nadir On The Go, represents globalized travel content with national and international audience highlighting different destinations like Switzerland, Bangkok, Turkey showcases the cosmopolitan leisure practices and normalizes the consumption practices. Also, his narratives reveal Bangladeshi youth attracted to global aspirations of mobility, lifestyle and cultural emphasis on cultural homogenization. Salahuddin Sumon, in contrast, a travel journalist and vlogger illustrates Bangladeshi heritage, historical description and rural landscape. His works manifest cultural hybridization, blending global worldwide trends with local culture to create unique and genuine videos. Another travel vlogger is Md Fizz who make mixture of adventure, humour and lifestyle content to connect with audience. He offers digital storytelling which reflects hybrid youth culture shaped by the global media but in the local way. By analysing the case studies, the research highlights how Youtube travel vlogs have the mix effect on local cultures. They dilute culture by promoting global trends clothing, food and what is considered as fun also preserve culture by showcasing the local tradition, authentic food, community pride, helping to share and maintain unique cultural identities.

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