The LitSoc, or the Literary Society is one third of what was formerly, simply Jus Cultura, which as the name suggests is the Law & Culture Cell of the National Law Institute University, Bhopal. It was formed in 2008 and currently has a working body of seven members from across batches under the Faculty-in-charge, Dr Mukesh Srivastava.
Our aims and objectives? Essentially, to take your mind off legal conundrum and give you something new to savour. Take your pick from our wide repertoire of activities or simply browse our cell blog and also our online magazine and catch up on what’s hot and happening in and beyond the NLIU community. Tweet us what you think or send us a submission for our magazine. We also bring to you the newest in the world of literature and popular culture, along with exciting avenues to satiate your literary cravings.
The LitSoc basically works towards promoting creativity. Though we focus essentially on literature, our interest extends to all forms of creativity, be it art, music, comics and anything beyond. We further holds a keen interest in new forms of creativity which have developed with technology, especially with the use of the Internet. In this area, we work at the intersection of technology, law and literature.
Here are some of our projects which will give a clearer idea of who we are and what we do. (Keep a look out for more interesting projects in the side panel on this page.)
Sauce
Sauce is the annual journal published by The LitSoc. It essentially focuses essentially around creativity and university campuses. Sauce attempts to highlight specifically the work which has a kind of insolent feel to it. As it is, what The LitSoc hopes to promote is rather unlike what literary societies have traditionally been: closed and elitist. Hence, “Sauce”.
We work on a literally zero budget, utilizing tools like Creative Commons, self-publishing and the World Wide Web. But we don't see lack of funds as a disability, but rather, it is a policy: Our aim is to work for free, and to churn out as much as we can, for free. We are driven solely by our passion to create, and look to showcase work by like-minded people. We further intend to make no money whatsoever from or for our activities. Hence, Sauce is licensed under the Creative Commons Non-Commercial License.
Till now we've been publishing only online. However, the forthcoming issue onwards, we are bringing out hard copies also, which will be marketed online.
Our upcoming issue is themed "Revolutionize", and we'd be delighted to have a look at some of your work on the theme. Click here for details.
LitKit
Another interesting project The LitSoc is fiddling with is LitKit, whereby we hope to address all the issues faced by readers and writers in a digitized world. Be it legal issues of copyright, alternate routes to getting published, or development of e-books, we tackle all these issues in a fun way so that both the author and the reader can understand them better and are benefited by it. LitKit further keeps updated with the latest news in the creative community and the new ways to explore creativity.
Digital Library
The LitSoc has undertaken to build a free-for-all, online library of good literature. Unlike commonly believed, not all such efforts are illegal or amount to piracy. One of LitSoc’s aims in doing this is to spread awareness about all the fantastic material which can be legally and freely accessed online. The primary aim, however remains to provide you with an easily accessible library of the best literature out there!
Blogs
The LitSoc also runs two blogs: The Weblog, and LitRead. The LitSoc Blog provides general information about the activities of The LitSoc, and occasionally interesting and funny insight into creative works. LitRead on the other hand, is a way to share everything which you have been reading lately.
Want to be a part of the society? We are always on the lookout for people savvy about literature, and other creative forms, and it’s always a plus if you are a technology geek! :) The induction for new members is closed as of now but keep an eye out for the induction announcements here.
