COURSE MANUAL

Gender and Society

Fall 2020
(AY 2020-21)

Instructor/s
Prof. Ankita Gandhi
Prof. Debolina Dutta
Prof. Dhiren Borisa
Format approved by the Academic Review Board, JGLS

CONTENTS

PART I
General Information……………………………………………………………………………….
…..3

PART II

a. Course Description……………………………………………………………………………….……..4

b. Course Aims……………………………………………………………………………………….
…..4
c. Intended Leaning Outcomes ……………………………………………………..................4

d. Grading of Student Achievement…………………………………………………..............5

PART III
a. Keyword Syllabus………………………………………………………………………………….7
b. Course Policies………………………………………………………………………………………7

PART IV

a. Weekly Course Outline …………………………………………………………...................10

b. Readings……………………………………………………………………………………………….11
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PART I

General Information

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Format approved by the Academic Review Board, JGLS

General Information on, Gender and Society, offered by Jindal Global Law School

of the AY 2020-21

The information provided herein is by the Course Coordinator. The following information contains the
official record of the details of the course.

This information shall form part of the University database and may be uploaded to the
KOHA Library system and catalogued and may be distributed amongst ____ year Law
students for B.A. (Hons) in Legal Studies; B.A.LL.B./B.B.A.LL.B.; LL.B.; LL.M. courses if
necessary.

[This course manual contains official record of the details of the course on Gender and Society to be
taught in the Fall Semester 2020.This course manual is not exhaustive and should only be used as a
general guide to the subject. This course manual may be supplemented and/or modified (with
additional readings and/or assignments) during the semester by the Course Instructors with prior
notice to the students. ]

Course
Title: Gender and Society
Course
Code: L-CA-0012
Course
Duration: One Semester
No. of Credit
Units: 4
Level:
Medium of
Instruction: English

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PART II

a. Course Description

This course, Gender and Society, is designed in keeping with the recommendations of UGC’s SAKSHAM
Report of 2013 that suggested a course module to enhance gender sensitization by analyzing and
understanding the context and factors that shape gender in society, more specifically, the set of
intersectional relations and structures that produce men and women, often through norms of masculinity
and femininity. In keeping with the said aims, the course is not narrowly about ‘women’ alone but seeks to
encourage open-minded engagement with normative and non-normative ideas about gender and
sexuality. Gender equality and fundamental freedoms are guaranteed to all citizens but these ideals often
exist in stark contrast to unequal and discriminatory scenarios. The course, therefore, will encourage
students to think about day-to-day hierarchies, discrimination and differences, sexual
violence and harassment and how to actualize the ideals of rights, dignity and respect to
build a genuinely free, just and open society. [Source: SAKSHAM Report, Suggested Course
Module].

b. Course Aims

During the course:

 To familiarize students with key questions and debates on gender, both historical and
contemporary, global and local.
 To encourage critical thinking that goes beyond ghettoizing gender issues.
 To expand the understanding of Gender through intersectionality with particular reference to
India and exhibiting the centrality of Caste in its social imagination.

c. Intended Learning Outcomes

Course Weightage Teaching and Learning Assessment

Intended Activities Tasks/ Activities
Learning
Outcomes

By the end of the course, students

should be able to:
Reflect on power % Each module will provide students
Reflexive Essays;
hierarchies in a with a framework of analysis
range of social Group and Individual
along with some key concepts.
spheres such as research projects on
Case studies, films, fictive texts,
family, academia, various associated themes
poetry, activities and classroom
law, and media mentioned in the manual
discussions will be employed to
through an intersectional
Apply conceptual % develop a critical, responsible and
lens.

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Course Weightage Teaching and Learning Assessment

Intended Activities Tasks/ Activities
Learning
Outcomes

frameworks offered
by the course to
negotiate gender
constructs in inquiring perspective on gender.
everyday lives.

d. Grading of Student Achievement1

To pass this course, students must obtain a minimum of 40% in the

cumulative aspects of coursework, e.g. moot, and final examination. End of
semester exam will carry 50 marks out of which students have to obtain a
minimum of 15 marks to fulfil the requirement of passing the course.

The details of the grades as well as the criteria for awarding such grades are provided
below.

Letter Percentage Grade Definitions

Grade Of marks
O 80% and above Outstanding Outstanding work
with strong evidence
of knowledge of the
subject matter,
excellent
organizational
capacity, ability to
synthesize and
critically analyse and
originality in
thinking and
presentation.
A+ 75 to 79.75% Excellent Sound knowledge of
the subject matter,
thorough
understanding of
issues; ability to
synthesize critically

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Under extraordinary circumstances, the JGU Academic Council or the JGU Deans’ Council can suspend Clause D
or make it optional. If Clause D is suspended, the policy which will be framed by the School based on the decision
of the said bodies will supersede Clause D. However, whether a situation is extraordinary or not will be decided by
the said bodies only.

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and analyse
A 70 to 74.75% Good Good understanding
of the subject
matter, ability to
identify issues and
provide balanced
solutions to
problems and good
critical and
analytical skills.
A- 65 to 69.75% Adequate Adequate knowledge
of the subject matter
to go to the next
level of study and
reasonable critical
and analytical skills.
B+ 60 to 64.75% Marginal Limited knowledge
of the subject
matter, irrelevant
use of materials and
poor critical and
analytical skills.
B 55 to 59.75% Poor Poor comprehension
of the subject
matter; poor critical
and analytical skills
and marginal use of
the relevant
materials.
B- 50 to 54.75% Pass “Pass” in a pass-fail
course. “P”
indicative of at least
the basic
understanding of the
subject matter.
F Below 50% Fail Fails in the subject

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PART III

a. Keyword Syllabus

Gender, Intersectionality, Caste, Sexuality, Desires, Queerness, Transgender, Violence, Pleasure,

Sexual harassment, Consent, Labour, Mobility, Public/Private, Religion, Nationalism

b. Course/Class Policies

In an offline mode of teaching following guidelines shall apply:

1. Attendance will be taken 10 minutes after the class commences.
2. All reasonable adjustments would be provided to students with medical conditions.
3. Food can be brought into the classroom.
4. Laptops are not allowed.
5. Phones should be switched off. No calls shall be entertained during the class.
6. Students shall be prepared with the readings before coming to class.

Academic Integrity and Plagiarism

Learning and knowledge production of any kind is a collaborative process. Collaboration

demands an ethical responsibility to acknowledge who we have learnt from, what we have
learned, and how reading and learning from others have helped us shape our own ideas. Even our
own ideas demand an acknowledgement of the sources and processes through which those ideas
have emerged. Thus, all ideas must be supported by citations. All ideas borrowed from articles,
books, journals, magazines, case laws, statutes, photographs, films, paintings, etc., in print or
online, must be credited with the original source. If the source or inspiration of your idea is a
friend, a casual chat, something that you overheard, or heard being discussed at a conference or
in class, even they must be duly credited. If you paraphrase or directly quote from a web source
in the examination, presentation or essays, the source must be acknowledged. The university has
a framework to deal with cases of plagiarism. All form of plagiarism will be taken seriously by
the University and prescribed sanctions will be imposed on those who commit plagiarism.

All work submitted for assessment must be your own and all source material should be properly
referenced. Inability to correctly cite sources will result in plagiarism, which will be penalized
sternly.
 
What constitutes as plagiarism?
 Definition - The Cambridge English Dictionary defines plagiarism as passing off another
person’s ideas or expression of ideas as your own. It is a strict liability wrong, meaning
that it entails punishment irrespective of the intention to copy.
 Forms- Plagiarism commonly takes the following forms:
1. Verbatim reproduction of material without proper citation.

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2. Paraphrasing material from elsewhere by modifying a few words or phrases but

keeping the overarching structure of arguments intact, without due acknowledgment
of the source.
3. Use of significant portions of your own work that has already been submitted
elsewhere, without attribution to the previous publication/assignment. This
“recycling” is called self-plagiarism.
4. Lifting material from the work of another student, whether verbatim or by
paraphrasing. This will be considered to be blatant cheating.
5. Although it is permissible to quote parts of another work using proper citations, these
quotations should not outweigh your own contribution to your paper. Substantially
reproducing other works, despite acknowledgment, results in the paper no longer
being your own work. You are encouraged to present ideas in your own words in the
interest of abundant caution.
 
How can plagiarism be avoided?
 To avoid plagiarism, enclose quoted matter between quotation marks.
 Quotations of more than 50 words should be typed in a separate paragraph and indented
on both sides by 1 inch of the margin, without quotation marks.
 Each quotation or paraphrased idea should be supported by a footnote with a reference,
the footnote number being placed at the end of the quotation or idea.
 A series of phrases quoted from several different sources, if not properly attributed to the
source at the end of each such quotation in the patchwork, constitutes plagiarism just as
much as an uncredited long quotation from a single source.
 Similar to the previous point, if a sentence has a series of paraphrased ideas, a footnote
has to be placed at the end of each idea. Failure to do so would constitute plagiarism.

Why does JGU take plagiarism seriously?

JGU prides itself as a centre of independent critical thinking, where students are encouraged to
develop a mind of their own. Apart from this, one cannot be permitted to unduly benefit from the
work of another.

Disability Support and Accommodation Requirements

JGU endeavors to make all its courses accessible to students. All students with any known
disability needing academic accommodation are required to register with the Disability Support
Committee dsc@jgu.edu.in. The Committee has so far identified the following conditions that
could possibly hinder student’s overall well-being. These include: physical and mobility related
difficulties; visual impairment; hearing impairment; medical conditions; specific learning
difficulties e.g. dyslexia; mental health.

The Disability Support Committee maintains strict confidentiality on the matters under its
purview. Students should preferably register with the Committee during the month of
June/January as disability accommodation requires early planning. DSC will coordinate all
disability related services such as appointment of academic mentors, arranging infrastructural
facilities, and course related requirements such as special lectures, tutorials and examinations.
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All faculty members are requested to refer students with any of the above-mentioned conditions
to the Disability Support Committee for getting them disability-related accommodation. Faculty
members are also requested to be sensitive to the needs of such students and cooperate with
Disability Support Committee and the School, extending students the necessary support by
maintaining utmost confidentiality of the matter.

Safe Space Pledge

This course may discuss a range of issues and events that might result in distress for some
students. Discussions in the course might also provoke strong emotional responses. To make sure
that all students collectively benefit from the course, and do not feel disturbed due to either the
content of the course or the conduct of the discussions. Therefore, it is incumbent upon all within
the classroom to pledge to maintain respect towards our peers. This does not mean that you need
to feel restrained about what you feel and what you want to say. Conversely, this is about
creating a safe space where everyone can speak and learn without inhibitions and fear. This
responsibility lies not only with students, but also with the instructor.

Classrooms are sites of intense power dynamics that cut across varied social locations, processes,
histories and contexts that we are a product of. We embody these power relations that allow or
limit us towards articulating what we think and believe. Sometimes these powers that function in
form of unconscious privileges that we enjoy (and we selectively admit) can produce unsafe
social environments for effective dialogue and both processes of learning and unlearning. Class
participation herein then, not only limits to articulating, discussing, volunteering and sharing in
the classroom but will be seen as creating and crafting an affective environment that respects
differences of opinions, diversities of social-cultural locations and power therein, encourages
diverse bodies to raise and articulate their subject positions. We acknowledge that sexism,
classism, casteism, islamophobia, racism and other parochial ideologies have been ingrained and
not absent from the classroom and despite our efforts at unlearning such tendencies might seep in
the class and create unhealthy and unsafe environment for certain bodies at the receiving ends of
such societal violence. As our purpose of this course is to debunk the myths that produce these
intersectional oppressive frames for looking at us and others and often producing ‘us’ and
‘others’, we want you to share these viewpoints but equally with the readiness to be healthily
challenged and changed in a dialogic manner. In this direction reflexivity is encouraged that
takes into account one’s own privileges and the locations of the others.

P.S. The course instructor, as part of introducing the course manual, will discuss the scope of the
Safe Space Pledge with the class.

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PART IV

a. Weekly Course Outline

Week 1

Week 2 Gender as Constructed

Week 3 Introducing Intersectionality

Week 4

Week 5 Cast(e)ing Gender

Week 6

Week 7 Gender, Sexuality and Desires

Week 8

Week 9 Gendered Others

Week 10

Week 11 Violence and Pleasure

Week 12 Labour, Mobility and Public/Private Divide

Week 13

Week 14 Gender, Religion and Nation

Week 15 EPILOGUE: Panel Discussion on Intersectionality

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b. Readings

WEEK 1 & 2
Module 1 Gender as Constructed (Two Weeks)

Key Concepts/ Questions:

Myths around sex and gender. Is sex biological and gender constructed? Can sex also be
constructed?
Is Gender only about women? How are we doing gender in our everyday lives? How is it
performed? How does it work? What are the representational economies of gender –
from bodies to intimate spheres of family and home to State? How do cinema and
advertising reinforce these value systems? How/ what ways does it affect our lives? How
does it inform law? Is law gendered too?
Essential Readings:
1. Martin, E. (2017). The Egg and the Sperm: How Science Has Constructed a Romance
Based on Stereotypical Male-Female Roles. Feminist Theory and the Body, 179–189.
2. Menon, N. (2012).  Seeing like a feminist. New Delhi: Published by Zubaan in
collaboration with Penguin Books. (Introduction)
3. Hossain, Rokeya S. (1905). Sultana’s Dream, The Indian Ladies Magazine.
A version of it can be found at:
https://digital.library.upenn.edu/women/sultana/dream/dream.html

Watch:
1. Afrah Shafiq’s visual project https://www.entersultanasreality.com/
2. “The World Before Her” directed by Nisha Pahuja
Optional Readings/ Films:

1. Lorber, Judith (1994), ‘Night to his Day: The Social Construction of Gender’, Yale
University Press [ excerpts from Chapter 1]
2. Califia, Patrick. 2006. ‘Manliness’ in The Transgender Studies Reader,edited by Stryker,
Susan and Stephen Whittle, 434-438. London and New York: Routledge. URL:
https://forlackofsomegoodwriting.files.wordpress.com/2013/12/susan-stryker-and-stephen-
whittle-eds-the-transgender-studies-reader.pdf . [to be read in class]
3. Kandiyoti, D. (1988). Bargaining With Patriarchy. Gender & Society, 2(3), 274–290.
4. Pascoe, C. J. (2012). Dude, you’re a fag: masculinity and sexuality in high school.
Berkeley, CA: University of California Press. [Preface and Chapter 1]
4. Ann Oakley: Sex, Gender and Society, Chapter 1: The Biology of Sex, from towards a
New Society, Gower/Maurice Temple Smith publication.
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5. Connell, R. W. (2005). ‘Change among the Gatekeepers: Men, Masculinities, and Gender
Equality in the Global Arena’. Signs, Vol. 30, No. 3 (Spring 2005), pp. 1801-1825, The
University of Chicago Press. URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1086/427525?seq=1 . –
6. Kane, E. W. (2012). Gender Trap: Parents and the Pitfalls of Raising Boys and Girls.
New York University Press. [Introduction]
7. ‘Father, Son and Holy War’ (Documentary Introducing Gender, Nation and national
Masculinity) by Anand patwardhan
8. ‘Dupatta Tales’ and ‘Moustache Unlimited’
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=THXm7CPAVlg] (Short films about the politics of
Embodiment, Clothing, Honour and Masculinity)

WEEK 3
Module 2 Introducing Intersectionality (One Week)

Key Concepts/ Questions:

Does Gender work in isolation? Conceptual and methodological understanding of the

term Intersectionality. Are all our lives intersectional? Intersections of race, gender,
religion, ability/disability, caste, class, sexuality, religion.

From Intersectionality of identities to Intersectionality of struggles. How does

intersectionality enhance our understandings of gender? Does law fail to visualize
complex personhoods?
Essential Readings:
1. The Combahee River Collective Statement
https://americanstudies.yale.edu/sites/default/files/files/Keyword%20Coalition_Readings.pdf
2. Yuval-Davis, Nira. (2006). ‘Intersectionality and Feminist Politics’. European Journal of
Women’s Studies, SAGE publications (US and UK), 13(3), pp. 193-209.
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00571274/document
3. Addlakha, R (2007), “ How Young People with Disabilities Conceptualize The Body, Sex
and Marriage in Urban India: Four Case Studies” in Sexuality and Disability, Volume 25,
Issue 3, pp 111–123
Watch:

1. Crenshaw, Kimberle Williams. (2016). TED Talks: The Urgency of Intersectionality,

Videotext, 19 mins.
https://www.ted.com/talks/kimberle_crenshaw_the_urgency_of_intersectionality?language=en

Optional Readings:
1. Black Lives Matter https://blacklivesmatter.com/

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2. Caldwell, P (1991). A Hair Piece: Perspectives on the Intersections of Race and Gender,
Duke Law Journal, Vol.40, No. 2.
3. Notes Towards Politics of Location by Adrienne Rich https://genius.com/Adrienne-rich-
notes-toward-a-politics-of-location-annotated
4. Banerjee, S., & Ghosh, N. (2018). Introduction. Debating Intersectionalities: Challenges
for a Methodological Framework. South Asia Multidisciplinary Academic Journal, (19).
5. Crenshaw, K. (1991). Mapping the Margins: Intersectionality, Identity Politics, and
Violence against Women of Color. Stanford Law Review, 43(6), 1241.
6. Menon, N. (2015). Is Feminism about ‘Women’? A Critical View on Intersectionality
from India. Economic and Political Weekly, 1(17), 37-44.
WEEK 4 & 5
Module 3 Cast(e)ing Gender (Two Weeks)

Key Concepts/Questions:
Understanding Gender through Caste. Endogamy and production of gender and caste.
Can the two be separated? The question of Dalit women and Smash Brahminical
Patriarchy. Violence, atrocities, honour: Do Dalit lives matter? Do Dalit women talk
differently?
Essential Readings:
1. Ambedkar, B. R. (1916, May 9). Castes in India; Their Mechanisms, Genesis and
Development. Lecture presented at An Anthropology Seminar taught by Dr. A. A.
Goldenweizer in Columbia University.
http://www.columbia.edu/itc/mealac/pritchett/00ambedkar/txt_ambedkar_castes.html
2. T Sowjanya. ‘Who is a Woman and who is Dalit’, Broadsheet on Contemporary Politics.
Vol. 3, No. 1. http://www.anveshi.org.in/broadsheet-on-contemporary-
politics/archives/broadsheet-on-contemporary-politics-vol-3-no-1/who-is-a-woman-and-who-is-
a-dalit/
3. Rao, A. (2009). The Sexual Politics of Caste: Violence and the Ritual-Archaic. In The
Caste Question: Dalits and the Politics of Modern India (pp. 217-240). University of
California Press.
4. Pawar, Urmila and Meenakshi Moon. 2016. We Also Made History: Women in the
Ambedkarite Movement. Zubaan Books. (Introduction)
Watch:

1. News Click interview with Uma Chakravarty on Caste, Class and Gender Oppression
in India
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9WlZat1IYDQ
2. ‘India’s Daughter’ Documentary by Leslee Udwin (BBC)

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3. ‘India Untouched’ Documentary by Stalin K. (2007) https://www.youtube.com/watch?

v=PZb4lGYkjrg

Optional Readings:
1. Rege, Sharmila. (1998). ‘Dalit Women Talk Differently-A Critique of Difference and
Towards a Dalit Feminist Standpoint Position.’ Economic and Political Weekly, Vol.
33, Issue No. 44
2. Guru, G. (1995). ‘Dalit Women Talk Differently’ Economic and Political Weekly,
Vol. 30, No. 41/42, pp. 2548-2550
3. Baudh, Sumit. (2007). ‘Invisibility of ‘Other’ Dalits and Silence in Law, Project
Muse, Volume 40, Number 1, p.222-243.
4. Uma Chakravarti (2003). Gendering Caste: Through a Feminist Lens, Stree.
[Introduction and Chapter 3]
5. Dhiren Borisa on Dalit queerness http://https//www.youtube.com/watch?
v=Z2bJUpFLYrw

Possible Invited Lecture: Sanghapali Aruna Lohitakshi / Kiruba Munusamy

WEEK 6 & 7
Module 4 Gender, Sexuality and Desire (Two Weeks)

Key Concepts/ Questions:

Emergence of homosexual as a sexual identity; Of closets and coming-out; Politics of
intimacy and the problematic of public and private; The questions, of caste, class, gender,
ability and religion in Queer practices. Who is desirable and who is not?
Essential Readings:

1. Rubin, Gayle. “Thinking Sex: Notes for a Radical Theory of the Politics of Sexuality.”
Pleasure and Danger: Exploring Female Sexuality. Ed. Carole S. Vance. London:
Pandora. 1992. 267-293.
2. Menon, Nivedita (2005). ‘How Natural is Normal’, in Arvind Narain & Gautam Bhan
(eds) Because I have a Voice, New Delhi: Yoda Press.
3. Jyoti, Dhrubo (2018), ‘A Letter to My Lover(s)’ in Eleven Ways to Love, Penguin
Random House India, pp 3-30 [to be read in class]
4. Katyal, A. (2016), The Doubleness of Sexuality: Idioms of Same-Sex Desire in Modern
India. New Text: New Delhi. (Introduction and Chapter 1)
Watch:

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1. Pinku from Movie Mast Kalandar (1991) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?

v=cpzY9av68m0
2. The Welcome: Celina Jaitley (UNHR) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lihVCIFamb0
3. Dalit Queer statement at Pride http://https//bumpahead.net/dalit-queer-pride-at-delhi-
queer-pride-2015-9658aaf11749#.u1v3ur51k

Optional Readings/Films:
1. Borisa, Dhiren (2020), ‘City and Sexuality: An Auto-ethnographic Storytelling of
Geographies of Caste, Class and Queerness in Delhi’, Geography and You, 20 (4-5): 82-
87
2. Gopinath, G. (2005), Impossible Desires: Queer Diasporas and South Asian Public
Cultures, Durham, NC: Duke University Press.
3. Gupta, A. (2005), ‘Englishpur ki Kothi: Class Dynamics in the Queer Movement in
India’, in Narain, A and Bhan, G. (eds), Because I Have a Voice: Queer Politics in India,
New Delhi, Yoda Press, pp. 123-142.
4. khanna, a. (2013), ‘Three Hundred and Seventy Seven Ways of Being–Sexualness of the
Citizen in India’, Journal of Historical Sociology, 26(1), 120-142.
5. Mokkil, Navneetha (2019), ‘Unruly Figures: Queerness, Sex work and the Politics of
Sexuality in Kerala’, Seattle: University of Washington Press –With the Movie Fire
6. Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity and Expression, and Sex Characteristics at the
Universal Periodic Review (2016), ARC International, the International Bar Association,
ILGA https://ilga.org/downloads/SOGIESC_at_UPR_report.pdf
7. Dave, Naisargi N. (2012) ‘Queer Activism in India: A Story in the Anthropology of
Ethics’, Duke University Press.
8. Rich, A. (1980). Compulsory Heterosexuality and Lesbian Existence. Signs: Journal of
Women in Culture and Society, 5(4), 631–660.
9. ‘Ye Freedom Life’ Documentary by Priya Sen (2019)

Possible Speaker: Akhil Katyal / akshay Khanna

WEEK 8 & 9
Module 5 Gendered Others (Two Weeks)

Key Concepts/ Questions:

What does it mean to call certain bodies as ‘Other’ or ‘Third’? ; What are the ways in
which Trans* persons inform and question our understandings of Gender?; NRC and
Transgender protection of rights act: What happens when Transpersons*interact with the
nation State?; How is ‘T’ different from ‘LGB’?

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Essential Readings:

1. Stryker, S. (2007). Transgender Feminism: Queering the Women Question. Third Wave
Feminism, 59–70.
2. Dutta, A., and R. Roy (2014), ‘Decolonizing Transgender in India: Some Reflections.’
TSQ: Transgender Studies Quarterly, 1 (3): 320–337.
3. Dutta, A. (2014). Contradictory Tendencies: The Supreme Court’s NALSA Judgment on
Transgender Recognition and Rights. Journal of Indian Law and Society, 5(Monsoon),
225-236.
4. Sahai, Vikramaditya (2020) The Sexual is Political: Consent and the Transgender Persons
(Protection of Rights) Act, 2019, Blog entry, CLPR (https://clpr.org.in/blog/the-sexual-is-
political-consent-and-the-transgender-persons-protection-of-rights-act-2019/?
fbclid=IwAR2rumWaJ-iMJulaN604-jESEbRlTH62y-FWUqJ3CugrCtdsyzbVhLPKMpc)
5. N. (2019, October 6). Dalitality: We, the twice-untouchables. The Indian Express.
Retrieved July 4, 2020, from https://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/dalitalty-
untouchables-dalits-rights-lgbt-transgender-6055510/ (to be read in class)

Watch:

1. ‘Boxed’ Documentary by Sumit and Sameeksha (2019)

Optional Readings:
1. NALSA vs Union of India 15th April, 2014 https://indiankanoon.org/doc/193543132/
2. THE TRANSGENDER PERSONS (PROTECTION OF RIGHTS) BILL, 2019
http://prsindia.org/sites/default/files/bill_files/The%20Transgender%20Persons
%20(Protection%20of%20Rights)%20Bill,%202019%20Bill%20Text.pdf
3. Jyoti, Dhrubo, Transgender People hope for SC Intervention, Hindustan Times 5th
September, 2019. https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/trans-people-hope-for-sc-
intervention/story-1xrIHX6pbo5TIG0C4ZmQQP.html [to be read in class]
4. Currah, Paisley (2006) ‘Gender Pluralisms under the Transgender Umbrella’, in
Transgender Rights, (ed) Paisley Currah, Richard M. Juang and Shannon Price Minter,
University of Minnesota Press, pp 3-31.
5. Reddy, G(2005) ‘Cartographies of Sex and Gender’, in With Respect to Sex- Negotiating
Hijra Identity in India, University of Chicago Press, 2005, pp 44-77
6. [Review] Okay, Nandini Krishnan, I read your book ‘Invisible Men’, and here’s why it’s
offensive. https://www.thenewsminute.com/article/okay-nandini-krishnai-read-your-book-
invisible-men-and-here-s-why-it-s-offensive-94778
6. Revathi, A and V. Geetha (2010) ‘The Truth About Me: A Hijra Life Story’, Penguin
Books
7. Dozier, R. (2005). Beards, Breasts, and Bodies. Gender & Society, 19(3), 297–316.

WEEK 10 & 11

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Module 6 Violence and Pleasure (Two Weeks)

Key concepts/Questions:

(Violence – 1 week) the relationship between gender and violence; how violence is used
to maintain gender hierarchy; is sexual violence the most heinous form of gender-based
violence? Is consent the most effective standard to distinguish rape from sex? What is
sexual harassment at the workplace; quid pro quo and hostile work environment; gender
in the academia; power imbalance in institutional settings; implications of the #MeToo
movement, specifically in an Indian context.

(Pleasure – 1 week): Key Concepts: Is sex only about violence, or is it also about
pleasure? Are sex work and pornography forms of gender-based violence, or can these
help to reimagine sexual agency? Can the politics of pleasure subvert patriarchy?

Essential Readings:

1. Janet Halley, "The Move to Affirmative Consent," Signs: Journal of Women in Culture
and Society 42, no. 1 (Autumn 2016): 257-279.
2. Pratiksha Baxi, Rape Cultures in India, Kafila, December 23, 2012. Available
at:https://kafila.online/2012/12/23/rape-cultures-in-india-pratiksha-baxi/
3. Ratna Kapur, “Sexcapades and the Law”, Seminar 505 (September 2001),
https://www.india-seminar.com/2001/505/505%20ratna%20kapur.htm
4. Nivedita Menon, From Feminazi to Savarna Rape Apologist in 24 Hours:
https://kafila.online/2017/10/28/from-feminazi-to-savarna-rape-apologist-in-24-hours/
5. Constance Penley, A Feminist Teaching Pronography? That’s Like Scopes Teaching
Evoluton!, in The Feminist Porn Book: The Politics of Producing Pleasure
6. Brenda Cossman and Shannon Bell, “Introduction”, in Bad Attitude/s on Trial:
Pornography, Feminism, and the Butler Decision (1997) [extracts to be read in class]

Watch:

1. Tales of the Night Fairies (Dir. Shohini Ghosh, 2003):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ystke5m8now&t=7s

Optional Readings/Films:

1. Laura Kipnis, “Sexual Paranoia Strikes Academia”, The Chronicle Review, The
Chronicle of Higher Education, 2015.
2. Jo Doezema, “Forced to Choose: Beyond the Voluntary v. Forced Prostitution
Dichotomy”, in Global Sex Workers (1998)
3. Zoe Greenberg, “What Happens to #MeToo When a Feminist Is the Accused?”. The New
York Times, 13 August 2018, available at:

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https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/13/nyregion/sexual-harassment-nyu-female-
professor.html
4. Excerpts on Sexual Harassment from UGC’s Saksham Committee Report. 2013. pp. 9-
20, 33-46, 59-65, 67-79, 107, 219-221 and HANDBOOK on Sexual Harassment of
Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013, Ministry of
Women and Child Development, pp. 7 – 17)
5. The Hunting Ground. 2015. Dir. Dick Kirby
6. We are Foot Soldiers (Dir. Debolina Dutta and Oishik Sircar, 2011, 26 mins.):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bfm06qBo4c4
7. My Tango with Porn (Dir. Siobhan Devine, 2003)

WEEK 12
Module 7 Labour, Mobility and the Public/ Private divide (One Week)

Key Concepts/Questions:

Who does what work and where; domesticity and the public/ private question; whose labour
counts as work – productive and reproductive; sexual division of labour; labouring bodies
and social meanings they produce – of caste, class, shame, stigma, disgust, terror, worship
(domestic labour, sanitation work, sex work, devdasis etc.)

Essential Readings:

1. Maria Mies, 'Dynamics of Sexual Division of Labour and Capital Accumulation. Women
Lace Workers of Narsapur, EPW, Annual Number, March 1981, pp 487-500 (1981).
2. Sonal Sharma, ‘Of Rasoi Ka Kaam/ Bathroom Ka Kaam’, Ecomonic and Political
Weekly, Vol. 51 (2016).
3. The Sex Worker’s Manifesto (1997): https://www.nswp.org/sites/nswp.org/files/Sex
%20Workers%20Manifesto%20-%20Meeting%20in%20India.pdf

Watch:

1. Shilpa Phadke, Ted Talk, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nlgGNv5t92A (on Why

Loiter?)

Optional Readings/Films:
1. Rowena, J. (2012, June 17). The 'Dirt' in Dirty Picture: Caste, Gender and Silk Smitha
[Web log post]. Retrieved July 4, 2020, from http://roundtableindia.co.in/index.php?
option=com_content&view=article&id=5283:the-dirt-in-the-dirty-picture-caste-gender-and-silk-
smitha&catid=119:feature&Itemid=132
2. Agnes, F. (295, October). Hypocritical morality: Mumbai's ban on bar dancers. Manushi,
(149). http://www.indiatogether.org/manushi/issue149/bardance.htm

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3. Rubin, Gayle (2011) The Traffic in Women. Notes on the "Political Economy" of Sex‟ in
Deviations. A Gayle Rubin Reader, Duke University Press Durham & London, pp 33-65
4. ‘Mera Apna Shaher’ Documetary by Sameera Jain

WEEK 13 & 14
Module 8 Gender, Religion and Nation (Two Weeks)

Key Concepts/Questions:
How does gender intersect with religion and nation? What is the role that women and
their bodies are expected to play in the making up of Nationhood?
Essential Readings:
1. Abu-Lughod, L. (2013). Do Muslim Women Need Saving? Harvard University Press.
[Introduction]
2. Zakia Pathak and Rajeswari Sunder Rajan, “Shahbano”, Signs, Vol. 14, No. 3 (Spring,
1989), pp. 558-582
3. Gupta, Charu (Nov, 2001), The Icon of Mother in Late Colonial Northern India ‘Bharat
Mata’, ‘Matri Bhasha’ and “Gau Mata’, Economic and Political Weekly, 4291-4299.
4. Ramaswamy, S. (2011). The goddess and the nation mapping Mother India. New Delhi:
Zubaan. [Images of Mother India]
5. Urvashi Butalia, Abducted and Widowed Women: Questions of Sexuality and
Citizenship During Partition, in Embodiment: Essays on Gender and Identity, ed by
Meenakshi Thapan
6. Khol Do: Sadat Hasan Manto (short story)
7. Poems by women poets from religious minorities and Images from Shaheen Bagh Anti
CAA protests:
 Sabika Abbas Naqvi
 Imtiaz Dhakar
 Eunice Desouza
Watch:
7. Ravish Kumar show on Nation and Mother (NDTV) [snippets]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sHCzU42_q0A
8. ‘Final Solution’ Documentary by Rakesh Sharma (2004) – [snippets]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tLQA8zJhogU&t=5547s

Optional Readings/Films:
1. Potia, Ali (2005). ‘Islam and Me’ in Arvind Narain & Gautam Bhan (eds) Because I have
a Voice, New Delhi: Yoda Press.

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2. Najmabadi, A. (1997). The Erotic Vatan [Homeland] as Beloved and Mother: To Love,
To Possess, and To Protect. Comparative Studies in Society and History, 39(3), 442-467.
3. Pinjar: Amrita Pritam ( Also a feature film)
4. Bashir, S. (2014). The half mother: A novel. Gurgaon: Hachette India. [Excerpts]
5. Batool, E., Butt, I., Mushtaq, S., Rashid, M., & Rather, N. (2016). Do you remember
Kunan Poshpora? New Delhi: Zubaan.
6. Bedi, Rajinder Singh. 1956. ‘Lajwanti.’ Short story to be studied along with Kidwai,
Ayesha. 2013. ‘The Abducted Woman in the House’. Summerhill: IIAS Review, Vol.
XIX, No. 2 (Winter)
7. Bhonsle, Anubha (2016), ‘Indian Army, Rape Us’ The Fascinating and Moving Story
behind the unique protest in 2004 by 12 Imas in Imphal, Manipur.
https://www.outlookindia.com/website/story/indian-army-rape-us/296634
8. Between Democracy and Nation: Gender and Militarisation in Kashmir (Excerpts)
9. Ramaswamy, S. (1999). The demoness, the maid, the whore, and the good mother:
Contesting the national language in India. International Journal of the Sociology of
Language, 140(1), 1-28.

WEEK 15
EPILOGUE:
An interactive discussion complicating the understanding of Gender and sexuality across
the various dimensions studied so far through a panel of intersectional feminist activist
scholars to demystify additive subtractive notions of intersectionality.
Tentative speakers: Grace Banu, Shivangi Agarwal, Rafiul Alom Rahman, Dhrubo Jyoti
(TO BE EXPANDED).

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1.

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