MA in Gender, Culture and Development Studies
 

Eligibility

  • Graduate degree

  • The intake capacity being limited, candidates will be selected through an Admission Test (Written and Interview) conducted by the KSP Women’s Studies Centre.

Course Description

This Degree Course (64 credits) is spread over four semesters in two years including four papers of 100 marks each (4 credits) in each semester. For each paper, there will be internal evaluation for 50 marks and the external evaluation for 50 marks. Special workshops, films and visits will be organized as part of the course. Each student is required to complete supervised dissertation (with viva voce) as part of this course. In each semester, students can opt for 4 credits outside the Department.

  • Total marks for evaluation are 1600.

Objectives of the New Masters in Gender, Culture and Development Studies

This Degree Course is launched with the following aims:
It seeks to provide the participants the knowledge, skills and information in the field of gender, culture and development so as to enable them-

  • to engage in research nationally and internationally in gender studies at the levels of policy and practice,

  • to work as gender experts in the fields of media- print and electronic- and that of information and communication technology,

  • to work in the development sector in various capacities, and

  • to pursue career in the area of Corporate Social Responsibility.

This Course intends to engage participants in the following:

  • Mapping and analyzing perspectives, issues and debates in the field of development from gender perspectives,

  • Examining through a gender lens, the inter-linkages between cultural practices, social processes and development approaches,

  • Understanding feminisms in global and local contexts and mapping feminist interventions in knowledge,

  • Doing a dissertation and presenting and defending its major arguments.
     

Bridging Gaps: Assignments and Workshops for Skill Building

The courses will be supported by workshops and bridge modules to help students in

  • Concretizing and locating a theoretical perspective in material conditions, Analyzing contemporary issues/legal cases using feminist perspectives, Tracing many paths to feminism, Mapping feminist scholarship emerging from women’s movement, academy and NGOs

  • Reading and analyzing statistical reports, Summarizing reports, policy recommendations, Preparing resource list, Writing press notes, Newspaper features, blogs etc.

  • Analysing structures, strategies and semiotic codes in film/ television serial/ any cultural practice, Collating and collecting visual, oral, literary documents, Audio- visual presentation of cultural practices

  • using primary sources - archives, literary texts, oral narratives, Revisiting secondary sources to rewrite feminist history, Mapping feminist tour of sites in villages, cities and towns

  • Critical review of the research reports of NGOs, research institutes and fact finding reports of the movement, Rereading texts: Making critical notes (drawing information from the available research), Documenting development alternatives, Documenting inequalities through quantitative methods and local surveys

  • Understanding processes and procedures of campaign building, Preparing small handbills, speeches, posters, skits, role-plays to democratize knowledge of law to diverse groups
     

Courses
SEMESTER I

Core Courses
WS 1: Feminisms: Global and Local (Semester I)
WS 2: Development: Gender Perspectives (Semester I)

Optional Courses
WS 3: Gendering Social History
WS 4: Legal Terrains: Gender Concerns
WS 5: Course (Thematic)

SEMESTER II

Core Courses
WS 6: Feminist Thought and Feminist Theory (Semester II)
WS 7: Gender, Culture and Development: Theoretical Perspectives (Semester II)

Optional Courses
WS 8: Culture: Gender Perspectives (Semester II)
WS 9: Gender and Dalit Studies (Semester II)
WS 10: Course (Thematic) Semester II)

SEMESTER III

Core Courses
WS 11: Theory of Gender in India (Semester III)
WS 12: Feminist Research Methodology (Semester III)

Optional Courses
WS 13: Gender, Nation and Community (Semester III)
WS 14: Gender and Sexualities: Perspectives and Issues (Semester III)
WS 15: Caste and Gender: History and Memory (Semester III)
WS 16: Course (Thematic) (Semester III)

SEMESTER IV

Core Courses
WS 17: Globalization: Gender Concerns (Semester IV)
WS 18: Dissertation (Semester IV)

Optional Courses
WS 19: South Asia: An Introduction through Gender Perspectives (Semester IV)
WS 20: Gender and Cultural Studies in India (Semester IV)
WS 21: Gender, Production and Reproduction in South Asia (Semester IV)
WS 22: Course (Thematic) (Semester IV)



Semester I

WS 1: Feminisms: Global and Local
Objectives:
This course will
a. Seek to internationalize the understanding of Feminism
b. Guide students to understanding the linkages between global distribution of power and ‘difference’ in feminisms

Module I
Global distribution of power, European modernity and feminist thought in the late nineteenth century. An Introduction to Vintage Feminisms in Europe and USA, Latin America, West Asia, South Asia, Africa and Far East

Module II
Beyond Feminist Classics in Europe and USA: Reading ‘Difference’

Module III
The Colonial Heritage and Feminisms: Africa, the Middle East/West Asia, the Caribbean.

Module IV
Colonial Heritage, Empire and War: Feminisms in South Asia and South East Asia

Module V
Authoritarianism and Feminisms in Latin America, the Dilemmas of Post-Communist States of Central and Eastern Europe


WS 2: Development: Gender Perspectives
Objectives
This course will
a. Introduce students to the concepts and Debates in engendering development studies
b. Build a theoretical and issue based understanding of the different sites of development in India


Module I
Gender Critiques of Development: Historical Journey of the Concept of Development, Feminisms in Development

Module II
Gender, Development and the Indian Nation State: Landmark Policies, Plans, Reports and Commissions

Module III
Household, Production and Reproduction: Formal and Informal Labour, Gender and Livelihood

Module IV
Gender and Citizenship: Law and Politics as Subversive Sites, Health and Education - Issues of Access and Content

Module V
Women Organizing for Social Transformation: Shifts in Forms and Strategies


WS 3: Gendering Social History
Objectives
This course will
a. Introduce students to theoretical debates in feminist social history
b. Equip students with methodological tools to do social history.

Module I
In Search of Our Pasts: Why Social History, Theoretical Debates in Feminist Historiography

Module II
Rewriting Histories: Feminist Interrogation of Periodization of Indian History

Module III
Recasting of Women: Controversies and Debates on Gender in Modern Indian History

Module IV
Routes of Feminist Consciousness: Reading from Women’s Voices and Writings on the Woman Question

Module V
Doing Feminist History: Lineages and Paths Cleared- Reading Key Texts in Social History in India


WS 4: Legal Terrains: Gender Concerns
Objectives
This course will
a. Introduce students to feminist debates on legal terrains
b. Equip students with an understanding of major events and cases in India.

Module I
Introduction to Feminist Theory and Their Perspectives on Law, Turning the Gaze back on Itself: Race and Gender in International Human Rights Law

Module II
Feminist Terrains in Legal Domain: Introduction to Legal Campaigns and Legal Studies in India, Law as a Subversive Site: Feminist Perspectives

Module III
Women and Law in Colonial India: A Feminist Social History (Labour Legislation, Personal Laws), Social Reform, Sexuality and the State

Module IV
Sexual Violence and the Binary Logic of Law (Rape, Sexual Harassment)
Women, Citizenship, Law and the Indian State (Ameena Case)
Outlaw Women (Phoolan Case)

Module V
Enforcing Cultural Codes (Case of ‘Honour Killings’)
Women between Community and the State: Uniform Civil Code Debate


WS 5: Course (Thematic)

Course (Thematic) would focus on themes outlined as priority areas under the Women’s Studies Programme sanctioned by the University Grants Commission and themes of applied knowledge. The theme would be decided by the Departmental Committee in consultation with students and the course would have the following structure:

  • Background, concepts and theoretical perspectives

  • Debates on the theme at the global level: Issues and perspectives

  • Debates at the national and regional levels: Comparisons and reflections

  • Issues in practice

  • Working on the theme through field work, archival work, audio- visual materials
     

Semester II

WS 6: Feminist Thought and Feminist Theory
Objectives
This course will
a. Introduce students to Feminist thought in different locations
b. Equip students with an understanding of feminist social and political theory

Module I
Sex and Gender: Different Locations and Feminists Debates

Module II
Rights, Violence and Sexuality and Difference: Feminists Debates in Liberalism and Radical and Dominance Approaches, Post-structuralism

Module III
Why Class Matters: Feminist Debates in Marxist and Materialist Feminisms

Module IV
Why Race Matters: Feminist Debates on race, class and nation

Module V
Feminist Postcolonial Theory: Gendering Colonialism and Redefining Third world


WS 7: Gender, Culture and Development: Theoretical Perspectives
Objectives
This course will
a. Introduce students to the theoretical approaches to gender, culture and development.
b. Equip students to understand different approaches and alternatives through case analysis.

Module I
Trends in Development Theory and the Cultural Turn: Conceptual and Practical Foundations of the Role of Culture in Development

Module II
Alternative Development, Post-Development and Supply Side Approaches: Critique of Development from Southern Feminist Perspectives

Module III
Women, Development and Feminist Development Theory: Critical Analysis of ‘Gender Myths’ and ‘Feminist Fables’ in Development

Module IV
Feminist Post-Development Approaches and their Critiques: Review of Shiva, Datar, Dietrich, Agarwal and Nanda

Module V
The Science and Body Question in Development: Sexuality, Reproduction and Interrogating the ‘Female Body’


WS 8: Culture: Gender Perspectives
Objectives
This course will
a. Introduce students to theoretical interrogations of the concept of culture
b. Equip students methodologically to analyse different cultural practices

Module I
Gender and Culture: Basic Concepts, Approaches to the Study of Culture and its Feminist Renderings

Module II
Studying Cultural Practices: A Gender, Caste and Class Perspective: Indian Television, Cinema, and Print media

Module III
Studying Cultural Practices: A Gender, Caste and Class Perspective: Women Writing in India and Oral Traditions

Module IV
Myths/Mythology, Religious Practices: Gender Concerns

Module V
Reading Contemporary Cases/ issues: Untangling the Interrelationship between Gender, Caste, Class, Community and Cultural Practices


WS 9: Gender and Dalit Studies
Objectives
This course will
a. Introduce students to the ‘new’ field of dalit studies and its significance for doing gender studies.
b. Equip students to understand debates on caste and gender through materials from the dalit public sphere.

Module I
Emergence of Dalit Studies and Relationship to Gender Studies in India

Module II
Nation, Caste and Gender: Reviewing Classics on Woman’s Question and Caste Question in Colonial India

Module III
Caste, Class and Community (Debates on Violence of Brahmanical Patriarchy, Caste and Marxism, Caste and Hindutva, Conversion, Caste and Woman’s Question)

Module IV
Gender, Caste and the Public Sphere: Reading Dalit Literatures, Researching Jalsas, Gayan Parties, Testimonios, Pamphlets, Manifestos, Blogs, Performance Cultures.

Module V
Caste, Gender and Democracy in India
Questions of Citizenship, Political Representation, Internationalization of the Caste Question, Reservation Debate


WS 10: Course (Thematic)

Course (Thematic) would focus on themes outlined as priority areas under the Women’s Studies Programme sanctioned by the University Grants Commission and themes of applied knowledge. The theme would be decided by the Departmental Committee in consultation with students and the course would have the following structure:

  • Background, concepts and theoretical perspectives

  • Debates on the theme at the global level: Issues and perspectives

  • Debates at the national and regional levels: Comparisons and reflections

  • Issues in practice

  • Working on the theme through field work, archival work, audio- visual materials


Semester III

WS 11: Theory of Gender in India
Objectives
This course will
a. Introduce students to the different trends in feminist theorization in India
b. Map debates on different themes and sites

Module I
Engendering Disciplines and Theorizing Gender in India

Module II
Family, Kinship and Household
Debates on Sexuality

Module III
Nation and Community
Constitution and Law as Subversive Sites

Module IV
Voices, Memory and Writings
Myths, Media and Markets

Module V
Caste, Class and Community


WS 12: Feminist Research Methodology
Objectives
This Course will
a. Introduce students to debates in feminist epistemology
b. Equip students with feminist methods and techniques of research


Module I
Science, Nature and Gender
Feminism and Paradigm Shift

Module II
Quantitative and Qualitative Research: An Introduction
Feminist Epistemology, Methodology and Method
What is Distinctive about Feminist Method?

Module III
Feminist Reworking of Case Study, Participatory and Action Research, Interview and Focus Group Discussion

Module IV
Feminist Reworking of Oral History, Discourse Analysis
Debates in Feminist Ethnography

Module V
Reflexive Research: Feminist Contributions, Dilemmas and Ethics


WS 13: Gender, Nation and Community
Objectives
This course will
a. Introduce students to debates on engendering the nation and community
b. Equip students to analyse the critical events like riots, and tensions between political and cultural rights

Module I
Colonialism, Nationalism, and the Woman Question- The debates around anti-colonial and nationalist movements, ideas, and theories
How ideas about the masculinity and femininity are constantly reworked in the project

Module II
Gender, Nation and State - The influence of state and religious communities on the construction of gendered identities
Gender: a lens to interpret the actions of the state
Sexual and gendered imageries in religious and ethnic communities

Module III
The Everyday and the Local
Religion as a lived experience
The relationship between religious and political life
The extent of influence of the state on women’s daily lives at the local level

Module IV
Agency and Activism
Women’s agency in everyday life and women’s activism in political movement
Mapping different forms of women’s activism
Religious and ethnic differences among women

Module V
Globalization, Development, Citizenship
Investigating new alliances, complexities and formations of power
Women’s agency enabled and disabled by them


WS 14: Gender and Sexualities: Perspectives and Issues
Objectives
This course will
a. Introduce students to different theoretical perspectives in Sexuality studies.
b. Equip students to analyse the centrality of sexualities in cultural, social and political institutions and practices.

Module I
Theoretical Perspectives: Liberationist, Identity Politics, Difference, Social Constructionism, Queer Theory - Focus on Post-1970s Developments

Module II
Sexualities, Modernity and History: Colonial and Post-Colonial Debates, Normative and Counter-Hegemonic Sexualities, Recasting of Family, Caste, Community and Nation

Module III
Sexualities and Cultural Practices: Reading Literature, Oral Traditions, Performance, Print Media, Films

Module IV
State, Market and Sexualities: Engaging with Issues of Violence and Desire, Debating Sexual Citizenship, Sexualization of Work

Module IV
Sexualities, Movements and Rights: Debating Sex –Work, Same Sex Love and Friendships, AIDS Discrimination, Reproductive Health and Technology- Reading Campaign Documents


WS 15: Caste and Gender: History and Memory
Objectives
This course will
a. Introduce students to debates on the relations between history and memory
b. Equip students to understand caste and gender through dalit testimonios

Module I
Inscribing Gender and Caste in the Public Sphere:
Reading the Classics - Jotiba Phule, Dr. B. R. Ambedkar, Periyar, Tarabai Shinde
testimonies, reports and resolutions, writings from Self Respect and Ambedkar movement

Module II
Caste and Dalit Life Worlds: Memory and History
Debates on History and memory, Reading Growing Up Untouchable in India (Vasant Moon), The Prisons we Broke (Baby Kamble), Selections from For us this Day and Night (Shantabai Dani), The Outcaste (Sharan Kumar Limbale), Joothan (Om Prakash Valmiki), Selections from Closed doors (Mukta Sarvagod) and Karakku (Bama).
Caste, Kinship and Patriarchy

Module III
Women and Caste, Caste and matriliny in Kerala, Caste and Kinship in Harayana Theorizing Brahmanical Patriarchy (Reading Urmila Pawar - The Weave of My Life, Shantabai Kamble - Our Lives Selections and Joseph Macwan - The stepchild).

Module IV
Gender, Sexuality and Violence: From Chunduru to Khairlanji, Dalit women Speak out, Caste and the gendered body, love, caste and Violence, (Reading Aravind Mallagati - Government Brahmana)

Module V
Reconstructions: History and Politics, Reconstructing the archive -Reading Fragments of Life, Outcaste – Narendra Jadhav, Rewriting History of Caste Culture and Hegemony in Bengal, Discovering Dalit Women Heroes in U.P, Reconstructing subjectivity and Politics


WS 16: Course (Thematic)

Course (Thematic) would focus on themes outlined as priority areas under the Women’s Studies Programme sanctioned by the University Grants Commission and themes of applied knowledge. The theme would be decided by the Departmental Committee in consultation with students and the course would have the following structure:

  • Background, concepts and theoretical perspectives

  • Debates on the theme at the global level: Issues and perspectives

  • Debates at the national and regional levels: Comparisons and reflections

  • Issues in practice

  • Working on the theme through field work, archival work, audio- visual materials
     

Semester IV

WS 17: Globalization: Gender Concerns
Objectives
This course will
    a. Introduce Students to feminist theorization of global restructuring capital
    b. Map the different sites , sightings and resistance of gender and globalization

Module I
Global Restructuring of Capital: Feminist Perspective

Module II
Globalisation and Changing Patterns of Employment in the Third World
Gender, Work and Migration in the Context of Globalization
Globalisation of Poverty – Feminisation of Poverty

Module III
Globalization and State: Weakening Welfare

Module IV
Issues in Globalisation and Culture – Industry
Cultural Nationalisms, Religious Fundamentalisms and Globalisation

Module V
Another World Is Possible: Different Struggles
Emergence of Transnational Feminist Movements


WS 18: Dissertation


WS 19: South Asia: An Introduction through Gender Perspectives
Objectives
This course will
a. Introduce students to feminist perspectives on South Asia
b. Build a comparative understanding of Issues and Perspectives

Module I
Introduction to South Asia: Polity, Economy and Society
Human Development and Gender Indices

Module II
Family, Marriage and Kinship
Economy and Labour

Module III
Ethnicity, Identity and the State
Militarism, Violence and Peace

Module IV
Social Movements, Feminist Movements and the State

Module V
Reading Culture: Literatures, Cinemas and Popular Traditions


WS 20: Gender and Cultural Studies in India
Objectives
This course will
a. Introduce the students to the field of Cultural Studies and its significance for doing gender
b. Equip the students with methodologies of analyzing popular cultural practices

Module I
Cultural Studies in India - Culture Studies as a Field and Contributions of Feminist Cultural Theory, Critical Internationalization, Inter-Asia Cultural Studies and (Mapping the Field and Intersections with Feminist Perspectives on Materializing Culture)

Module II
Gender, ‘Popular Culture’ and Colonial Modernity in India: The Nautanki Theatre of North India, the ‘Other’ Women as Heroines of Early Hindi Cinema, Politics of Voice and Emergence of Classical

Module III
Reading Popular Films, Documentaries and Transnational Television, Fashion as Social History of Gender, Community and the Nation

Module IV
Reading Print Cultures - Maps, Magazines, Footpath Pornography, Posters Photographs, Calendar Art and Newspapers – As Social History of Gendered Class, Sexuality and the Family

Module V
Reading Studies of Dalit-Bahujan Cultures – Social History of Relational Identities and Modernity in India

WS 21: Gender, Production and Reproduction in South Asia
Objectives
This course will
a. Introduce students to comparative perspectives on South Asia
b. Focus on issues and campaigns on poverty, reproduction and collective action.

Module I
Rethinking South Asia: Analyzing Contemporary Issues from Gender Perspective
Sex Ratio, Health and Nutrition, Girl Child and Education

Module II
Production, Reproduction and Kinship: Continuities and Differences

Module III
Women and Work: Regional Patterns and Perspectives on Informalization of Labour

Module IV
Feminization of Poverty: Issues and Strategies

Module V
Voices, Strategies and Collective Actions across the Region

WS 22: Course (Thematic)

Course (Thematic) would focus on themes outlined as priority areas under the Women’s Studies Programme sanctioned by the University Grants Commission and themes of applied knowledge. The theme would be decided by the Departmental Committee in consultation with students and the course would have the following structure:

  • Background, concepts and theoretical perspectives

  • Debates on the theme at the global level: Issues and perspectives

  • Debates at the national and regional levels: Comparisons and reflections

  • Issues in practice

  • Working on the theme through field work, archival work, audio- visual materials