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Postcolonial Perspectives: Women and the State in India Prof. Vrinda Narain WMST 401 / POLI 422 Fall 2014 Faculty of Arts, Mcgill University

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Postcolonial Perspectives: Women and the State in India Prof. Vrinda Narain WMST 401 / POLI 422 Fall 2014 Faculty of Arts, Mcgill University Postcolonial Perspectives: Women and the State in India Prof. Vrinda Narain WMST 401 / POLI 422 Fall 2014 Faculty of Arts, McGill University Course objectives: This course will explore the relationship between gender and nation in India, drawing upon insights from feminist legal theory, postcolonial feminist theory and critical race theory. Interrogating dichotomous categories of modernity/tradition, Western/non-Western, public/private, feminist/true Indian woman, topics will include an examination of the connections between feminism, nationalism and colonialism; the idea of citizenship and the construction of women in the discourse of post-colonial nationhood; women, religion and identity; and the legal regulation of women. Exploring the relationship between women and the state, we will study the many ways in which women adopt strategies to renegotiate their status. The aim of the course is to highlight the complexity of the relationship between women and the state, examining how the status of women in India is both implicated in and impacted by the state discourse of modernity and nationhood. The course will be conducted through a combination of discussions led by the instructor, student discussion/presentations, and small group discussions. Attendance is mandatory. Students are expected to complete the required readings for each class so that they can participate in discussions. Students will sign up to present the assigned readings and to be the discussion leaders for each class. No assignment or term paper will be accepted if the student has not attended the classes. 8 September 2013: INTRODUCTION to the course and to each other. Overview and outline of course structure. Course materials: Obligatory text: Instructor’s coursepack which is available for purchase from the University Bookstore. It includes the following articles: History and Theory 1. Edward Said, “Introduction”, in Orientalism (New York: Vintage, 1979) 1. 2. Leela Gandhi, “Postcolonialism and Feminism”, in Postcolonial Theory: A Critical Introduction (New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 1998) 81 3. Katharine T. Bartlett, “Feminist Legal Methods”, in Katharine T. Bartlett and Rosanne Kennedy eds., Feminist Legal Theory: Readings In Law And Gender (Boulder, Co.: Westview Press, 1991) 318. 4. Chandra T. Mohanty, “Cartographies of Struggle: Third World Women and the Politics of Feminism” in Feminism Without Borders: Decolonizing Theory, Practicing Solidarity (Durham: Duke University Press, 2003) 43 5. Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak, “Can the Subaltern Speak?”, in C. Nelson and L. Grossberg, eds., Marxism and the Interpretation of Culture (Basingstoke: MacMillan Education, 1988) p. 271 6. Kumari Jayawardena, Feminism and Nationalism in the Third World (London: Zed Books Ltd., 1986), Chapter 6, "Women, Social Reform and Nationalism in India", 73. Feminism, Nationalism and Colonialism 7. Katherine Mayo, “Spades are Spades” in Mother India (New York: Blue Ribbon Books, 1927) 51. 8. Mrinalini Sinha, Refashioning Mother India: Feminism and Nationalism in Late Colonial India Feminist Studies Vol. 26. No. 3, 623. 9. P. Chatterjee, "The Nationalist Resolution of the Women's Question" in K Sangari and S Vaid, Recasting Women: Essays in Indian Colonial History (New Delhi: Kali for Women, 1990) 233. 10. H. Bannerji, “Pygmalion Nation: Towards a Critique of Subaltern Studies and the 'Resolution of the Women's Question’” in Himani Bannerji, Shahrzad Mojab, Judith Whitehead, Of Property and Propriety: The Role of Gender and Class in Imperialism and Nationalism (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2001) 34. 11. Vrinda Narain, Reclaiming the Nation: Muslim Women and the Law in India (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2008), Chapter 2, "Feminism, Nationalism, and Colonialism", 34. 12. Geraldine Forbes, Women in Modern India: The New Cambridge History of India. Volume IV.2 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1996), Chapter 8, "Women in Independent India", 223. 13. Maitrayee Chaudhuri, “Feminism in India: The Tale and its Telling”, Revue Tiers Monde, 2012/1 n. 209, 19-36 Contemporary Issues Women and Development in India 14. Bipasha Baruah, “Gendered Realities: Property Ownership and Tenancy Relationships” in Women and Property in Urban India (Vancouver: UBC Press, 2010) 104. (chapter 2 and 8) 15. Aditi Kapoor, “The SEWA Way; Shaping another future for informal labour”. Futures. 39. no. 5 (2007): 554-568. 16. Kalima Rose, “SEWA: Women in Movement”, in Nalini Visvanathan, et al., The Women, Gender and Development Reader (Delhi: Zubaan, 1997) 382. Women and Legal Issues 17. Annie Bunting, “Theorizing Women’s Cultural Diversity in Feminist International Human Right’s Strategies”, 20 Journal of Law and Society 6, 1993 18. Kapur “Revisioning the role of law in women’s humans rights struggles” 19. Rajeswari Sunder Rajan, The Scandal of the State: Women, Law and Citizenship in Postcolonial India (Duke University Press, 2003), Chapter 5, "Women Between Community and State", 147. 20. Zoya Hassan, “Gender, Religion and Democracy in India” Third World Quarterly (2010), 31:6, 939-954 21. C. MacKinnon, “Sex equality under the Constitution of India: Problems, prospects, and "personal laws"”, International Journal of Constitutional Law 2006 4(2):181-202. Multiculturalism and Diaspora Issues 22. Vrinda Narain, “Critical Multiculturalism”, in Feminist Constitutionalism: Global Perspectives (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2012) 377. 23. Himani Bannerji, “Geography Lessons: On Being an Insider/Outsider to the Canadian Nation” in The Dark Side of the Nation: Essays on Multiculturalism, Nationalism and Gender (Toronto: Canadian Scholar’s Press Inc., 2000) 63. 24. Pnina Werbner, “The place which is diaspora: citizenship, religion and gender in the making of chaordic transnationalism” Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies Vol, 28, No. 1: 119-133 January 2002. 25. Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani: Bollywood, the ‘homeland’ nation-state, and the diaspora”, Environment and Planning D: Society and Space 2007, volume 25, 1015. Additional documents: The listed articles highlight the key themes that will form the basis for the lectures and class discussion. We may move more quickly or more slowly through certain material, and we may consider additional readings. Any additional documents will be distributed in class or posted on mycourses. Any additions/revisions to the reading list will be announced in class and posted on the website. Method of Evaluation: There will be two assignments each worth 40% of the final grade. Students are required to write: 1) an Op-Ed on a topic to be decided; and 2) a paper on a topic of their choice, based on the course readings, and approved by the Instructor. The paper must demonstrate an engagement with the course materials and classroom discussion. The papers must demonstrate the ability to critically discuss the key ideas presented in the readings; readings must not be merely summarized. Format: 12 point font, double-spaced. Length: 10 Pages. Papers over 10 pages will be graded only up to the 10 page limit. Any material beyond 10 pages will not be considered for evaluation. Due: Assignment 1: October 25, 2013. Hand in during class time. Assignment 2: TBA Class participation and Presentation: 20%. Students will lead the discussion on a reading(s) of their choice, and submit a written response paper of two pages maximum. Depending on the number of students, each student may be required to do at least two class presentations, or again, depending on numbers, small group presentations. Students will also be required to maintain a weekly class journal, which will include a reflection paragraph/s relating to each class. Late Paper Policy: NO LATE ASSIGNMENTS WILL BE ACCEPTED (UNLESS THERE IS A VALID REASON SUCH AS A MEDICAL REASON). General Information Class schedule: Monday 11:30 am to 2:30 pm, EDUC 338 Instructor: Prof. Vrinda Narain Office: Faculty of Law, Room 203, 3674 Peel Street Phone: 514 398 4927 E-mail: [email protected] Office hours: TBA Academic Policies: “If you have a disability please contact the instructor to arrange a time to discuss your situation. It would be helpful if you contact the Office for Students with Disabilities at 398-6009 before you do this”. “Additional policies governing academic issues which affect students can be found in the McGill Charter of Students’ Rights, available online at http://www.mcgill.ca/secretariat/documents In accord with McGill University’s Charter of Students’ Rights, students in this course have the right to submit in English or in french any written work that is to be graded. McGill University values academic integrity. Therefore all students must understand the meaning and consequences of cheating, plagiarism and other academic offences under the Code of Student Conduct and Disciplinary Procedures (see http://www.mcgill.ca/integrity/ for more information). .
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