Saturday, August 29, 2020

Life Skills versus Gender roles

 I wish we teach this to the children from the beginning. I would also like to add to this stiching, hemming your dress, stiching a button, repairing an electric switch, reparing basic electric items. My list will go on.



Thursday, August 27, 2020

Kalindi College, Delhi University.

 A webinar on Women in Indian art in Kalindi College, Delhi University.









Wednesday, August 26, 2020

Webinar in Rajmundry

 A webinar on, Empowerment of Indian women and giving the inaugural lecture on, Intersecting the past and gender on 27th August at Government College, Rajahmundry at 11.00.





University of Mizoram

 The University of Mizoram is organising a UGC-STRIDE Refresher Course on Research Methodology: Research Ethics, Methods, Skills Writing and Communication from the 19 August, 2020 - to  September, 2020. I was invited to give two talks on Historical research and historical methodology and Feminism and Feminist research. There was a wonderful question answer session and many participants had a large number of Questions for clarification. I am really thankful to Prof. Samba  Shiv Rao the Vice Chancellor of the University who is taking a lot of interest in modernizing  the University and encouraging all the faculty both juniors and seniors to be very pro active with teaching and online activities. He spoke to me about this course long time back and how he wanted the faculty  to be trained in different methodologies and interdisciplinary research and I had promised him that I will definitely be part of it. Even when I had gone there as an expert for the selection of the candidates  he was insisting on evaluating the candidates for how savvy they are technically, using online resources and interested in research and taking up project and not just on the knowledge of the subject. This was much before the Carona crisis had come. It was as if he foresaw the crisis and wanted the faculty to be updated and tech savvy. Indeed a very dynamic person at the helm of the University. Thanks Prof Guruswamy for making me part of this course.









Tuesday, August 25, 2020

A Cambridge University Press book, in the times of Covid -19

 A Cambridge University Press book,  in the times of Covid -19. Very happy to share that today morning by post I received two copies of the Cambridge handbook of :  The International  Psychology of Women. I am very proud to see that among all the  the universities of the World listed in this book University of Hyderabad also stands proudly as I happen to be the only Indian author contributing a lead paper in this under the title,  Feminist Theory and Methodologies: crossing Disciplinary boundaries along with Wen Liu from the State University of New York and Hsunhui Tsen from the Chinese University of Hong Kong.  Our article is  a lead article in this. After several, may be seven or eight revisions ,  if I recollect correctly, spanning a period of three to three and a half years,  and often, when I wanted to just give up and say to myself forget it, this is finally seeing the light of the day.  As a Feminist teaching gender studies we always complain that there are not many books on Feminist theory from a non western perspective. Well this book is an anwer to this. Unfortunately due to the pandemic we could not launch this book. There was a major launch planned in Washington DC in the month of August 22nd to 25th and I had even booked my tickets for this.   This book rejects an approach that has been used by many editors  that consists of a single chapter from different countries and regions. A short chapter on psychology of women from a single country is necessarily shallow and does not promote an integrated and deeper understanding of the scientific foundation of the specific topics. Instead this work draw up a comprehensive list of topics in psychology that are critical to understanding the gendered lives of women. Each chapter has a lead author—a recognized authority on that topic and two other with a different region/ culture in the world. All the articles follow this format. There is no other book that has taken on the task of internationalizing our knowledge about the psychology of women, from a non western perspective , like this book. It provides a much-needed comprehensive reference to Theory and Methodologies in Psychology of Women, that are relevant across cultures. In the present article, given the different context, region and culture, myself ,  Wen Liu and Hsunhui Tseng,  got together and write about the feminist theories and the methodologies and the development of the Women’s Movement in India, China, Taiwan and Hongkong.  It was very challenging for i did not know the two scholars and had no idea of their women's movement and its development in these countries and to write an article with a wholestic perspective was difficult.  How ever, now when I look back,  it was fun to write on Feminist theory with two totally new scholars and getting to know the women's Movement and theoretical prerspectives from China, Taiwan and Hongkong. I only hope a large number of women's studies students and scholar, interested in non western theories , will find this a useful resource. I would highly recommend this book to all women's studies Scholars across the world and this is what the book is attempting to do.  Indeed a new collection to my library and I almost feel like I have got a life time achievement award.








Monday, August 24, 2020

Cultural Resource Center and Training Institute

 A discussion on the cultural history of India at the Cultural Resource Center and Training Institute. Nearly seventy participants from all over India participated and I discussed the meaning of culture, civilisation, cultural ethno- centricism and the different nuances of Indian culture and in spite of the diversity how there is a continuity in Indian culture from the past to the present. I took  examples from the monsoons, religion, sculptures, paintings, music, dance, classical, folk and Tribal, Ramlila performances and food  to show how they have impacted Indian culture.















Sunday, August 23, 2020

Rare documents in danger

 Really sad. I hope we are able to save these precious documents that are our windows to the past.




Saturday, August 22, 2020

Ganesh Chaturthi, 2020

 A very happy Ganesh Chaturthi to family, friends, students and well wishers. May the Vighna harta remove all the obstacles and bring in joy and prosperity. Tried to make the modaks and felt happy that they turned all quite fine.











Thursday, August 20, 2020

Gender sensitisation course at Kumaon University

 Speaking at the Gender sensitisation course at Kumaon University today. Had it been a different scenario, I would have been amidst the mountains, near the lake in Nainital addressing the participants but now due to the Carona virus, I was behind a lap top screen sitting in Hyderabad. Luckily due to the rains the weather in Hyderabad is like that of the Hills in summers and so I imagined myself to be in Nainital while addressing the participants. Gave a talk on two days.