{"title":"Aspiring Inside a Girls Madrasa: Gender, Negotiation and Change","authors":"Hem Borker","doi":"10.1177/00380229231196731","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/00380229231196731","url":null,"abstract":"This article draws on my ethnography of girls’ madrasas in India. It is woven around the ethnographic portrait of Zainab, 1 a rather reluctant madrasa student studying in a residential girls’ madrasa in Delhi who aspires to be a doctor. The article employs ethnographic portraiture to ‘focus in’ on Zainab’s educational journey and life in the madrasa, while also drawing attention to the larger canvas of intersecting forms of marginalisation, gender negotiations, and claim-making by Muslim women. It highlights how Muslim marginalisation intersects with gender disadvantage shaping everyday decisions about education, mobility and career choices. It argues that women’s negotiations and agency are nested in a larger context of marginalisation; while also co-constituting it. It examines Zainab’s life trajectory and aspirations to illustrate how education is a contradictory resource. At one level there is a synchrony between parents and madrasas on ideals of Islamic womanhood, but at another level, the piety project implemented by the madrasa does not represent the everyday experiences of madrasa students. The article argues that young women like Zainab, in attempting to balance madrasa prescriptions and their own aspirations, refashion gender norms through its inhabitation.","PeriodicalId":39369,"journal":{"name":"The Sociological Bulletin","volume":"134 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"136167282","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Educational Endeavours and Unheeded Tales: Mapping Trajectories of Dalit Women in a University","authors":"Anusha Renukuntla, Nagaraju Gundemeda","doi":"10.1177/00380229231196718","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/00380229231196718","url":null,"abstract":"This article analyses the nature of the relationship between scientific research, gender, and caste questions. It aims to present the lived experiences of Dalit women scholars in science from a sociological perspective. Masculinist, self-fashioned gendered ideologies have dominated the scientific practice of natural sciences in general. The participation of Indian women in scientific research is a very recent phenomenon. Women students from marginalised communities are almost invisible in so-called egalitarian educational institutions. They are deprived of academic resources and opportunities and are subjected to constructive discrimination based on their intersectional identity. This study attempts to unfold the lived experiences of Dalit women scholars, particularly in the scientific laboratories, through a feminist perspective. The study is based on Dalit women scholars from a central university in South India. In-depth interviews have been employed as tool of data collection and observed through the lens of feminist perspective. The study found that women scholars from marginalised sections were meagrely represented in science research. The unique experiences of Dalit women scholars have been made visible, which entail discriminatory attitudes and exclusionary practices leading to a struggling academic journey. Interestingly, women scholars have their agency in dealing with the challenges encountered.","PeriodicalId":39369,"journal":{"name":"The Sociological Bulletin","volume":"90 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"136167538","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The Feminist De-brahmanising Pedagogy of Writing","authors":"Anannya Dasgupta","doi":"10.1177/00380229231196762","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/00380229231196762","url":null,"abstract":"Pedagogic practices are central to how feminists from the West and the subcontinent have envisaged the liberatory transformation of society. Feminist methods of teaching-learning emphasise making educational material accessible, the creation of communities of learners historically excluded from education, the re- education for educators and making learners independent and equipped to continue the process of learning. In the Indian context, feminist pedagogy is key to challenging and replacing the default patriarchal and Brahminic setting of academia that perpetuates exclusion even when it grants admission. Writing pedagogy, following feminist methods, is building step-by-step access to teaching-learning that makes academic reading and writing doable. In that, it is de-brahmanising academic writing from appearing to be mystically transmitted only to those born into the socio-cultural capital to receive it. Drawing from reports by observers and participants, this article demonstrates how a conscious pedagogy of writing reworks access to academic reading, writing and thinking to directly address issues of intersectional marginalisations of gender.","PeriodicalId":39369,"journal":{"name":"The Sociological Bulletin","volume":"16 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"136167801","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Hijab Controversy: Revisiting Discourse on School Uniforms","authors":"Ranu Jain","doi":"10.1177/00380229231196730","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/00380229231196730","url":null,"abstract":"While analysing the hijab controversy, the paper attempts to discuss the significance of ‘uniforms’ in an educational institution. Employing sociological perspectives, it looks at the institution of education as a social institution and locates the sociocultural context of educational policies including the policy on uniforms. Attempt is to understand how political ideologies associated with nation- building promoted by the state, shape these policies. The paper looks at how and when changes in the policies are accommodated and where are these resisted. Exploring the trajectory of state, community and patriarchy, the paper attempts to comprehend what caused the hijab dispute and looks at some of the implications of the same on society, especially Muslim women. Theoretical framework of the paper is drawn on the critical understanding of uniforms as developed in sociology though the paper also draws from the Parsonian functional school of thought. The paper aims to show how the state uses the institution of education with support from other institutions of society, to promote its hegemonic agenda and how uniforms support this process. Secondary sources have been utilised for the data collection.","PeriodicalId":39369,"journal":{"name":"The Sociological Bulletin","volume":"50 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"136167525","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Hundred Years of Sociology in India: Mapping the Trajectory","authors":"A. Chauhan","doi":"10.1177/00380229231172093","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/00380229231172093","url":null,"abstract":"Hundred years is not a very long time in the journey of any discipline. Yet, sociology in India seems to have covered a considerable distance in a comparatively short time as the country witnessed unprecedented incidents in the 19th and 20th centuries of colonial rule, the rise of nationalism leading to India’s independence and subsequent efforts at development and nation-building. The works of the British administrators, orientalists, missionaries, and Western scholars earlier, and of the Indian pioneers and other sociologists soon after provided fertile ground for the establishment of sociology in India. The first department of sociology and civics was started in 1919 at Bombay University and since then there has been no looking back as the subject has been established well in the country, academically, and professionally. Besides the role of educational institutions and government bodies, the Indian Sociological Society (ISS) set up in 1951 provided a platform for scholars from across the country and outside to discuss, debate, share and write about contemporary issues. As the context of Indian society changed, the subject matter, methods, theoretical perspectives and debates around the discipline also went through a transformation. This article is an attempt at mapping the trajectory of 100 years of sociology in India and discerning its status as an academic discipline, as well as its relevance for policy-making, and for society at large.","PeriodicalId":39369,"journal":{"name":"The Sociological Bulletin","volume":"72 1","pages":"247 - 261"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41834021","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Mapping the Pluralities of Agrarian Change in India: The Role of Intermediaries and Caste–Tribe Relations in Jharkhand","authors":"Avinash, D. Parthasarathy","doi":"10.1177/00380229231172110","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/00380229231172110","url":null,"abstract":"The agricultural economy of Jharkhand is primarily understood to be ‘subsistence’ agriculture. However, an ongoing agrarian change in rural Jharkhand has drawn less academic attention. This substantial change is from indigenous seeds to high-yielding varieties of paddy seeds enabling food sufficiency in the villages to a larger extent. In addition, the introduction of commercial crops like vegetables, watermelons and marigolds is another attendant change. This article is concerned with ethnographic fieldwork in two neighbouring villages of district—Khunti of Jharkhand, where farmers have been influenced by intermediaries (both old and new) restricted to State, NGOs and private companies (agricultural input suppliers). Also, the introduction of various governmental schemes, such as the ‘Bringing Green Revolution to Eastern India (BGREI)’ programme, a part of ‘National Food Security Mission’ and ‘Special-Swarna Jayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojana’, has encouraged agrarian change in rural Jharkhand. Despite Jharkhand being a low agricultural productivity region, there is a proliferated presence of transnational connections such as agribusiness companies and research institutions linked to State institutions and NGOs to form a new set of agricultural intermediaries. These agricultural intermediaries at the regional level in the Khunti district influence the crop choice, cropping pattern and usage of inputs (seeds, fertilisers and pesticides). The study also tries to understand agrarian (labour) relations among caste–tribe communities of rural Jharkhand.","PeriodicalId":39369,"journal":{"name":"The Sociological Bulletin","volume":"72 1","pages":"313 - 331"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48341562","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Book review: T. K. Oommen, From Bharat to India: An Academic’s Journey","authors":"N. Pattanaik","doi":"10.1177/00380229231172149","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/00380229231172149","url":null,"abstract":"T. K. Oommen, From Bharat to India: An Academic’s Journey (South Asia Press, 2022), 145 pp., ₹695 (Paperback), ISBN: 9788195020478.","PeriodicalId":39369,"journal":{"name":"The Sociological Bulletin","volume":"72 1","pages":"354 - 357"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48023894","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"W. E. B. Du Bois’ Indian Romance","authors":"M. Burawoy","doi":"10.1177/00380229231172095","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/00380229231172095","url":null,"abstract":"Former colonial powers are living through a moment of self-discovery. They are examining the enormous benefits they reaped from colonialism as well as the heavy costs they inflicted on the colonised. Academic disciplines have set about questioning their own foundations, some more successfully than others. Sociology, in particular, is experiencing its decolonial moment. In the United States at the centre of debate is W. E. B. Du Bois (1868–1963)—a brilliant sociologist, historian, novelist, dramatist, socialist, civil rights and peace activist and Pan-Africanist. Despite being the leading African American public intellectual of the 20th century, he was largely ignored by academic sociology. An ardent advocate of national self-determination and an enthusiastic admirer of Nehru and Gandhi, he was the author of a surreal novel Dark Princess (2007 [1928]) that placed India at the centre of world revolution. In this talk, I try to disentangle the global significance of canonising Du Bois for the decolonisation of sociology.","PeriodicalId":39369,"journal":{"name":"The Sociological Bulletin","volume":"72 1","pages":"282 - 293"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48441610","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Book review: N. B. Lekha & A. Palackal, Unveiling the Gender Paradox: Dynamics of Power, Sexuality and Property","authors":"Lekshmi V. Nair","doi":"10.1177/00380229231172155","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/00380229231172155","url":null,"abstract":"N. B. Lekha & A. Palackal, Unveiling the Gender Paradox: Dynamics of Power, Sexuality and Property (Palgrave Macmillan, 2022), xiii + 160 pp., ₹12,478 (Hardback). ISBN 978-3-031-09699-3 (Hardcover), 978-3- 031-09701-0 (Softcover), 978-3-031-09699-0 (e-book).","PeriodicalId":39369,"journal":{"name":"The Sociological Bulletin","volume":"72 1","pages":"352 - 354"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41435461","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Living Apart Together (LAT): A New Family Form in Urban India","authors":"Jagriti Gangopadhyay","doi":"10.1177/00380229231172146","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/00380229231172146","url":null,"abstract":"With the rise of globalisation, a considerable number of married couples are opting to live apart from each other post marriage. Several studies in the West have examined the concept of living apart together (LAT). However, this marriage arrangement has not received much attention in Indian scholarship. LAT is being adopted in both (arranged and love) forms of marriage systems in India. Against this backdrop, the present study aims to understand why this form of a marriage system is gaining prominence among educated urban couples in India. Using Anthony Giddens’s theory of pure relationships and relying on in-depth qualitative interviews, the study will highlight the formation of a new form of intimacy among couples practicing LAT. Finally, the study will demonstrate how the role of the family, changing gender norms and individual aspirations shape LAT in urban India.","PeriodicalId":39369,"journal":{"name":"The Sociological Bulletin","volume":"72 1","pages":"332 - 348"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46173831","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}