Re-defining Feminisms

by Harish, Ranjana; Harishankar, V. Bharathi

• ISBN13: 9788131601235
• ISBN10: 8131601234
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2008-01-01
• Publisher: Rawat Publications

Summary

We are now inhabiting an academic world filled with the prefix 'post' - post-structuralism, post-modernism, post-colonialism, post-feminism, etc. More than debating the various connotations of the prefix, scholars are now increasingly engaged in identifying the space offered by it in order to interrogate, negotiate, and transform the movements defined by it. Re-defining Feminisms examines the process that paves the way for re-definition of the different types of feminisms in the Indian context. This critical anthology is the outcome of peer-reviewed and revised papers presented at a conference in India, and also includes a few invited contributions. While literature is the underlying matrix for the anthology, it covers diverse fields like fine arts, creative writing, social work, activism, media studies, and many more. The editors of the anthology have identified four stages to the process of re-definition - namely, 'Re-design,' 'Re-think,' 'Re-view,' and 'Re-mark.' All the contributions have been arranged within these four stages, which appear as the four sections of the book. It provides a rich texturing of the subtle nuances of feminisms, interweaving across the different sub-sections and disciplines.

Table of Contents

Re-defining feminism : a personal note	p. 3
Invisible women : disability, gender and feminism	p. 7
Need to re-define women's activities in Gujarat : a case study of AWAG	p. 32
Discourse on sexual harassment-free workplace for women	p. 44
A second look at Michelangelo's painting - original sin	p. 71
At the crossroads	p. 76
Courage never to submit or yield : short stories by women in India	p. 90
Re-presenting and re-visioning engendered bodies : contemporary Tamil theatre : a feminist perspective	p. 108
Gender representation paradigm in Indian media : a post-feminist perspective	p. 123
"What do we know (not)?" : alternative patriarchies - alternative female sexualities - anti-essentialisms	p. 135
The feminine facets of a masculine Christ	p. 151
Nineteenth century social reform and the 'women's question'	p. 167
Identical expressions in visual and literary experience with reference to female space	p. 175
Women in soap operas : Devi, demon, or ?	p. 191
Mis(re)-presentation of women tennis players on and off the court	p. 199
The burden of Shakti : female agency and literary creativity in Orissa	p. 207
Literary cross-dressing : portrayal of women in Gujarati Dalit short stories by male writers	p. 218
Powerless matriarchs : a hidden truth	p. 230
Staging resistance : a feminist exploration of women's theatre in India	p. 237
Psychodynamics of female creativity : looking back at Gangasati	p. 246
Looking glass as a metaphor for self-realization in Kamala Das' poetry	p. 256
Index	p. 274
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