Description
Book SynopsisThe pace of socioeconomic transformation in India over the past two and a half decades has been formidable. This volume sheds light on how these transformations have played out at the level of everyday life to influence the lives of Indian women, and gender relations more broadly. Through ethnographically grounded case studies, the authors portray the contradictory and contested co-existence of discrepant gendered norms, values and visions in a society caught up in wider processes of sociopolitical change. ‘Women, Gender and Everyday Social Transformation in India’ moves the debate on gender and social transformation into the domain of everyday life to arrive at locally embedded and detailed, ethnographically informed analyses of gender relations in real-life contexts that foreground both subtle and not-so-subtle negotiations and contestations.
Trade Review‘[O]ne of the key strengths of this book is the meticulous application of an intersectional approach by all the contributors. […] The expansive range of topics provides us, as readers, with excellent glimpses into the complex transitions at play in modern India, and the generation of novel concepts […] gives us much to reflect upon.’ —Shalini Grover, ‘Gender & Development’
‘This book is a remarkable exercise aimed at comprehending and capturing change in a very complex society. It is an extremely useful volume for students and researchers of development and women’s studies.’ —Padmini Swaminathan, Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Hyderabad, India
Table of ContentsAcknowledgements; Women and Gender in a Changing India; Part I: Work, Technology, Aspirations; 1. Today’s ‘Good Girl’: The Women behind India’s BPO Industry – Reena Patel; 2. Gender, Intersectionality and Smart Phones in Rural West Bengal – Sirpa Tenhunen; 3. The Introduction of Electricity in the Sunderban Islands: Conserving or Transforming Gender Relations? – Tanja Winther; 4. Changing Consumption and the Negotiation of Gender Roles in Kerala – Harold Wilhite; 5. Gender, Work and Social Change: Return Migration to Kerala – Berit Helene Vandsemb; 6. Showtime and Exposures in New India: The Revelations of Lucky Farmhouse – Nicol Foulkes and Stig Toft Madsen; Part II: Democracy and the Developmental State; 7. Gender and Democratisation: The Politics of Two Female Grassroots Activists in New Delhi – Stein Sundstøl Eriksen and Anne Waldrop; 8. The Reproductive Body and the State: Engaging with the National Rural Health Mission in Tribal Odisha – Arima Mishra and Sidsel Roalkvam; 9. A Veiled Change Agent: The ‘Accredited Social Health Activist’ in Rural Rajasthan – Dagrun Kyte Gjøstein; 10. Disciplining Gender and Gendering Discipline: Women’s Studies in Contemporary India – Mallarika Sinha Roy; Part III: Assertions and Activism; 11. New Subalterns? Feminist Activism in an Era of Neoliberal Development – Srila Roy; 12. Family, Femininity, Feminism: ‘Structures of Feeling’ in the Articulation of Men’s Rights – Romit Chowdhury; 13. Women’s Activism in the Singur Movement, West Bengal – Kenneth Bo Nielsen; 14. The Women’s Question and Indian Maoism – Lipika Kamra; 15. Caste and Class in Gendered Religion: Dalit Women in Chennai’s Slums – Karin Kapadia; About the Editors and Contributors
