WGSS 52.05 Women, Representation, Power: Writing India, Then and Now
How are global relationships shaped by what and who we read? We come to these relationships with preconceptions, often created primarily from our encounters with others that are mediated through language. In this course, we will examine how knowledge is constructed through language using India as a case study. This course is directly related to Dartmouth’s program in Hyderabad, India. Our focus will be on the representation of women and female agency in this case study of India as we explore how knowledge is created, by whom, and to what ends. Language is a powerful instrument. We will analyze how language has been and is currently used to portray India, as we will think critically about how our perceptions of India have been shaped by what we have read, heard, and seen. Some questions we will address are: How have images of India been constructed over time? To what ends? What impact has colonialism had on how India was portrayed to the west? How did/do Indian writers use language to reclaim their country? How is feminism defined in India? How can we understand female agency in the Indian context? What role have women in India played and how has this female agency been incorporated into or excluded from representations of India developed into the subcontinent as well as outside of it?