Spring 2004

ANS 384 • Women in South Asian Societies

Course Description

This course is an interdisciplinary seminar that deals with the traditional roles and contemporary status of women in India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh in historical context. We will look at the roles of women in myth, literature, and religious traditions: at marriage customs, child-rearing practices, and family forms. Then we will study the changes that have occurred in women’s lives as a result of historical forces in the 19th and 20th century: a variety of social and religious reform movements, and the role of women in movements for independence from colonial rule. We will then attempt to assess the status and roles of women in contemporary South Asian societies, with special emphasis on women’s struggles for economic and legal rights.

Grading Policy

Requirements for the course include extensive readings that will be discussed in class, and three writing assignments. Papers 25% ea. Class participation/oral reports 25%

Texts

K. Sangari/S. Vaid, eds., Recasting Women: Essays in Colonial History L. Kishwar/R. Vanita, eds., In Search of Answers Geraldine Forbes, Women in Modern India Works of literature for book reports

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