As a part of its distinguished lecture series, the Sarojini Naidu Centre for Women’s Studies (SNCWS), Jamia Millia Islamia (JMI) hosted eminent scholar Prof. Joan Scott, Professor Emerita, Institute of Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey, for an online lecture titled, ‘Gender Backlash: Gender as a Useful Category of Analysis (For Historians and Others)’. Scholars from various countries and universities attended the lecture and participated enthusiastically in the discussion following it.
The event began with Dr Amina Hussain, Coordinator of the Distinguished Lecture Series, presenting the welcome address, followed by the speaker’s introduction by Prof. Nishat Zaidi, Honorary Director of SNCWS. The lecture commenced with Prof. Scott outlining her monumental article on gender as a tool of historical analysis, published 40 years ago. The correlation between politics and gender was frequently emphasised along with recent backlash against the academic interrogation of gender, sex and sexuality. Administrative push for re-accepting gender binaries and the aspiration for hyper-masculinisation under contemporary authoritarian regimes were analysed from a critical and theoretical approach.
The insightful session was followed by concluding remarks by Prof. Nishat Zaidi and an engaging Q&A session moderated by Preeti Maurya, scholar at SNCWS. The set of questions from the audience revolved around the themes of danger to transgender lives, subjectivity in academia, political construction of gender and contemporary developments in the feminist movement. The lecture officially ended with a vote of thanks given by Dr Amina Hussain and the centre’s objective to continue creating spaces for critical engagement with gender discourse.
Source: Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi