|
||
|
First paper on the Laws of Manu (due 6 March 6 PM). You should answer all the questions. 1. Against what kind of religious background were the Laws of Manu constructed? What kinds of social and religious questions were the Laws of Manu trying to address? 2. For what social group or groups were the Laws of Manu primarily meant? 3. To what degree do the Laws of Manu seek to introduce clarity at the same time that they introduce ambivalence? In what areas of behavior does it seek to express these "certainties" or "ambivalences?" 4. What is the position of women in ancient India as depicted by the Laws of Manu? Give the evidence for your answer. How are texts like the Laws of Manu composed? Are there any true authors? 5. How would you characterize the strictures against or for eating meat in the Laws of Manu? Second Paper on "Normalizing Women's and Men's Bodies." This is due 6 May 1 PM In the second paper you should try to apply your knowledge of what you have learned about colonial regimes from Said and Foucault to an analysis of the materials on normalizing women's and men's bodies in India. (Samskara, Burmese Days, "The High Caste Hindu Woman," "The Quilt," "In Family Courtyards.") In your paper you should answer all these questions. 1. Your main goal should be to apply Foucault and Said to the materials you have read on the construction of discourse about women's and men's bodies. 2. According to Said and Foucault, what is power and how is it created in the colonial context or in any system of juridical power relations? How does Foucault argue that sex is created by the discourse on sexuality in Europe after the eighteenth century? To what extent is the discourse about women's and men's bodies in India a product of a cultural and power or discursive negotiation which has been analyzed by Said and Foucault? What does Foucault mean by "normalization? and "biopower?" 3. To what extent do women and men in India and elsewhere (Indian as well as non-Indian) participate in one way or another in the production of this discourse about bodily normalization? What is the function of sex in these normalizing constructions? Do some women authors (western as well as Indian) downplay the pursuit of sex by women or men? Do "repressive texts" such as the "Laws of Manu" play a role in helping to produce discourse? All citations to page numbers should be within parentheses in the text itself. Do not use footnotes. |
||
|
Photographs: Courtesy, Shishir Thadani
http://members.tripod.com/~IMAGE_INDIA/images.html