Re-Imagining Sociology in India

"This book in honor of Kamala Ganesh is an excellent collection of thought provoking and deeply moving scholarly essays that simultaneously celebrates Indian feminist sociologists while providing us with a much needed historical, theoretical, pedagogical and methodological understanding of the intersections of feminisms and sociologies in India. A must-read for all those across the globe who want a deep, critical and nuanced contextual understanding of the multiple challenges, contestations, contributions and successes, that shape gender, feminism and sociology in India. These essays remind us that patriarchy, latent and manifest, is deeply entrenched in the gendered and intersectional hierarchies within departments, institutions and disciplines. It also successfully shows the possibilities from individual and collective feminist struggles to break barriers, erase borders, forge paths and innovatively re-imagine sociologies in India for social transformation. The editors, Gita Chadha and M. T. Joseph, together with the contributing authors of this volume, skilfully illustrate the importance of courage and conviction, of speaking out against injustices, of taking a stand and of why and when the personal is political. Through Indian feminist sociological research, pedagogy and practices, we see how the doing of sociology shifts the terrains of sociology(s) and feminisms(s) to be more diverse, equal and inclusive."

Margaret Abraham, Professor of Sociology, Hofstra University, New York, USA, and President, International Sociological Association (ISA)

"A first-of-its-kind interrogation of the still unfulfilled potential of feminism in Indian sociology, this volume seeks to bring feminism(s) from the margins into the disciplinary mainstream. It also poses, and seeks to answer, the awkward question of why this has so far failed to happen. An important aspect of this interrogation is the reconsideration of the careers of pioneer women sociologists, some of whom have explicitly identified with feminism or the Women’s Movement, while others were just ‘women doing sociology’ in their own way, building on their gendered life-experiences. A second facet is feminist pedagogy, into which is introduced consideration of the critical role of feminist ‘mentoring’. The volume also takes us into relatively new territories – of mental illness, science, the environment, sexuality, masculinity, and the law – asking what feminist perspectives can contribute to these relatively new domains of sociological knowledge. Altogether, this unique volume of essays is both a fitting tribute to the outstanding feminist legacy of the late Sharmila Rege and an utterly appropriate felicitation of Kamala Ganesh, one of India’s foremost feminist sociologists."

Patricia Uberoi, former Professor of Sociology, Institute of Economic Growth, New Delhi, India